Academic recruiters use a variety of tactics to capture the attention of students across many counties in Michigan.

In the near future, President Gary Russi hopes Oakland University will be home to over 25,000 students, according to Academic Advisor Michael Brennan.

One area in which academic recruiters are focusing is Wayne County.

Brennan works specifically with this county by visiting high schools and college fairs. He said that Wayne County visitors are those who visit OU the most.

“A lot of the students don’t have the opportunity to get up to the campus … so if we can go to them and tell them what Oakland has to offer, sometimes that’s the best way to let them know,” he said.

The tactics that Brennan uses are not specific to him.

According to Dawn Aubry Slowik, associate director of undergraduate admissions, admission advisors do many different things to introduce students to OU and keep them interested in the university.

Aubry said they do everything  from maintaining personal relationships with prospective students and families, conducting high school and community college visits, interacting with students, and explaining admissions requirements,” she said.

Aubry said it is critical that the recruiters spend time conducting personal meetings with students and their family.  They do this by facilitating on and off campus presentations, attending local college fairs, reviewing student applications and making admission decisions.

The idea is maintaining relationships with OU faculty and staff, she said.

Brennan believes one reason that the enrollment may be low among Wayne County residents is the number of other universities in the county that OU must compete with, including Wayne State University and University of Detroit Mercy.

Brennan has some difficulty  with convincing students that attending OU may be an option now or in the future.

“The hurdles that I face are just students who are not academically prepared for college,” he said. “So making sure that we get the message out to both groups of students and let them know even if they aren’t ready there are other options such as starting at a community college.”

Slowik also believes that many admissions advisors are faced with issues of the cost of higher education and student’s lack of knowledge to use technology to find accurate college information.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about undergraduate admissions, visit www.oakland.edu/go

Contact senior reporter Sarah Hunton via email at [email protected]