Student to Student Recruitment

Primary Contributors: Joshua Brown (AOTA #000004252363)

Joshuasbrown@gmail.com 530.613.3151

Erin Cokeh (AOTA #04253437) ecokeh@yahoo.com

4260 Encinas Dr., La Canada, CA 91011 818.632.4792

Other Contributors: Elizabeth Carley

Katie Powers Celso Delgado

University of Southern California

1540 Alcazar St. CHP-133 Los Angeles, CA 90089

323.442.2859

Submitted February 11, 2005

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Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………… ……. 2 Plan Description/Marketing Plan Flyers and Posters………………………………………………………… 2 Classroom Presentations………………………………………………..... 3 Graduate and Health Fairs……………………………………………...... 3 Pre-Finals Open House………………………………………………….... 3 Personal Tours……………………………………………………………. 4 Pre-OT Club……………………………………………………………..... 4 Personalized Communications……………………………………………. 4 Goals…………………………………………………………………………….... 4 Effectiveness of Plan……………………………………………………………… 4 Cost of Plan………………………………………………………………………... 5 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..... 5 Appendix A………………………………………………………………………… 6 Appendix B………………………………………………………………………… 9 Appendix C………………………………………………………………………. 10 Appendix D………………………………………………………………………. 11 Appendix E………………………………………………………………………… 12

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STUDENT-TO-STUDENT RECRUITMENT Introduction

Occupational therapists share at least one thing in common: the frustration of explaining to others who we are and what we do. This is no exception for occupational therapy students. We have found that most students in major universities have no idea what occupational therapy is, but when introduced to it, many are interested and ask for more information. Therefore, instead of waiting for students to come to us and ask for an admissions application, we have actively gone out to recruit undergraduate students this year in a variety of ways. In participating in graduate fairs, we are representing not only our university but occupational therapy as well, because there are so few occupational therapy schools in our area. We are not competing for students with other occupational therapy schools, we are recruiting and promoting occupational therapy to students who would otherwise pass by a career option that would be perfect for them. We feel that it is not one perfect idea that will recruit students to occupational therapy, because as occupational therapists, we know that we are dynamic systems, influenced by a variety of means and factors. Therefore, we present to you a compilation of activities that the recruitment team has executed this year, which resulted in us collecting over 1000 names and information from people who are interested in occupational therapy and the program at our university.

As current students, we feel that we are the experts on the lived experience within

our program. Therefore, who better to do the recruiting than us? Because of this we have designed activities that promote student-to-student interactions. While it may seem that our activities are disjointed and unrelated, but the aspect of each that ties them all together is the fact that current students are the ones out there promoting the program. Outlined below are our specific strategies for promoting occupational therapy and recruiting for our program. Strategies for Recruiting/ Plan Description/ Marketing Plan FLYERS AND POSTERS.

As students, we have all experienced walking across campus and being bombarded by many eager individuals promoting their respective clubs, classes, and products. We knew we wanted to get the word out by “flyering” around campus, but we also knew we needed to make our flyers stand out among the others. To make our flyers more appealing, we emphasized the self-discovery and creative aspects of our undergraduate courses. “Flyering” was done during registration periods, when many students are looking for something different to balance out their curriculum. These flyers were given out with a lollipop to increase distribution. There aren’t that many people who could say no to a lollipop! We also decided to give more time and attention to the flyers we were handing out, to take special care that our flyers were attractive and reflected what occupational therapy is. We made sure our flyers and our banners were aesthetically pleasing. We have put much more time and money into the products that students will see, because only then will they invest their time to look at it. We also have

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made bigger versions of the flyer and posted them around campus. Please see Appendix A for examples of all of our flyers and posters.

CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS.

Because students are stuck in class, why not take advantage of them while they’re there? We have asked professors who teach classes in related fields (biology, psychology, etc.) if we can come in for 5 minutes to tell their students about occupational therapy. Of course, we don’t try to recruit them there. We tell the professors that we feel that it is important for them to know what an occupational therapist does in case they end up working with one in the future as a psychologist or medical doctor. However, we hope that it will strike a chord with some students and will promote interest in the field. These classroom presentations are also the perfect time to pass out the flyers where we spend our time and money. GRADUATE AND HEALTH FAIRS.

Not only do we recruit at our own school, but we go out to many other schools in our area as well. Because we are usually the only occupational therapy school, we take this time to promote not only our university, but occupational therapy as well, and tell people what it is. We have a display board to catch people’s attention by listing various majors such as biology, kinesiology, and psychology, and saying that occupational therapy is interested in them. This brings them to the table and peaks their interest. At graduate fairs, these people are looking for a future profession that can bring fulfillment to their lives. Here, we are able to convince them of how great the occupational therapy profession is.

So far we have concentrated on students, but we feel that it also is our job to give

back to the community. We have participated in several health fairs, assessing backpack safety for children, ergonomics, and lifestyle redesign in weight loss. At these health fairs, we provide examples of adaptive equipment and have contests to see who can guess what these things do (e.g., a reacher, long-handled spoons, etc.). Many times, there are high school or college students who become interested in what an occupational therapist does, and we encourage them to keep our information to apply for the program when the time comes. PRE-FINALS OPEN HOUSE.

This year, we hosted an open house at the Center of Lifestyle Redesign, a beautiful Victorian house where many of our classes are held. The event was advertised as a “study break,” and offered free coffee and cookies. Many people came, eager to see a traditional Victorian house decorated for the holidays. While giving them a personal tour, we took the opportunity to share about the field of occupational therapy and the program at our university. Students and faculty came, eager for the free coffee and cookies (instead of paying for the $5 Starbucks down the street), and we were able to give them some exposure to occupational therapy. Please see Appendix B for an example of our flyer promoting this event.

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PERSONAL TOURS. Student volunteers are available to give tours to both campuses (our university has

the main campus and health science campus) to potential students interested in the program. We feel that this is a very special, personal aspect of recruitment, because it allows one-on-one attention with the recruiter. That way the potential student can ask questions that they would not feel comfortable asking the faculty advisor or in a group setting. This gives the potential student a chance to experience the program through the master’s student’s eyes. This has been a very successful part of recruitment because we make a special effort to interact face to face. PRE-OT CLUB.

Undergraduates interested in pursuing a graduate-level degree in occupational therapy have the opportunity to be a member of the pre-OT club on campus. The advisor of this club is a second-year master’s-level student. This advisor is responsible for arranging shadowing opportunities and outings to various occupational therapy clinics. Many people in this club eventually find their passion in occupational therapy and go on to enter the master’s program at our university. Please see Appendix C for an example of the brochure. PERSONALIZED COMMUNICATIONS.

We don’t want to forget the people who have given us their information or sent an application to us! We sent out New Year cards to all our potential students, thanking them for their interest in hopes that they will continue to remember us as they go forth in their venture to occupational therapy. We also call potential students periodically asking them if they have any further questions about the application process, we know that students are very busy and sometimes need a little reminder. Please see Appendix D for an example of our New Year cards. Goals Short-Term Goal 1: To educate undergraduate students at our university and others about the field of occupational therapy in order to increase interest in our graduate-level programs. Long-Term Goal 1: To enroll students in undergraduate courses in occupational science. Long-Term Goal 2: To attract students to the graduate level programs at our university. Effectiveness of Plan: How are our goals measured? Short Term Goal 1: The effectiveness will be measured by the number of people who give us their names and addresses to send out more information about occupational therapy and our university’s graduate occupational therapy programs.

We had over 1,000 undergraduate students who requested additional information about occupational therapy and the university’s graduate program.

Long-Term Goal 1: The effectiveness will be measured by the number of students that enroll in undergraduate courses in occupational science. See Appendix E.

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It has been shown in previous years that many students who take undergraduate occupational science classes or who choose to do the occupational science minor eventually continue on to a graduate-level of study in occupational therapy.

Long-Term Goal 2: The effectiveness will be measured by the number of applicants for the following year to the university.

We are not yet able to measure this because it is our first year implementing many of these ideas.

Cost of Plan Item Number of units Cost per unit Total cost Student volunteers give tours, design flyers, go to grad fairs

5-10 about 5 hours of commitment per week

$0 $0

Grad fairs* 15 $75 $1,125.00 Flyers 5,000 $.06 $300.00 Lollipops 10 boxes (100 each) $7 $70.00 Open house party supplies (cookies, coffee)

$20.00

Total cost $1,415.00 Cost adjusted without grad fairs

$390.00

*Number of graduate fairs attended can be adjusted depending on school’s budget and situation for other occupational therapy schools. Conclusion As one can see, many of these ideas are very basic and can be implemented in any school in the country. All it takes is enough support from the existing students to volunteer some of their time to go to various events, make flyer, and give tours to potential students. Each student can be used to his or her maximum potential. A student who does not like to talk in front of people but who is excellent in administration can volunteer to organize the schedule for grad fairs and class presentations or plan a recruiting event. A student who is artistically talented can design flyers that will catch people’s attention. Everyone can play a part in helping to promote occupational therapy as an exciting and rewarding profession.

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Appendix A—Sample Flyers and Posters Flyer 1: Advertises all courses offered in spring semester Front:

Back:

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Flyer 2: Advertises 2-unit courses offered in spring semester Front:

Back:

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Poster: Advertises all courses offered in the spring semester

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Appendix B: Pre-finals open house Flyer:

Pictures:

Some students and faculty who attended our party

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Appendix C: Pre-OT club brochure

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Appendix D: New Year card *Note. The actual cards that we send out are all personally signed.

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Appendix E: Enrollment of Undergraduate Minor Courses Class Fall Enrollment Spring Enrollment OT 220 26 29 OT 310x 11 15 OT 320 11 N/A OT 325 N/A 15 OT 250 7 N/A OT 375 N/A 11 Total Enrollment 55 70 We had a 21% increased enrollment in undergraduate classes after our recruitment efforts.