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PublicationDate: 5/1/97 SectionTitle: Marketing Community Service to Students PLACEMENT VERSUS STUDENT SELECTION OF JOBS There are two basic methods for placing students in FWS jobs: - Direct placement: A program administrator refers a student to a specific job, after screening the student to establish his or her qualifications and interests. - Open market: Institutions make all employment opportunity information available to students seeking work, and the students select their own jobs. It is the students' responsibility to make arrangements for interviews with prospective employers. Some institutions have a combination of both methods available for students (for example, entering first-year students are placed in jobs, but continuing upperclass students make their own selections). A large majority of institutions currently use the open market approach. These institutions will need to consider how they can best market community service jobs so that FWS students will seek those jobs, thus allowing the institution to meet the mandated expenditures as well as its own goals. REVIEW CURRENT MARKETING ACTIVITIES When creating or expanding the community service program, the institution should review the current system used to provide employment opportunity information to students. The institution should: - Look at the process and the information from the students' perspective - Examine how best to highlight the availability of community service jobs - Develop supplemental information covering transportation, safety, and responsibility issues for students who will be working off- campus - Integrate their outreach efforts with FWS outreach activities if there is an existing community service or service learning office Institutions may inform students about community service and particularly tutoring opportunities in a number of ways. They include placing announcements: - in the school newspaper - on the school radio station - on bulletin boards in residence halls and student activity centers - in students' financial aid application packets - on electronic mail distribution - in targeted letters - with student affairs staff, student government, and activity organizations - with residence hall staff for use in formal and informal settings MAILINGS TO STUDENTS If information is already mailed to FWS students prior to their arrival on campus, the materials should be reviewed with an eye to incorporating an increased focus on the importance of community service jobs. Statements should be included from students who have worked in community service jobs and have positive things to say to incoming students about their experiences. If the institution will be adding a significant number of new positions for reading tutors, it may wish to consider a targeted mailing with details about the new opportunities that will be available. NEW STUDENT ORIENTATIONS It is important for the community service and FWS Program to become a part of the institution's orientation program for new students. The first step is coordination with the orientation program to determine how to establish a place and time to meet with new students about FWS employment opportunities. The orientation program is a good opportunity for emphasizing the benefits to students of working in community service jobs. JOB FAIRS Many institutions already conduct job fairs or similar events that allow students to shop around for their FWS job in one location. Such events should be publicized early to the contact individuals at off-campus FWS sites, and they should be encouraged to come to campus for the job fair. Institutions that have not held job fairs in the past and that may receive little interest from on-campus employers, may want to consider holding an event tailored specifically to the off-campus program. LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO NEW FWS STUDENTS In addition to the general mailings already in place, the institution may want to send a letter from the school's president to new students, detailing the school's commitment to community service jobs and the importance of the reading tutors initiative. A letter from the president will elevate the importance of community service in the minds of students and their parents. COORDINATION WITH RELEVANT ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY SERVICE JOBS Academic departments can contribute significantly to the promotion of community service jobs, and specifically the need for reading tutors. There should be a plan in place to notify key faculty who could make brief announcements in class regarding the availability of community service jobs for FWS students. If community service jobs are still available after the academic year begins, the faculty could make announcements based on the number and types of community service jobs to be filled. A brief announcement to a captive audience can be very effective. In addition, many campuses have active service learning programs as part of their academic curriculum. These service learning programs can provide additional avenues for student involvement in community service as part of an enhanced academic experience. |