Wednesday, April 8, 1998
Outreach effort targets minority admits
ADMISSIONS: Volunteers hope phone campaigns will help sustain
diversity
By J. Sharon Yee
Daily Bruin Contributor
In an effort to encourage as many students to attend UCLA, the
admissions office, the Academic Advancement Program (AAP) and the
Alumni Association have banded together and intensified their
outreach efforts.
Traditionally, the entire month of April is devoted completely
to attracting as many prospective students as possible.
All admitted students are required to turn in their Statements
of Intention to Register by May 1.
With the decrease in the number of minorities admitted to this
year’s incoming freshman class, such outreach efforts have become
extremely important in encouraging minority students to come,
director of admissions Rae Lee Siporin said.
Yield events, or activities specifically designed to increase
the amount of admitted freshmen, include congratulatory phone
calls, special campus tours for top admits, and overnight
stays.
"Because we are in tough competition with highly respected
schools like Stanford and Berkeley, it is very important for us to
let students get the full UCLA experience," Siporin said.
Beginning Tuesday night and continuing until Thursday, alumni,
faculty and current students will call all admitted freshmen
encouraging them to visit the campus.
Nearly 50 alumni and students volunteered on Tuesday night.
"I’m doing this because I just want to give back and help a
little, and it’s a good cause," said Krista Rodriguez-Bruno, a
first-year student.
"There is an emergency going on with the lack of access for
underrepresented students to UCLA, so one of the solutions is to
have personal contact with each admittee," said alumni Mike
Flores.
Though calls have been made in previous years, this is the first
time in which all three offices have coordinated together with many
alumni, students and faculty.
"Since the financial aid didn’t go out yet, it’s hard for the
parents and students to make a decision," Flores added.
Flores describes his first call as "pretty easy" because the
student’s parents were both alumni and they wanted him to go to
UCLA.
Students from underrepresented races will be called first, as it
has been documented that personal contact is particularly critical
to these students and affects their decision-making, Siporin
said.
On Tuesday night, the volunteers only called Latino-American
students. On Wednesday night, they will call Native-American and
African-American students. And on Thursday night, they will call
the students they missed.
Altogether, they will try to reach 1,327 students.
"These students need to know they are welcome here," she added.
"We need to convince them that this is a positive environment for
them to live and study in."
Siporin also stressed the importance of building a sense of
belonging and community in these students early.
"The hard part was that the students weren’t really into
conversation," said Ana Ibarbia, a first-year student
Follow-up calls will be conducted as well, addressing students’
specific concerns involving things like majors and activities
outside of academics.
"We don’t want to bombard them with information on the first
call," Siporin said, "Instead, we want to connect them with the
information they need to make an educated decision."
Particularly instrumental in outreach are the Latino and African
American Alumni Associations, who have planned receptions and
conferences for prospective students.
"With the release of the recent admissions figures, we are
especially concerned about a certain segment of the population not
being represented," said Dana Valentino, director of the outreach
program at the Alumni Association.
"We want to do whatever we can to let them know that UCLA wants
them here," she added.
Valentino also addressed the importance of dispelling the
misconception that the university does not want minority students,
which explains the intensification of the phone-banking
program.
Other planned events geared towards top-achieving students
include Scholar’s Day, in which students are invited to spend a day
on campus, attending workshops and taking a tour of the residence
halls.
Additionally, the chancellor recently announced the
establishment of the Blue and Gold Scholarship for undergraduate
students.
Beginning in the fall, approximately one hundred of these
scholarships will be awarded to high achieving freshmen from Los
Angeles County high schools.
Students will receive $5,000 annually, the opportunity to renew
it every year, for a four-year maximum of $20,000.
Essentially, the outreach programs all serve to help
recently-admitted students feel that they belong at UCLA, Siporin
said.