Asst. Dean of Admissions Valerie Gregory spoke at the Latino Issues Colloquium yesterday in an effort to help foster better dialogue and improve recruitment efforts between the Office of Admissions and Hispanic and Latino students.
"A lot of people seem to want to focus on African-American recruitment," Gregory said. But "there are other groups" that also need to be targeted in the recruiting process.
Gregory, who is also the director of minority student recruitment at the Office of Admissions, is helping to coordinate "Fall Blast," an open house that will be held tomorrow for prospective Hispanic and Latino students.
About 50 people already have accepted invitations to attend the event -- a positive sign, Gregory said.
The University also is trying to educate prospective students about its admissions policies, which evaluate candidates holistically, she said.
Although race and ethnicity are factors in the admissions process, the University does not use a numerical scoring system in assessing applicants.
Some high school seniors are not presented with enough information about the University's admissions requirements, preventing many talented Hispanic and Latino students from being admitted because they have not completed admissions prerequisites, she said.
"Obviously the potential is there," she added. "They just don't have the information."
The Office of Admissions also is trying to create a network of current Hispanic and Latino students and alumni who will offer different perspectives on life at the University, Gregory said.
Asst. Dean of Students Pablo J. Davis, Colloquium founder and facilitator, said a "network of collaboration" exists between the Office of Admissions, Casa Bolivar, the Latino Student Admissions Committee, the Bolivar Network of Hispanic and Latino alumni, the Office of the Dean of Students and Latino-related student organizations.
Earlier this semester, the University approved the addition of two new admissions counselors to help with minority recruiting.
Carolyn Holloway, one of the new admissions counselors who was present at the Colloquium, will focus on recruiting Hispanic and Latino students.
The Colloquium is a weekly meeting in which students discuss issues pertinent to the Hispanic and Latino community and is hosted by the Office of the Dean of Students.
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