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Recruitment and Selection - Guides

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Front Page / Bonner Program Resources Recruitment and Selection Guides 

 

Recruitment and Selection 


Overview  |  Guides  |  Campus Examples   |  Documents to Download

 

Guides

Contents


 

Recruitment Process


The recruitment process outlined below will assist you to: (a) identify a qualified pool of committed student leaders, and (b) begin the public relations process that will create widespread awareness of the program on your campus and in your regional community.

 

The success of the Bonner Program depends in large part on an effective, well-planned recruitment campaign. It has been our experience that the best qualified class of Bonner Scholars/Leaders is recruited through hard work and foresight on the part of the Admissions Office staff working closely with the Bonner Program staff.

 

The college should seek students who show good citizenship, commitment to community service, and academic achievement, but who also demonstrate high financial need. Every effort must also be made to achieve gender balance and racial diversity in each new class of Bonners. Special recruitment efforts are needed to reach exemplary students who meet these qualifications.

 

Retention of Bonner Scholars/Leaders in the program and in school is an important goal of the program. Attrition, to a large extent, can be prevented if the students are chosen who are a good match for the program and for your institution; that is, students who have the desire and commitment to serve, learn, and grow in the program. Though it may be difficult to detect the qualities of a person that would make him or her a good candidate, careful evaluation in the beginning of the recruitment process will prevent a possible negative experience for both the student and the coordinator.

 

We suggest you develop a detailed strategy for recruiting Bonners during the year, beginning as early as September. The plan can have a detailed timeline that includes deadlines, recruitment fairs, public relations campaigns, contacts, recruitment tasks for staff outside the admissions office, and special recruitment strategies. 

 

The recruitment and selection of Bonner Scholars/Leaders should be integrated as much as possible into the normal admission and recruiting process of your college or university. Qualified applicants for the Bonner Program should be identified at the same time that students are recruited and screened for admission to the institution.

 

Regular institutional recruitment brochures should contain a description of the Bonner Program. Many campuses have created recruitment material specific to the Bonner Program that is distributed to high school students, their counselors and parents, to alumni and trustees and friends of the college, at recruitment fairs, and to state and local service corps. In preparing this recruitment material, careful attention should be paid to the description of the financial criteria since the requirements are often confusing.

 

Since the Bonner Program targets high financial need students (see Appendix A in the handbook), schools need to determine as early as possible whether candidates are eligible on financial grounds. To assist in this process, some schools have developed a preliminary financial evaluation that enables them to identify qualified applicants before the standard FAFSA is available. Use of this preliminary evaluation forms allows Bonner Scholars/Leaders to be recruited and sent award letters along with your school’s general acceptance letters, enabling candidates to make their decision about attendance at your institution with the added incentive of being accepted into the Bonner Program.

 

Regardless of when a student is finally selected, the Bonner Foundation must review the list of students under consideration to ensure that, as a group, it meets our requirements in terms of gender balance, ethnic diversity, and financial need.


Recruitment Team


 A recruitment team made up of college staff, students, and community partners should implement the Bonner Scholar/Leader recruitment plan for the year. As the Program Rules suggest, Bonner Advisory Committee members may also assume responsibility for selecting the incoming class of Bonners.

 

Overall, the recruitment team should:

  • Develop the recruitment plan and review this plan with key administrators who may not be on the team itself (e.g., the Director of Admissions and the Director of Financial Aid);
  • Oversee creation of recruitment materials;
  • Direct and supervise Bonner Scholar/Leader recruitment;
  • Keep other admission recruiters alert to locating potential Bonners;
  • Maintain visibility of the Bonner Program in the admissions process;
  • Counsel potential Bonners on financial aid issues; and,
  • Work close with the Admissions Office to determine the financial eligibility of candidates.

 

The Bonner Scholar Program Director and Coordinator should:

  • Assist the Admissions Office in designing and evaluating the recruitment plan;
  • Assist in developing recruitment materials;
  • Make contacts with youth organizations, high schools, and service corps to recruit candidates;
  • Meet with potential Bonner Scholars/Leaders who might visit campus; and,
  • Oversee Bonners who assist with recruitment.

 

Existing Bonner Scholar/Leader students should be identified who can:

  • Assist the Admissions Office in developing and evaluating the recruitment plan;
  • Make phone calls to potential Bonner Scholar/Leader candidates and their parents;
  • Return to high school, church, hometown youth organizations, and service corps during school vacation breaks to encourage students to apply to the Bonner Program; and,
  • Meet with candidates when they visit campus.

 

Bonner Scholars/Leaders themselves are often the most effective recruiters (and selecters) of new Bonners. Ask Bonners during their holiday break in December to spread the word about the Bonner Scholarships to their old high school, their church, hometown youth organizations, or a service corps. This opportunity will give students a feeling of pride in being Bonners.

 

Campus Partnerships and Collaborations


 You should be partnering with other offices on campuses in recruiting and selecting your Bonner Scholars and Leaders.

 
  • Admissions Office:  The Admissions Director and/or staff will play a significant role in recruiting potential Bonner Scholars/Leaders and in alerting the Bonner Director or Coordinator of those who have already applied to the college and may be eligible for the program. By working closely with the Director of Admissions you will be able to more effectively promote the Bonner Program and encourage the best candidates to apply.

 

  • Financial Aid Office:  The Financial Aid Director and/or staff will also be key players in determining which students would be eligible for your Bonner Program. Not only can they help identify incoming students who have a high level of financial need, but they can also assist you in identifying candidates if a space opens in the middle of the year. They can play an important role in communicating to families how the Bonner Scholarship or other financial aid benefits for Bonners fits into a student's overall financial aid package.  For Bonner Scholar Programs, this person can also ensure that the scholarship funds from the Bonner Scholarship are properly credited to the accounts of the Bonner Scholars on campus.

 

  • Office of Multicultural Student Affairs:  Partner with to reach students of color during the recruitment and selection process.

 

  • Other scholarship programs:  Coordinate with other scholarship programs if they also hold an interview day or are recruiting from a similar pool of students. 

 

Marketing the Bonner Program


  A recruitment program and all materials should be:

  • based upon and consistent with your college mission and program goals;

  • based upon and consistent with Bonner Foundation Mission and Program Goals;
  • clear and concise to ensure that applicants understand what the program is and what each program participant's responsibilities are;
  • personalized;
  • targeted to students who meet the selection criteria;
  • targeted to student who indicate an interest in service, community involvement, and leadership positions;
  • timed to recruit students who are prepared to make decisions and begin thinking about college;
  • include a variety of media  (for example, print and internet).

 

You should meet with admissions staff to:

  • articulate expectations and qualifications for Bonner Scholars;
  • train students to have an “elevator” speech for on-campus admissions events;
  • collaborate on the recruitment brochure and website materials. 

 

Application Material and Process


 The Bonner Program Application should include a series of short answer or essay questions (see example in Campus Examples section).  If you require letters of recommendation, call, email, or send a postcard to let students know you have received them.

 

In order to achieve application accessibility, consider:

 

  • Electronic submission;
  • making the application available on-line as downloadable file. 

 

Timing


  • Publish application process and deadlines in Fall;
  • Send electronic solicitation in February after FAFSA deadline;

  • Use a late application deadline (March);
  • Respond quickly after the application deadline to those invited to interview day;
  • Mail Notification of award no later than 2 weeks prior to May 1.

 

Selection Committee  

 

The Selection Committee should be responsible for selecting all new Bonners, including students who are replacing Bonner Scholars/Leaders who withdraw or are dismissed from the program. Students should be selected based on an application and references form, interviews, or additional material as your program deems appropriate. 

 

The coordinator should assemble a diverse selection committee (see Advisory Committee Section below) that includes involved community partners, campus staff, and faculty. Following the initial year of the program, this committee should also include students. 

 

The Selection Committee is responsible for overseeing the entire process of recruiting and selecting incoming Bonners, including:

  • Reviewing appropriate marketing, recruitment, and application materials;
  • Reviewing applicants for strength of qualifications;
  • Reviewing the profiles of each incoming class to assure that students meet the selection criteria;
  • Reviewing materials and history on Bonner Scholars who withdraw from the program, using insights gained as a guide to refining (and redefining where necessary) procedures for selection of future Bonners.

Institutions may combine the Selection Committee with the Advisory Committee (below).

 

Interview Process

 

Most campuses make an effort to arrange an on-campus interview if at all possible.  If not, they will arrange a face-to-face phone interview which can now be done fairly easily using Skype, or other conferencing software.

 

When schools have an interview day, they may schedule the following components (example drawn from Berry College):

  • Round-robin including personal interview, Bonner Program "nuts-n-bolts", written reflection, and agency partner highlights;
  • Financial Aid session for parents;
  • Group activity for students;
  • Inclusion of community partners, faculty, college administrators, etc.

 

Your interview questions might include some of the following (from Berry College):

  • What prompted you to apply to _______ and, subsequently, to the Bonner Scholar/Leader Program?
  • What community work are you most passionate about?
  • How has your community work shaped who you are today?
  • What unique skills and talents do you bring that will set you apart from other candidates?
  • Have you ever been on the receiving end of service?  If so, can you tell us about that experience?
  • What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?
  • To date, what has been the single most significant event in your life?  Why?
  • As you make plans to attend _______, in what other extracurricular activities (i.e., intercollegiate athletics) do you anticipate becoming involved?
  • Thinking far into the future, what are your plans after graduation from _______?

 

Scoring Bonner Applicants

 

It is recommended that schools use a rubric to assess Bonner Program applications. A rubric helps in clarifying a set of criteria for applicants as well as evaluators. It is a useful practice to meet with all the evaluators and go through the rubric together for a shared understanding of the criteria. A rubric makes the application process transparent and helps applicants in preparing for a strong application with knowledge about how they will be evaluated. Go to the "Campus Examples" section of this page to review the rubrics used by schools in the Bonner network. 

 

Recruitment Challenges


 Extra efforts must be made to locate students who are often less represented in the applicant pool, particularly males and students of color. A grass roots recruitment effort can be made through those community organizations where young people are involved: YMCA, YWCA, community centers, churches/synagogues/mosques, Boys' and Girls' Clubs, service corps, and youth councils. Make contact with community leaders, principals, teachers, and religious leaders who know and work with students who might be good Bonner Scholar/Leader candidates.

 

Recruiting Students with High Financial Need

 

Some of the admissions officers and program coordinators find that the current general pool of admissible applicants to their college does not contain as many clearly eligible students for the Bonner Scholars Program as it contained in previous years. Several factors may contribute to this:

  • High-need students may assume that they cannot afford to attend a Bonner Program college;

  • Potential students may not be sufficiently aware of the existence of the Bonner Program and its benefits; and,
  • Your campus may be need a more innovative, active recruitment process to identify and attract these students to apply for admission.

 

Recruiting Male Students

  

Difficulty in recruiting male students may stem from the way the program is presented to them. Careful attention in the packaging of the program and its benefits may be required to recruit students of different backgrounds and interests. Important aspects of the Bonner Program — such as its leadership training and character development — are not always evident to prospective students. In addition, students who are part of athletic teams might not realize that they can combine their interest in service with their interest to being involved in a varsity sport while in college. Many Bonner Scholars/Leaders have succeded in both, though no one should pretend that doing so doesn’t require real commitment on the students' part, and understanding on the part of their coaches.

 

Recruiting Minority Students

 

For some of the Bonner Program schools, effectively recruiting racial and ethnic minority students represents an on-going challenge. Many schools actively seek a greater degree of racially diverse enrollment. The Bonner Program and the Foundation itself can assist schools in achieving this goal. The typical pattern of institutional recruitment may need to be enhanced through the development of additional avenues for recruiting Bonners, including:

  • Be sure that your recruiting materials represent service activities by and for minority persons;

  • Make genuine connections with minority churches/religious institutions, racial minorities in high schools, and community programs and centers in your recruiting area;

  • Seek to recruit minority students from outside your traditional recruiting area;

  • If your school is reasonably close to a predominantly minority school with a Bonner Program, seek to develop a relationship with that school and work out opportunities for mutual service in both communities; and,

  • Provide opportunities for non-minority and minority Bonners to discuss the critical issues of racism and related issues as they emerge in the process of service activities.

 

Recruiting Athletes

 

Several unique realities impinge on the issue of athletes as Bonner Scholars/Leaders:

  • Athletes accepted as Bonner Scholars/Leaders should give evidence of strong academic ability and motivation for service, and clearly be made aware of the multilple commitments they are embracing with regard to being a student, a Bonner Scholar/Leader, and an athlete;

  • Careful understanding and open communication between the athlete, their coaches and instructors, and the Bonner Program Coordinator;

  • The Bonner Program Coordinator may need to adjust Bonner Program athletes’ service schedules to fit with training and playing commitments: week-end sized blocks of time during the week, or other variation of the weekly service time expectations;

  • Athletic coaches should be challenged to bring community service into the realm of athletics, engaging athletes in community service projects, particularly when the sport is relatively inactive. Bonner Scholar/Leader athletes could be challenged to infuse a spirit of service among their teammates, particularly as they become adjusted to the demands of their personal commitments.

 

If a Bonner Program contains at least 10% athletes, then the Athletic Director or an appropriate coach should be considered for membership on the Bonner Program Selection/Advisory Committee(s).