SLCC kicks off an enrollment campaign

The enrollment machine at Salt Lake Community College has been switched to "on," as nearly 26,000 former or prospective students will be receiving calls from the college's president inviting them back to school.

"These are our busiest days of the year in that area," said SLCC spokesman Joy Tlou. "Right now the actual mechanism that allows students to register for classes, that machine if you will, and all the people who are working to get students started, all of that is working at full speed."

The college expects to meet a goal of 14,000 full-time students. However, Tlou said on average the school deals with more than 60,000 throughout the year. Most of SLCC's students attend part time and not year-round.

This week and next, automated messages will be reaching students who have had any previous academic affiliation with the school but haven't yet graduated. The intent is to invite students who either once thought of attending SLCC, meaning they were accepted to the school but never signed up for any classes, students who completed only a few courses, and others to return and register for classes.

"We're taking the approach that no effort is too great in order to make sure that people in the community are aware of what we have to offer and have every opportunity to take advantage of the resources SLCC offers," said Jill Kemerer, director of school relations at SLCC. "We're doing everything we can so that everyone who wants an education gets one."

The phone call campaign has been done in the past, but not to this scale, Tlou said, and it's only the second year that President Cynthia Bioteau and other administrators are participating in making the calls. The calls are not intended to be a nuisance, but to serve as a motivation or mild reminder that at SLCC, school is always in session.

In a short, prerecorded message, Bioteau says, "May I invite you to take a closer look at what we have to offer you — flexible schedules, small classes, over 120 programs and faculty that are outstanding. We are here to help with your future plans. We offer free tutoring, small classes, career and technical options as well as transfer degrees that can lead to a bachelor's degree."

Tlou said the community has responded well to the calls in past years, increasing enrollment across the board. Involving Bioteau in the process has "resonated well with students and quite positively with the public. The response has been overwhelmingly positive."

Bioteau meets with student leadership groups on a regular basis and tries to continually be involved in student affairs, concerning herself with the actual experience students get at SLCC. Tlou said she "is always interested in what students are doing."

"Student input and student involvement is at the top of her list and the quality of the experience and the number of people who can take advantage of what we feel is a unique situation, is always at the front of her mind," he said.

"This is the best time to be thinking about going back to school, period," Tlou said. He said admissions officers, academic advisors, registrars and information processors are all online and geared up for the expected influx of students at this time of the year.

Fall semester classes at SLCC start Aug. 22. Information about admission and registration is available online at www.slcc.edu.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com