Publicity and recruitment are vital to the success of any program abroad. Faculty/staff members work cooperatively with the Office of International Education to develop and implement a publicity and recruitment plan. Please note that recruitment should not begin until a program has been fully approved by academic departments and the Office of International Education.
Please note: Whether a program is limited to Buffalo State students or whether it is open to students from other SUNY and/or private schools is the decision of the person proposing the program. If you plan to recruit students from other institutions, you must ensure that there will be a portion of participants from Buffalo State, as the primary reason for Buffalo State to offer overseas academic programs is to benefit Buffalo State students.
Publicity and recruitment plans generally include the following:
Program Brochure
A brochure is designed to provide potential applicants with detailed information concerning the program’s location, content, number of credits, field trips, costs, dates and how to obtain further information.
Recruitment Via the Web
After approval of the program OIE will request collaboration for creating an online brochure through the study abroad database. This includes submitting a written description of program highlights, a detailed itinerary, pictures and videos.
Faculty Contacts
One of the best ways to recruit participants is to have faculty members announce/promote programs in their classes. Immediately after the program proposal is approved, the program director should review the Buffalo State master schedule for the upcoming semester and make note of faculty teaching courses whose content relates to the overseas program. Faculty members at other institutions should be included as well if the program is open to non-Buffalo State students. The program director should contact each faculty member to request assistance in promoting the overseas program. Brochures and applications should be sent as soon as they are available.
Classroom Visits
An even better recruitment method is for the program director to make brief (5-10 minutes) presentations in the courses identified above. Your enthusiasm about the program and knowledge of the particulars will gain the students’ interest and potentially lead to increased applications. The classroom visits should be conducted after the online brochure has gone live, so students have access to complete program information. Classroom visits should be conducted in both the fall and spring semesters for summer programs, and in the preceding spring and fall semester for January intersession programs.
Information Sessions
At least one program information session should be held prior to the application deadline for each program. The sessions usually last an hour and can be tied into a regularly schedule OIE info-session. Information sessions offer interested students the opportunity to learn more about the program in an informal setting. Very often the program director will show a Power Point of the program location or a brief video on the academic subject matter to be studied. A representative of the Office of International Education is in attendance to provide information about financial aid and answer administrative and procedural questions about the application process and program participation.
General Campus Publicity
The OIE will post your flyers on the Buffalo State campus to promote your programs abroad. We will display them at information tables in various campus locations throughout the academic year. OIE will promote short-term programs through general study abroad information sessions, one-on-one advising, and through SUNY-wide study abroad fairs, if appropriate. The faculty program director is expected to attend a study away fair once during the semester preceding the application deadline to promote the program.
Processing of Information Requests
International Education handles all inquiries relating to overseas programs. The program brochure, website, and all promotional materials will list our office as the source for further information for any program abroad. Most questions concerning programs abroad are answered by international education staff; occasionally a question may be referred to the program director for response.
Costs
Program leaders should not share cost information with students until approved to do so by the Office of International Education. International Education will create the budget for all programs based on the figures provided by the program leader.
