UM asking alums' help in buying more students

[GrizLA]

In SoCal and other states, local high schools have "college fairs" where recruiters from all who apply set up information booths, receive literature, talk to alumni, take home recruiting packages. These fairs are very well attended. I went to one at a high school with famous alumi, and among the colleges there, Montana State University has a very impressive display and, in talking to the three people who manned it, they were getting a lot of attention, and most had to do with academics with some athletes highly interested. I sent an email years ago volunteering to do so in the LA area if the University helped...never heard from them again.....UM is simply fading at a time they should be thriving. The choices up there have forced me and others to make choices we wish we didn't have to make. I do not see much happening in a positive way with the current administration. I, too, threw the plea away....

 

[mcg]

I received that letter too. I'm sure there are multiple reasons enrollment is down. Though perhaps one of those reasons is due to recruitment efforts;

I have a son who is a H.S. Soph. In the past three months he has received three separate mailings from MSU touting the wonders of attending school in the bitterly cold Gallatin Valley. I'm not sure if my son is receiving any special attention from MSU or if that is their standard approach with other students. Yet remember he's just a Soph not a Senior. Someone at MSU has taken the long view in chasing prospective students.

For comparison, I am a UM alum and a frequent donor. UM has never sent my son anything! Perhaps UM only approaches Seniors, but it appears MSU has been planting seeds where UM hasn't. Hopefully someone in Missoula will put in the necessary effort to contact prospects rather than just relying on donor appeals.
:ugeek:

Absolutely true. I saw the mailings my son received from MSU and while they contained lot's of BS (my favorite was a quote from an MSU student, "I've got plenty of time to pursue all my favorite recreational activities!" across a photo of Lone Peak), it was pretty effective marketing. My son received nothing from UM, both he an his sister are UM alums. In our fairly typical suburban Denver high school, MSU has way more mind-share than UM. This was not the case 10 years ago.

 

[EverettGriz]

In SoCal and other states, local high schools have "college fairs" where recruiters from all who apply set up information booths, receive literature, talk to alumni, take home recruiting packages. These fairs are very well attended. I went to one at a high school with famous alumi, and among the colleges there, Montana State University has a very impressive display and, in talking to the three people who manned it, they were getting a lot of attention, and most had to do with academics with some athletes highly interested. I sent an email years ago volunteering to do so in the LA area if the University helped...never heard from them again.....UM is simply fading at a time they should be thriving. The choices up there have forced me and others to make choices we wish we didn't have to make. I do not see much happening in a positive way with the current administration. I, too, threw the plea away....

If anyone would like to assist with college fairs around the country, please PM me. I'll get you hooked up directly with the UM ES department. It's fun, it benefits UM, and it's greatly appreciated.

 

[griz4life]

Don't just throw that request away. Respond and tell them exactly why you won't be contributing. My wife andI have done so at least three times in the last two months as one UM interest after another has asked for our support. Each time, we have voiced our concerns with the direction of UM, not only in athletics, but also in its poor efforts at research and commercialization, and involving undergrads in research. Because we have close ties to MSU faculty, we are very aware of the opportunities MSU offers that UM does not. MSU does a much better job helping students find internships and eventually jobs. Slowly, through a series of small measures, MSU has moved foward in ways Montana hasn't.
I'm done just giving money UM and assuming it will be well spent.

 

[GrizLA]

Perhaps the Board of Regents need to read this thread.

 

[NorthEndZoneDan]

MSU does a much better job helping students find internships and eventually jobs. Slowly, through a series of small measures, MSU has moved foward in ways Montana hasn't.
I'm done just giving money UM and assuming it will be well spent.

griz4life you have no idea how much it hurts to say you are absolutely right. As an employer I can vouch the intern program at the U of M is a complete crock of shit. For nearly 10 years I offered internships at my small business and I feel qualified to say those people are idiots. I realize the bottom 10% of my high school class have to have jobs but do they all have to work in that one office? If you ever wonder who still uses the old triplicate carbonless copy forms, look no further than the U of M internship program. That tells you everything you need to know about what Main Hall thinks about their internship program. The only reason I put up with the never-ending BS that comes out of the internship office is due to some misguided sense of loyalty to my alma mater.

 

[UMGriz75]

As an employer I can vouch the intern program at the U of M is a complete crock of shit. For nearly 10 years I offered internships at my small business and I feel qualified to say those people are idiots. I realize the bottom 10% of my high school class have to have jobs but do they all have to work in that one office? If you ever wonder who still uses the old triplicate carbonless copy forms, look no further than the U of M internship program. That tells you everything you need to know about what Main Hall thinks about their internship program. The only reason I put up with the never-ending BS that comes out of the internship office is due to some misguided sense of loyalty to my alma mater.

I hired an intern from UM this past semester. He was a terrific young man, did an outstanding job, smart as hell.

I was astonished at my contact with the UM intern people however: none. He sought me out; I never had any contact from UM at all. He had to do all the work. Good for him, but frankly, until he asked me, I didn't know there WAS such a program. I was then asked to send in a job position description. I did; no response. All I got was an online survey at the end of the semester with ten generic form questions -- and they weren't useful -- to be answered by choosing numbers between 1 and 10 as to his performance.

That was it.

 

[MNGriz04]

In SoCal and other states, local high schools have "college fairs" where recruiters from all who apply set up information booths, receive literature, talk to alumni, take home recruiting packages. These fairs are very well attended. I went to one at a high school with famous alumi, and among the colleges there, Montana State University has a very impressive display and, in talking to the three people who manned it, they were getting a lot of attention, and most had to do with academics with some athletes highly interested. I sent an email years ago volunteering to do so in the LA area if the University helped...never heard from them again.....UM is simply fading at a time they should be thriving. The choices up there have forced me and others to make choices we wish we didn't have to make. I do not see much happening in a positive way with the current administration. I, too, threw the plea away....

Seeing and hearing the same thing in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

 

[Silvertip]

The full court press to raise enrollment is on...The Sunday Missoulian reports that the Montana University system is seeking approval to freeze tuition at UM through 2015 while increasing the pay of UM employees. This, along with last week's soliciting of alums to sweeten the incentives for new students.

 

[wbtfg]

The full court press to raise enrollment is on...The Sunday Missoulian reports that the Montana University system is seeking approval to freeze tuition at UM through 2015 while increasing the pay of UM employees. This, along with last week's soliciting of alums to sweeten the incentives for new students.

The full court press needs to be on. If UM has another freshman class like they did last year, heads will roll.

That said, the MUS requesting funding for employee raises and tuition freezes (at all campuses) is pretty much par for course during the session.

It seems UM is really ramping up their scholarship offers/discount program. Lots of prospective UM students are receiving tuition discounts labeled as scholarships.

 

[griz4life]

The full court press to raise enrollment is on...The Sunday Missoulian reports that the Montana University system is seeking approval to freeze tuition at UM through 2015 while increasing the pay of UM employees. This, along with last week's soliciting of alums to sweeten the incentives for new students.

The full court press needs to be on. If UM has another freshman class like they did last year, heads will roll.

That said, the MUS requesting funding for employee raises and tuition freezes (at all campuses) is pretty much par for course during the session.

It seems UM is really ramping up their scholarship offers/discount program. Lots of prospective UM students are receiving tuition discounts labeled as scholarships.

What makes you think heads will roll, WB? Whose head?
I agree that there should be consequences for any administrator on watch when a $5 million budget hole opens due to declining enrollment. There hasn't been, nor will there be. A 726-student decline in enrollment doesn't just happen. And while UM is in a tough spot, the actual environment at the school is no different than when UM was not only leading the state in enrollment, but also in growth.
UM is in a bit of a PR free fall was articles by local TV and newspapers are spun and respun not only by national media, but national media like Jezebel and Huffington Post with both young and liberal readers--two groups who used to love UM.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/university-of-montana-enrollment-sexual-assaults_n_1927896.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did it help that Royce Engstrom abruptly fired his head football coach and athletic director? Did it help that a half dozen top UM admistrators were either reassigned or packed their bags to spend more time with their families. The message sent was terrible. The result hasn't been a noticeable improvement.

Did it help that FOIA'd documents revealed administrators referring to gang rape, lashing out at a supporter who simply asked that they do the right thing, considered going after an alleged victim for violating conduct hearing rules by sharing her story off campus? The fact that a public university had to be sued into a corner before showing its hand was shameful. It was also shameful that at least initially after the ruling UM continued to refuse to release the documents, ruled public by the court, to anyone other than the plaintiffs.

Did it help that while doubling down on community meetings in Missoula, Engstrom did not visit another Montana community to address the state concerns about rape at UM for roughly 10 months? His first visit to Billings didn't occur until October 28, long after UM's enrollment losses were realized. I don't think he had visited the area more than once in the two previous to years. But in the middle of a PR disaster, with some parents wondering if sending their daughter to UM was a bad idea, UM not reach out immediately showed terrible judgement.
And here's the assurance Billings received from President Engstrom.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/um-president-university-refocuses-on-core-mission/article_5aeb5d52-6075-5555-9f76-98b7add3ebe5.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As I have said on this board before, I had parents in my office last summer chatting about whether their daughters needed mace, a tazer or a gun to be safe at UM. None of those parents had received so much as an email from UM assuring them that their children were safe, just the typical collection of pamphlets from admissions. Once those students got on campus, they got the full blown pitch about what constitutes sexual assault, but 726 students didn't make it that far received no assurances, no explanation about the realities of coed life at UM.

The only thing that would have brought more self-inflicted damage to UM would have been Royce Engstrom over reacting by cancelling football for a season. What an amateurish f-up that would have been. Can you imagine if he had proposed that, what Clayton Christian would have done?

UM has done the misstep two step for a year now. Did it help that after several months of PR bungles, President Engstrom appointed Peggy Kuhr as his interim VP of Communications? He sure sang her praises and promised better communications and disclosure.
But can we expect disclosure from someone who did the exact opposite as a newspaper editor when pinched between PR the interests of her boss and her community's need for the full disclosure?
http://www.camasmagazine.com/articles/viewarticle.asp?aid=197" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2001770246_spokane20.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


No. Heads are not going to roll.

 

[wbtfg]

:shock:

 

[griz71]

In SoCal and other states, local high schools have "college fairs" where recruiters from all who apply set up information booths, receive literature, talk to alumni, take home recruiting packages. These fairs are very well attended. I went to one at a high school with famous alumi, and among the colleges there, Montana State University has a very impressive display and, in talking to the three people who manned it, they were getting a lot of attention, and most had to do with academics with some athletes highly interested. I sent an email years ago volunteering to do so in the LA area if the University helped...never heard from them again.....UM is simply fading at a time they should be thriving. The choices up there have forced me and others to make choices we wish we didn't have to make. I do not see much happening in a positive way with the current administration. I, too, threw the plea away....

If anyone would like to assist with college fairs around the country, please PM me. I'll get you hooked up directly with the UM ES department. It's fun, it benefits UM, and it's greatly appreciated.

Like EverettGriz I am strongly connected to ES as well serving as a high school college fair representative for UM at numerous locations in Western Washington for the past three years. As he has stated it is an excellent opportunity for UM alumns to represent the school and I can say from my personal experience very rewarding. Feel free to PM me also and I'd be glad to share my experiences.

 

[griz4life]

And then as if on que.


http://missoulian.com/news/local/kuhr-named-um-vice-president-of-integrated-communications/article_96929f42-590d-11e2-a2f0-001a4bcf887a.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[grizfnz]

And then as if on que.


http://missoulian.com/news/local/kuhr-named-um-vice-president-of-integrated-communications/article_96929f42-590d-11e2-a2f0-001a4bcf887a.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Think of the time and money the U could save if they stopped conducting "national searches" for vacancies. It's amazing how so many people with UM ties just seem to be in the right place at the right time when a position opens up. I'm thinking the Griz paw logo should be scrapped in favor of one which better represents the school.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

 

[Silvertip]

And once again as the article states the two people chosen by Engstrom through another "national search"
are both insiders. Ms Kuhr, the new communications V-P and Mr Schulzke are unsurprisingly UM alums. The term national search has become twisted into a perverted diversion by Main Hall...

While GrizNation fiddles over the next drop down QB the university's reputation continues to burn.

 

[bigskyguy]

My son who is a freshman did not receive one recruitment letter from UM until he signed up for a campus tour, but was receiving recruitment letters from MSU starting his sophomore year. He was OK with the 1 day campus tour but it was nothing special. He is an excellent student and a wonderful young man.

He is a griz mostly because it fits his major and his dad taking him to football games for as long as he can remember and the love for UM that grew from this. He is not a griz because of a great recruiting job.

Just a note at freshman orientation the major focus was on the rape issue.

 

[griz4life]

Just a note at freshman orientation the major focus was on the rape issue.

Mine focused on the resources available to help students graduate. Guess I'm lucky to be alive.

 

[cclarkblues]

And once again as the article states the two people chosen by Engstrom through another "national search"
are both insiders. Ms Kuhr, the new communications V-P and Mr Schulzke are unsurprisingly UM alums. The term national search has become twisted into a perverted diversion by Main Hall...

While GrizNation fiddles over the next drop down QB the university's reputation continues to burn.

I understand that a "national search" includes the entire campus.

 

[Silvertip]

And once again as the article states the two people chosen by Engstrom through another "national search"
are both insiders. Ms Kuhr, the new communications V-P and Mr Schulzke are unsurprisingly UM alums. The term national search has become twisted into a perverted diversion by Main Hall...

While GrizNation fiddles over the next drop down QB the university's reputation continues to burn.

I understand that a "national search" includes the entire campus.

A "national search" IS the entire campus. And nothing else. End of story...