Only two weeks remain for high school principals throughout the state to nominate their top academic junior students for Washington State University’s prestigious Regents Scholarship, and a host of departments and faculty are hoping for a bumper crop of potential Cougar recruits with exceptional academic records.
Last year, principals submitted 468 nominations, with 188 students ultimately choosing WSU. This year, the university put out an aggressive and orchestrated effort to encourage the state’s high schools to submit the names of their top students. In addition, efforts are under way to increase the number of Regents Scholars and other top students who ultimately enroll at WSU by building additional recruitment strategies focused on their needs and decision points.
WSU officials want principals to nominate their top qualified academic students regardless of where they are thinking about going to college. The university believes that if students and parents become informed and visit the Pullman campus, it has a good chance at enrolling those students. Visiting nominees are given a tour of campus and select facilities allowing them to:
• realize WSU’s commitment to academic excellence
• meet with several of its top-notch faculty members
• see the smaller class size and the quality of student life
• understand its research expertise, facilities and educational opportunities
• weigh the value of the academic package being offered.
“Some of our current Regents Scholars recipients have told us they weren’t even thinking about going to WSU, and now they are here, they love it and say they are happy as a clam,” said Kay Brothers, coordinator of scholarship services, Student Financial Aid.
“The ultimate goal of this program is both to attract students who will flourish and succeed at WSU and to recruit those who academically are the best of the best in Washington,” said President V. Lane Rawlins. “This program aims to recognize and reward outstanding students and to keep them in the state as they pursue their college education and, ultimately, their careers and lives as productive citizens.”
Athletics offers role model
To some degree, recruiting top academic students is similar to recruiting outstanding athletes and building a championship team, noted Mary Gresch, associate vice president of Marketing Communications.
“For years, the top research universities in the country have recruited the most academically qualified to their campuses through generous scholarship packages and personalized recruitment,” said Gresch. “This is a culture shift for WSU, I guess in some ways like shifting to one where winning is expected in athletics. It is important for us to be competitive in recruiting top students. That is the goal of the Regents Scholars Program, to recruit academically talented students to our campus and, as importantly, to send a message to all talented students, their parents, and high schools in Washington that we believe this is the best place for these students to get their education.”
Unusual guarantee
Under this program, principals at 496 eligible Washington high schools are invited annually to nominate two of their top academic students. These students must be juniors who have:
• earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.80 or higher
• demonstrated leadership
• participated in extracurricular and/or volunteer community activities
• taken honors, accelerated and advanced placement classes whenever possible.
Achievements of nominees often mirror those of WSU Honors College candidates or top science and engineering students. In addition, they are often active in their schools and communities, a factor that the faculty design team specified at the program’s inception three years ago to help nominees be good matches for the WSU campus’ residential environment and involved student lifestyle.
The Regents Scholarship is very unusual. Unlike the vast majority of scholarships nationwide that must be won competitively, students nominated for this scholarship are guaranteed at least $3,000 in scholarship support — provided they meet the above criteria and are enrolled on the Pullman campus the fall after their high school graduation. The scholarship is renewable for a second year if grades are maintained consistent with university scholarship standards, making the total value worth $6,000.
All nominees are reviewed by a panel of faculty. From that list 75 are selected for Silver Regents Scholarships worth $8,000 over two years, and 25 are selected for Distinguished Regents Scholarships valued at approximately $45,000 over four years and covering the cost of resident undergraduate tuition, mandatory fees, room and board and a book stipend.
Multiple reminders to high schools
To ensure that the maximum number of top-level students consider and come to WSU, the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarship Services and the Office of Admissions, along with Marketing Communications, Student Affairs and University Extension, have been working collaboratively during the past 12 months to encourage eligible principals to nominate their top students for scholarships.
Leaving little to chance, WSU is reminding high school officials via several formats and media — colorful nomination packets, e-mail messages, a personal letter to principals from President Rawlins, phone calls, student testimonials, print and electronic registration, letters to superintendents from members of the WSU Board of Regents, and letters to high school counselors.
“If I were a parent of a high-ability student,” said Deborah Baker, a program specialist in Student Services, “I’d be on the high school’s doorstep asking if nominations had been made, and if not, why not?”
Academic achievers increase
The Regents Scholarship program, combined with other factors, including advertising, marketing and recruiting, has helped WSU increase its number of high academic ability freshmen.
Baker said that since the Regents Scholarship program began, the number of freshmen with GPAs of 3.6 or higher has increased substantially — up 30.7 percent in the fall of 2002 and up another 15 percent in the fall of 2003.
Doug Baker, vice provost for Academic Affairs, said appreciation for the Regents Scholarship program is strong among faculty. In addition, he said work is being done in a number of areas to refine and improve the program, including an effort to further increase the quality of the applicants.
“Faculty support for this program has been spectacular,” Brothers said. “The level of participation by volunteer faculty is terrific and is where we want it to be in regard to review of nominees. This is very important, since they are the people most vested, they are the ones who will have these students in their classes, and they are the ones who want them to succeed.”
Growing financial support
As marketing of the Regents Scholarship increases, so does its demand on the WSU budget. Helping to successfully handle that demand have been contributions from faculty, staff, alumni and corporations. Leading that effort is Milton Lang, special assistant to the president and development director for diversity and scholarships.
“The Regents Scholarship Program is a top priority at the university, and the president and administration are committed to its success,” said Lang. “The impact it has had on WSU has been incredibly positive, so regardless of the number of students who are nominated, we will find a way to support this program at the highest level.
“The alums I have talked to believe in the program and think it’s a wonderful way to recruit top students in the state. Universities nationwide are trying to recruit these students. It’s a tough competitive market, and the Regents Scholarship program is an important way we can use to help us attract the best and brightest to WSU. This is the direction we need to go to be competitive and continue to achieve our goals to become a top-level undergraduate and research university.”
For additional information on Regents Scholarships, go to http://www.wsu.edu/future-students/scholarships/regents-scholar.
