1. Gaokao Recruitment Initiative
Presentation to Faculty Senate
August 27, 2018
Victoria J. Dutcher, Vice President for Enrollment Management
Rob McGann, Director of Admissions

2. International New Students at New England Flagships

3. International Enrollment at UNH

4. 2017-2018: Building Infrastructure
International recruitment committee from existing staff and student workers
Hired an international recruiting advisor/contract recruiter
International recruitment travel
Cultivated government partnerships and sending organizations
Agent recruitment and management
International marketing

5. International Recruitment Committee
Recruitment: Grad School, Undergraduate admissions, Law admissions, Manchester admissions
Communications and data management: Director of Enrollment Communication, Manchester Admissions, Operations Coordinator for Graduate Recruitment, Law Admissions, Manchester Enterprise Manager, CRM IT assistant
Data and reporting: Enterprise Information Manager, Grad School, IR&A
Application conversion and processing: Undergraduate admissions, Graduate Admissions, Law admissions, OISS
Core team: Grad school, undergrad recruitment, Manchester, Law

6. International Enrollment at UNH

7. Why target Gaokao students?
Decline in China applications
Low name recognition aside from Navitas in China
Budget pressures
Few American universities reaching out to these students

8. Press Coverage Goes Wild … and not always accurate
Forbes
Quartz
China Daily
BBC
MSN News
New York Times Online
Fox News Online
Yahoo! Singapore
Associated Press
Reuters
Worldwide coverage from June through August
Appearances in 41 US states
Additionally in Canada, Africa, UK, Vietnam, Australia, and China

9. Faculty Senate Agenda Committee help shape a pilot fall entry process with market appeal

10. Results to date Promo materials distributed 2,660
WeChat engagements with WholeRen
301
WeChat engagements with UNH
109
Fall 2018 applications 13
Fall 2018 decisions
1 admit, 1 deny
Spring 2019 applications
2, 1 deferred from fall
UNH alumni initiating contact to help 3

11. Shared budget with WholeRen $ 33,140 VPEM travel in China $ 1,900
Costs
Shared budget with WholeRen $ 33,140
50% is UNH-responsibility $ 16,570
VPEM travel in China $ 1,900
$ 18,470
International recruiting budget FY19
$ 150,000

12. Thoughts on moving forward
Timing of announcement helped general publicity, but was not as helpful in generating short-term applications
Opportunity to build on the program moving forward
Competitor universities jumped in before VPEM left Beijing
Program was endorsed by EducationUSA/US Embassy representatives in China
Relationship with WholeRen was key to generating publicity and interest
Opening up recruiting possibilities with other agents would be beneficial

13. Thoughts on moving forward
Support and involvement of faculty in international enrollment initiatives would be welcomed and ideal
Competitive environment will remain challenging, but there is still upside potential for UNH

14. Appendix - timeline

15. Development of the Gaokao Initiative
December 2017 – meet WholeRen at agent conference
Sign agent agreement
January 2018 – WholeRen proposes first program idea, which becomes Guided Academic Opportunities
Start vetting proposal idea through Provost’s Office and Legal Counsel
February first WholeRen visit to campus
March 2018 – start discussing Gaokao recruiting, students to enter spring semester after taking SAT after Gaokao
April 2018 – first proposal comes forward, start discussing with EC

16. Development of the Gaokao Initiative
April 2018 – with budget pressures increasing, President Huddleston expresses support of the initiative at EC and President’s Cabinet
April 2018 – VPFA transfers funding to EM for this and other international activity for the remainder of the FY
April 2018 – EM staff contacts other universities regarding use of Gaokao
April 2018 – press conference and VPEM trip to China dates chosen
May 2018 – WholeRen returns to UNH to discuss fine points of proposal
May 2018 – begin discussions with ESL faculty about alternatives for measuring English proficiency
May 2018 – meet with ASAC, discuss possibility of waiving SAT – recommend meet with Provost’s Office and Faculty Senate
June 2018 – discuss with Senior Vice Provost and meet with Faculty Senate
June 2018 – press release issued
June 2018 – VPEM arrives in Beijing