Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
J. Michael Griffin
Committee Member
Paul Borthwick
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Committee Member
Claudia Santin
Keywords
applied dissertation investigation, enrollment, enrollment trends, effectiveness, fall 1997, Gifted and Talented, high school, IMP, increasing enrollment, Intern-Mentor Program, internship, mentor, minorities, minority student enrollment, minority students, outreach, recruitment, recruiting strategy, SPSS 10.0, statistical software, students, Targeted Outreach, winter 2001
Abstract
This Applied Dissertation Investigation was designed to determine the effectiveness of Targeted Outreach as a recruiting strategy in increasing overall enrollment and enrollment by minority students in a high school Gifted and Talented Intern-Mentor Program (IMP). An analysis of enrollment trends in the program indicated a 90% decline in enrollment of minority students in the program during the period fall 1997 through winter 2001.
Targeted Outreach, a recruitment strategy tested on a population of 10 students during a preliminary investigation and 39 students during the Applied Dissertation Investigation. Data was collected using enrollment figures and a data-collection form administered to each applicant at the end of the admission process. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 10.0 statistical software package.
An analysis of the data showed that the Targeted Outreach strategy was the primary reason why all of the students chose to apply to the program, thus being 100% effective. As a result of using Targeted Outreach as a recruitment strategy, an increase in both the overall enrollment and minority student enrollment was seen.