October 20-22, 2016
Committee Chair John Banks ’90 opened the session with a welcome and a preview of the meeting. He then asked councilors and Dartmouth staff to introduce themselves.
Lee Coffin, vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid, has been at Dartmouth since July 1. He opened his discussion by discussing the intentionality of admissions: who are we enrolling and what are their paths to Dartmouth? While we are quite strong in terms of our admissions metrics and financial aid policies, he believes there is opportunity for growth and for us to better position ourselves within the Ivy Plus context and in areas of the country where liberal arts colleges are not a known entity. Dartmouth will have a renewed international focus and strategy, as Dartmouth is global and our student body and recruiting strategy should reflect that. New supplemental application questions incorporate Dartmouth alumni and history.
Meg Lysy ’99, Director of the Admissions Ambassador Program, gave an overview of the Alumni Relations/Admissions partnership. Last year, the Admissions Ambassador Program (AAP) had 5,400 volunteers and 275 volunteer leaders, and the program received 14,445 interview reports and helped coordinate 40 admitted student events. This year, the team has been focused on recruiting new volunteers in areas where we did not reach all of the applicants, as well as providing more robust training for volunteers. Counselors suggested that sharing testimonials, providing mock interviews, and offering student panels during Homecoming might help our volunteers feel better prepared and connected to Dartmouth today. DEDs shared that they would benefit from a forum to share ideas and lessons learned.
Current student Adoley Swanker ’19 spoke about her experience applying to Dartmouth and the impact of the alumni interview. Adoley’s interviewer had infectious energy and willingly answered all of her questions in an honest, straightforward way. She said that the alumni interview made a huge difference for her in choosing to attend Dartmouth.