Your Community College: Open 24 hours! Threasa Klingbeil & Becky Brewer Thank you for coming to this session today. We’re excited to share what we’ve been doing with registration blitzes/ large scale registration events and hope to share

Overview History of Epic Event at Lansing Group Activity Expanding Epic Data & Feedback Lessons Learned Discussion B Questions welcome throughout, and at the end.

History & Genesis Epic Registration Event 2008 B

History New President June 1, 2008 Identified date, theme, and co-chairs 8.8.08; classes began 8.21.08 2.5 weeks total preparation Operational Team: “Planning Committee” Leadership Team: “Blitz Committee” All college services open 8 am – midnight on main campus Games inside & outside Free food & prizes B Event of Epic Proportions 8.8.08 Olympic Theme Long working meetings - doing the work from a conference room in groups - No Sub committees- Just assignments for each person

Expanding Epic 2009 T

New Features of 2009 New theme: Rock Around the Clock Expanded hours to 27 Sub committees within planning committee Child activity center Three radio remotes Information tables in the gym Two DJ/music stations Solicited corporate sponsors for the event Outdoor Signage Event specific logo & website www.lcc.edu/rock T ~ Theme, chosen for all future events ~Why 27 hours and not 24, based on our campus culture we felt that if we cut the event off at 9:00am (24 hours) that we would cut off a lot of our student population from participating in the event. We had students checking-in all morning. ~ Child activity center: will talk about more in a few slides ~ had three radio remotes, 2 from stations around Lansing and the campus radio station, and two different locations for the DJ on campus, one on each floor of the event with a variety of music ~ Corporate sponsors as prizes for students and staff will talk about more in a few minutes ~ Made sure all out door signage lead to welcome center and check in table and all doors to building did so also ~ Specific logo on bottom of screen added flames in background for publications and banners you will see later. ~ Show website and point out corporate sponsors page

Discontinued Scaled back food Scaled back mini-orientations Smarter marketing T Scaled back food Discounted prices for students vs. free food Less for staff & volunteers Scaled Back mini-orientations 08 – every hour 09 – 5 total sessions Not well-attended the prior year Staffing was an issue Smarter marketing Web 2.0 tools Website/ Commercial Social network like facebook and twitter Infused into regular communications Postcards Banners LCC TV

Why 27 hours vs. 12? “To get what you never got, you have to do what you’ve never done” – Texas Wisdom “I would not have been able to attend this semester because my work schedule prevented me from take the Assessment tests during regular business hours. “ Commitment to students and community “When we put on an event such as this – something that runs for 27 hours – we are conveying to our entire Lansing community that we are willing to do whatever it takes to meet their needs.  We are telling people who can’t come to register during traditional hours that the college is here for them, too.” – BOT Chairperson Excitement and positive publicity T ~Proactive vs. reactive – it’s not longer sufficient to sit behind your counter and open your doors. We know that we have a group of students that will come to LCC no matter if we had this event or not but we also know we have a group of potential students who may have chosen to attend LCC because of this event. To get those students we may never have gotten we had to do something we have never done before, stay open for 27 hours straight. ~ As community college we have realized that we need to remove all excuses not to enroll in our classes. For example A student got off work at midnight, heard the commercial and came right in. Once here he told staff that ~To show that LCC is committed to our students and the surrounding community, by showing that we are willing to make sacrifices to assist our students. ~ Generated excitement and positive publicity, How often does your Associate director of FA get interviewed and followed through the process of a new student? Ours never did until this event…expect that there will be fewer people over night, but the reward is the headline and the overall numbers

Scope of the event Beginning on Friday August 7, 2009 at 9:00am continuing till Saturday August 8, 2009 at noon. 2 weeks before first day of Fall semester Planning began 7 months prior to the event ~Dean of student called meeting with last year committee in February ~Committee make up adjusted and chairs identified proposed dates ~ Dean took dates to leaders across campus and received confirmation of dates ~ Planning Committee given responsibility to contact outside vendors and areas around campus. For the most of part were able to make decisions. Co-chairs took large decisions to blitz committee and dean of students out side of planning committee meetings ~ Planning committee met by –weekly for first 5 months then met weekly. Some meetings were reporting meetings and others were working time for the sub committees.

Committees Planning Committee: Who was represented? Blitz Committee: Sub Committees of planning committee Student Services Institutional Effectiveness Entertainment Music/ Decorating Off Campus Rep Dean of Students Sponsorship Divisional Office Risk Management Marketing Marketing/ Public Relations Media Services Tech Support Food Volunteers/ Incentives Academic Rep Administrators Child Care Student Rep Police & Public Safety Gym/ Non Profits Operational Staff ~ Planning Committee given responsibility to contact outside vendors and areas around campus. For the most of part were able to make decisions. Co-chairs took large decisions to blitz committee and dean of students outside of planning committee meetings ~ Planning committee met by–weekly for first 5 months then met weekly. Some meetings were reporting/update meetings and others were working time for the sub committees. ~ Co-chairs met once a month with blitz committee for updates and suggestions

The Day(s) Of… Student Services Staff Non teaching college Employees Board of Trustees Chairperson Department Representatives Non Profit Organizations Banks & Credit Unions Student organizations Faculty Committee members Committee members had specific locations to be the go to person for

Our Location One building, activities on two floors Student Services Areas Classrooms Hallways Gymnasium Mall of campus ~All student services stayed at their counters ~ Classrooms for Registration Room, child care center, staff rooms ~ Hallways for Games, food, music, characteristic ~ Gymnasium for Department reps, non profit organizations, banks, credit unions, Student clubs and Organizations ~ Mall of Campus for outdoor games

Energizer Bunnies Keeping Students Motivated Keeping Staff Fresh Prizes Check-in, wrist bands, Check-out Volunteer T-shirts Dress in theme Food Free, reduced prices Free Food Break Rooms Games Indoor, outdoor Decorating Contest Prizes for Participating Gymnasium Child Care Music Tattoos Prizes will take about in a few minutes Free food, popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream

And the winner is… Most prizes donated, $5,000 value Students had two ways to win prizes Check-in (hourly prize drawings) Points and Check- out Three levels Drawing held “No stingy sticker people” Mailed prizes after the fact Staff had to work the event to be eligible ~Any students how came to campus that day and wanted to participate in the event were entered into an hourly drawing for a prize that on average was valued around $10. ~ As students completed activities the received stickers worth points, when their business was done they were put into a drawing based on the points they received ~three levels Raodie 250 points average of $20 value Back up singer 325 points min $25-$30 value Rock Star 400 points min $50-$100 value ~Students who had completed business prior to the event could get stickers for all business completed no questions asked, NO stingy sticker people ~ Check-out, any student who checked out of the event had to fill out a exit survey to be entered into the drawing being conducted by Institutional Effectiveness and Research.

Who would have thought? Operational Issues What was it like overnight? Safety & liability Child Care/ Child Activity Center Others What was it like overnight? Student traffic What were staff up to? T ~ Extra public safety, this a special day when extra safety is needed, consider the number of officers over night. ~ Need to know who is going to be in building over night, consider closing non traffic areas, multiple staff in each area at all times ~ Liability, Risk management advice on games, waivers signed by students for outdoor games ~ Child Care What is this? Run by CHDV Department, staff and students Conflict with college policy? Didn’t advertize ~ Others include heat/air conditioning and lights staying on, Phones queues active, extra trash cans, shut off sprinklers and fertilizers, buildings left open, extra bathroom supplies and cleaning supplies, advertize phones and face to face, toner and paper, ~more details in our numbers/data section ~advising busy all 27 hours except for about 30 minutes between 4 and 5 am

Data & Feedback Students and staff B

Data & Feedback - Students Challenge: no front door 2008 2009 Intakes 399 501 Passport/wristband participants 168 209 Surveys completed 183 180 New Admissions 128 142 Total Registrations 850 1558 New Registrations 419 416 Total Credits 5065.5 7382.5 IP addresses n/a 907 B (OVERALL LCC#s – up 8%, increase in new students 35%.) Intakes: ~ 2008- remarkable dropoff in intakes after 10 pm ~ 26% increase in intakes over 08 – biggest changes (decreases) were at the 1:00 time and the 7:00 time from 08. Points/Passport Participants: ~ 24% increase in passport/wristband participants over 2008 IP Addresses ~explain it ~increased awareness contributing factor – larger #s than normal both on and off campus

Student Survey Responses 53% first time LCC students 47% returning students B

How did you hear about…? Just happened to be on campus today 14% Radio 14% TV 4% Postcard 17% Staff 18% Word of Mouth 9% Friend 12% Flyer/Poster 12% Facebook/Twitter 1% Staff, word of mouth, friend = 39%

Completed the following… Completed the admissions application 71% Completed a mini-orientation 35% Received academic advising 73% Completed a financial aid application Checked status of financial aid 72% Met prerequisites for my classes (testing/waivers) 67% Toured the campus 45% Registered for courses 76% Received my StarCard 66% Established residency and/or checked address B PS: Tour & orientation??!

For this event I was able to enroll in… ALL of the classes I wanted 54% SOME of the classes I wanted 2% NONE of the classes I wanted 29% DID NOT ENROLL in any classes today 15% B

Mission Accomplished? I felt I accomplished my goals for this registration event. Strongly Agree 78% Agree 14% Neutral 5% Disagree 2% Strongly Disagree 1% B SA +A = 92% Contrast with prior slide which was 29% said “none of the classes I wanted”

Time spent less than 30 minutes 11% 31 to 60 minutes 23% 20% 91 to 120 minutes 18% more than 120 minutes 27% B Fairly evenly dispursed

Feedback - Staff Positives Challenges Great energy, well organized Helped students Camaraderie with staff Free parking, food, & prizes Hourly statistics & follow-up reports Challenges Many classes were full Bottle-neck for advising No central point of entry Philosophical push-back Lack of interest in gym info tables B Advising – students sitting for a long time waiting. This year, we pre-scheduled drop ins, so they knew they could leave and do other business and come back say at 11:00. Layout & navigation suggestions from each year Ways to highlight all the services and opportunities. FAQ debrief HANDOUT

Lessons Learned Transferring the idea to your campus T

Lessons Learned The volunteer dilemma… Identifying Staff to students What is a volunteer? What we learned about volunteer sign-up Training for non student services staff VIP volunteers Identifying Staff to students Communication with Staff Costly Entertainment Establish roles for committee T ~4 kinds of volunteers: True volunteer, who worked without pay doing unskilled things, being friendly Volunteer from across campus who (as part of their paid hours for their regular job) came over and did unskilled things, was friendly Student Services staff person who worked extra hours, unpaid, doing any kind of work (skilled or unskilled) Student Services staff person who volunteered to adjust their hours to do skilled work ~ Volunteers sign up online and chose their own times and locations instead of committee doing so Highest and best use – consider when assigning people to tasks. For example, academic advisors making popcorn? No way. ~ Training for non student services staff, can’t expect everyone know the student path, need to do briefing before event and show them what they are doing and help understand student path - VIP volunteers, i.e Board of Trustee chairperson ~ Identifying staff to students, need staff to stand out so student know who to ask questions to, we used T-shirts and buttons ~ Communication to staff Planning committee meet with staff earlier Found lack of Communication from Blitz Committee to their staff (Planning Committee go to staff meeting earlier) ~ Outside games costly and not used much this year because of weather, next year do more LCC created games inside. ~ Establish roles for committee When does their commitment start and end? Do they need release time during planning time? What are their roles the day of the event (do they work customer service)?

Rockin’ your campus Leadership at all levels Available resources Timing Communication & Collaboration Conservation of Energy Chair selection B Campus size and culture impact this greatly but… President to operational leaders Resources (Fiscal, Human Capitol, space) Not interfere with other college operations, and resources Orientation Registration Enrollment fairs Student outreach phone drive Rotating chairs Not overtaxing any one functional area with planning

The Big Question Would Lansing Community College have another Rock Around the Clock Registration Blitz? YES! B Talked about Committee member tryouts Just finished thank you letters, data collection, storing/cleanup, so the process really is from February (early organization and planning) through September (reporting, thank yous, and cleanup) Feb ID chairs March begin meeting again ¾ Planning Committee, 8/9/09 1:00 pm

Thank You for Your Time & Attention! Threasa Klingbeil & Becky Brewer