They are the people behind the plan – the workhorses going out in the field – to bring the best and the brightest high school students to LSU.
The Office of Recruiting Services, which just completed moving into Pleasant Hall in August, has been working to try to be diverse in all recruiting activities and uphold all of the increasing admissions standards set by University officials, Director Andy Benoit said.
Recent efforts to increase diversity on campus begin with recruiting not just more minority students but also those from different backgrounds and states, he said.
The two main events Recruiting Services sponsors for minority students take place in the spring. The Cultural Connections fair in March encourages all different groups to come to campus to get them to see how diverse LSU is, Benoit said.
The second is a reception that targets African-American prospective students, which is also held in the spring, he said.
Among other things, Recruiting Services works with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to produce Spring Fest, which targets students highly qualified to come to LSU, he said.
Freshman admissions standards were raised twice in the past three years, according to the Flagship Agenda Web site.
Recruiting Services has been recruiting consistently better students and classes throughout the increasing standards, Benoit said.
Admitted students also have had better retention rates in recent years, he said.
The office determines “target areas” according to a variety of data including ACT scores, applicant data and past history, he said.
Something new the office has been working on this semester is stationing a permanent recruiter in Houston to increase the number of students from Texas, Benoit said.
Along with Texas, the University is recruiting students from Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri, Southern Illinois and California, he said.
Because most college fairs in Southern states occur in the fall, Recruiting Services is targeting students from those states right now, but in other parts of the country, college fairs extend well into the spring, Benoit said.
Overall, Recruiting Services corresponded to more than 200,000 students last year, 60,000 in person and more than 20,000 direct prospects on the road, he said.
Office recruiters also attended more than 500 program visits inside and outside Louisiana and gave around 7,000 people daily tours of campus academic and attractive facilities, he said.
Lea Witkowski, a mass communication and international studies sophomore student worker, said she started working at Recruiting Services because one of her best friends wanted her to start working there. This job has become more than just a student job for her though.
“This is my third job with work studies, and I like this one the best,” Witowski said.
She enjoys her job so much that she will begin giving tours next semester, she said.