The student recruitment tool used at Kirkwood, known as TGIF (To Get Information Fast), has become a phenomenon. TGIF has consistently drawn in approximately 90 students and 60 parents at each of the 26 dates so far this year. Those students come from 236 high schools in Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Virginia and Wisconsin.
TGIF is a way for potential students and parents to attend a college visit in a group setting. The events cover not only the academic aspect of Kirkwood, but housing and student life information as well. The visits start in mid-October and go right up until May 2. There are also six Saturdays that students can come to campus.
Not only has TGIF been successful in bringing students on campus for visits, it’s been influential in helping students decide that Kirkwood is where they want to continue their education.
“We do several visitations to fit into students’ and parents’ busy schedules,” Dean of Admissions and Student Life Doug Bannon said. Bannon added that TGIF has “absolutely” been a success, bringing in students from 99 counties and 32 states in this years’ freshman class.
This year’s attendance at TGIF has been down a little compared to past years due to the inclement weather that has plagued the Midwest in recent months.
Admissions has worked to keep students coming to campus to visit in lieu of just checking the college out online. “More high school students are doing stuff on the Web versus an actual visit,” Bannon said. “But when students come, a lot of them feel that Kirkwood is a warm, welcoming campus.”