A 1% Solution: Establishing and Reaching Enrollment Goals in Geoscience Departments

Dallas D. Rhodes

Department of Geology and Geography

Georgia Southern University

Statesboro, Georgia 30460

Because of the small number of recent graduates, the Department of Geology and Geography at Georgia Southern University was placed on the list of programs to be monitored by the University System of Georgiaπs Board of Regents in August 1998. With only 23 majors at the time, the need to grow the program was obvious to everyone. Facing the reality that the survival of the Department was at stake, the faculty made enhancing enrollments its highest priority. After consulting a variety of published information and talking to faculty from the incredibly successful Department of Geology and Geography at Northwest Missouri State University, the faculty adopted a goal of having the combined number of geology and geography majors in the department equal 1% of the universityπs undergraduate enrollment, which then stood at 12,400.

The most important move toward the goal occurred when the Department began actively recruiting majors from all introductory geology and geography courses. Recruiting took a variety of forms that ranged from suggesting that students doing well in a course consider majoring in the field to formal presentations on geology and geography as careers. Since the Spring 2001 semester, recruiting talks have been given in every introductory level geography and geology class by a member of the faculty other than the courseπs instructor. The presentations emphasize how geology and geography promote the development of important marketable skills (e.g., critical thinking, problem solving, writing, public speaking, cultural awareness) and technical expertise (especially GIS) that are essential in obtaining employment and in career advancement. The presentations occur during the week preceding the Thanksgiving holidays, so students will have the opportunity to discuss this important choice with their parents. This schedule also gives students time to make their decision before registration for the spring semester. Soon after the recruitment efforts started the number of majors in the program began to increase and that upturn has continued through the present. In December 2004, the number of majors topped 100 (almost evenly split between geography and geology) for the first time in the history of the Department. By the end of the Spring 2005 semester, the department had reached its original goal of 124 majors.

Other activities during the period contributed to the Departmentπs success. Adding a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography attracted students interested in cultural geography. Far ranging field trips (e.g., Hawaii, Ecuador) have added greatly to our majorsπ breadth of experience. Social events, including an annual awards dinner and gatherings for alumni, have helped the students to feel a part of the Department. Undergraduate research experiences increased in quality and students began to present their work at professional meetings at all levels. All of these activities have helped to give majors a stronger attachment to the Department and have made them better recruiters of other motivated students.

The survey given to graduating seniors asks about the importance of a number of activities in the studentπs decision to major in either geology or geography. No single event stands out as crucial. So although there is a clear temporal connection between the recruiting talks and increased enrollments, students do not consider it decisive in their choice. While recruitment efforts focused on career opportunities may not be the magic bullet to cure low enrollments, they certainly move students in our direction when the time comes to select a major.