Spending nine weeks on the road to “sell” Tyler Junior College to potential students, recruiters have a tough job.
Recruiting is one way to encourage students to come to TJC.
“In the month of August, 1,600 students came to the admissions office to enroll in TJC,” said Nidia Hassen, director of Admissions and Dual Credit.
Total enrollment is estimated to rise above 11,000 this semester.
Recruiters said they love their job and the experience they get out of helping students.
“The benefits of being a recruiter are traveling, meeting new people, making friendships and making professional ties,” said Janna Chancey, executive director of Enrollment Management Services.
Most of the recruiters start out in their late 20s and in two to five years move up to different positions. This is because recruiting consist of a lot of hard work and consumes plenty of time from the recruiters.
“Recruiters have to know everything about TJC – degree plans, cost of housing, athletics, and etc. to appeal to parents and potential students,” Chancey said.
As a result, recruiters must attend special sessions to discuss different issues that may come up while recruiting.
“Recruiters go through professional development meetings throughout the year, including admissions, dual credit/registrar and advising offices, to make sure they are all on the same page about TJC and new things that are going on,” Admission Recruiter Rachel Wale Dickerson said.
Without the recruiter’s help, most students wouldn’t know the programs TJC offers.
“The recruiting offices helped out a lot for me to go to school, because very few high school athletes actually receive scholarships to go to college,” TJC Offensive Lineman Keenan Woods said.
Although the recruiters would like to go to every school in Texas, there are a limited number of schools that TJC’s recruiters can effectively reach.
“The schools the recruiters go to are based on the amount of time they have, and also, the recruiters try not to go too far of a distance because of the lack of dorms,” Hassan said.
“Recruiters mostly go out to schools in the Dallas/Forth Worth areas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, the Gulf Coast and Beaumont area,” Dickerson said.
Most recruiters spend about two weeks in major cities like Dallas and Houston.
Besides going to different schools, recruiters look for new students as often as they can by delivering brochures to high schools and counselors and by stopping by local high schools to talk to the students.
When recruiters visit different high schools, they bring along items to persuade students to come to TJC and give them a feel for the campus and degree plans that are offered.
“When recruiters go to high schools, they usually bring a view book of the college and brochures,” Hassan said.
Recruiters also look for all kinds of students to enroll. They like to know what certain students want out of a college and try to offer it to them.
“TJC has an open-door policy to all potential students and doesn’t target a specific type of person,” Chancey said.
While it may seem that a recruiter’s job is easy, some recruiters have to work hard to get students interested in enrolling and attending.
“Recruiters tell students about TJC’s high academics, reasonable cost and different programs,” Chancey said.
Even though being a recruiter can have its fun times, there are also drawbacks.
Recruiters are usually away from home nine to 10 weeks out of a semester, which takes a lot of time away from family and friends.
“Recruiting can get tiresome at times because you are away from family and on the road all the time,” Chancey said.
However, without recruiters, many students may have never seen an opportunity to attend college and continue their education.
