Recruiting
Recruiting
Recruiting for your KIIS study abroad program and courses requires time and energy. We encourage you to work collaboratively with your KIIS Program Director and the other KIIS Faculty on your program to develop multi-faceted recruitment plans that fit your students and home campus environments.
We also encourage you to connect with the KIIS Campus Representative on your home campus to discuss recruitment ideas.
Identifying & Encouraging Interested Students
- Follow up is key. Students may need multiple reminders (7+) about your KIIS program study abroad opportunity to spark interest.
- Keep a list of interested students with their contact details. Until students have applied to the KIIS program, you should not give up on encouraging them to complete their application.
- Invite interested students to talk to you about your KIIS program via email, phone or in person.
- Explain how the program connects to their academic goals.
- Discuss scholarships and financial aid opportunities for study abroad. Gilman International Scholarships provide Pell-eligible students the chance to study abroad and Gilman-McCain Scholarships provide awards for dependents of active duty service members to study abroad. Gilman awards may be applied to all KIIS programs. Review the scholarships page for further details.
- Inform them about the KIIS and home campus application processes (typically students complete a separate home campus application).
Places to Recruit
Communicating with your current and past students about your KIIS program is an excellent way to recruit.
- Incorporate your program/country into your class discussions/content.
- Invite students to join you abroad or join any KIIS program at regular intervals during the semester.
- Email your students about your KIIS program.
- Post updates about your program on learning platforms, like Blackboard.
- Keep a list of interested students and follow up with them individually.
- Invite students to meet with you outside of class to learn more or to help them apply to your KIIS program.
Your Department and College is a great place to promote your KIIS program. KIIS programs typically offer courses from 2-4 academic disciplines. The goal is for your KIIS program faculty to work collaboratively to recruit for all courses on your KIIS program so we encourage you to reach out to other campus departments and colleges.
- Listserv: Ask your department and college to send out emails / announcements to the majors and minors listserv and general education course student listserv about studying abroad with you.
- Events: If hosting a recruiting event, ask for help to publicize among majors and minors.
- Newsletters: Ask if your KIIS program could be featured in a newsletter or other means of communicating with students.
- Flyers: Post KIIS flyers throughout your building (e.g. office doors, classrooms, bulletin boards, etc.).
- Displays: Post details of your KIIS program on any electronic display boards.
- Meetings: Speak about teaching abroad on your KIIS program during departmental or college-wide meetings.
- Presentations: Ask colleagues if you could make brief presentations or announcements in their classes about your KIIS program.
- If you have contacts at other universities (inside or outside the KIIS Consortium), seek their help in spreading the word about your KIIS program courses.
Recruit students by visiting various organizations on campus (e.g. Athletic, Departmental, Honors, Campus Ministries, Fraternities & Sororities, etc.). You might make a formal presentation to the groups. Make sure to bring a sign in sheet and follow up with interested students.
You are encouraged to hold an event each semester to reach out to larger groups of students. Discuss with your KIIS Campus Rep and other KIIS faculty on your campus about holding a joint event and/or individual KIIS program events.
If funds are needed for the event, visit our Promotional Reimbursement page.
Plan to attend your university fair(s) and any other study abroad fairs in your region. Most colleges and universities host a study abroad fair during the Fall semester. Some hold fairs in January or early February.
- Invite KIIS Alum to attend the fair with you.
- Provide a sign in sheet so you can create a list of interested students.
- KIIS will provide marketing materials for the fair. If you would like more copies, visit our Promotional Materials page to download and print.
- Bring other promotional materials (e.g. Powerpoint, photos, souvenirs from country, etc.)
Faculty Resources
You should maintain contact with your KIIS Program Director from the time of your acceptance to the end of your KIIS program. KIIS program Directors are the experts for their respective programs and have years of experience in student recruitment and working with the KIIS office. They are responsible for overseeing both the academic and logistical components of the program, screening student and faculty applicants, preside over pre-departure and on-site orientations, handling crisis management.
You may request program photos, PowerPoint or student quotes from your KIIS Program Director to assist you with program recruitment.
You should maintain contact with your KIIS Campus Representative (often the campus Education/Study Abroad Office) throughout your 15-month recruiting period. They regularly advise students about study abroad opportunities and work with faculty to guide on all aspects of teaching abroad.
- Application: Many campuses have their own study abroad application. Students will need to complete both applications: home campus (if required) and KIIS application.
- Course Equivalences: Campus Reps may contact campus departments to seek course equivalences for KIIS courses which are then posted on your campus study abroad website.
- Ambassadors: Ask if there are any Study Abroad Ambassadors or KIIS student alumni to speak in your classrooms.
- Best Practices: Seek their advice about best practices for promoting your program to students on your campus.
- Events: Contact Campus Reps about any KIIS program recruiting events you wish to host so that they can advise about advertising, event expenses, etc.
- Website: If your Study Abroad office has a website, make sure information about KIIS and your program are represented and have the correct information.
Social Media
Social media is great way to connect with students and promote your program. You can use multiple social media platforms to share interesting articles, beautiful photos and more about your KIIS program. To gain followers and interest, you should be consistent to post weekly and with your own personal style.
We also encourage you and students to follow KIIS on all social media (#kiisabroad).
Social Media Platforms
Facebook
A Facebook Page is a great social media platform to share articles, photos and videos about a particular KIIS program. You also have the ability to create events on your page. Your page will be open to the public and you can use it from year-to-year for program promotion.
In the past, some Program Directors created Facebook groups for their specific program years. This is a great way to keep your accepted students updated on events or meeting locations during the program but be sure to keep the group private for safety reasons.
To learn to create a Facebook page, visit www.facebook.com/pages/create.
Twitter
Twitter is a conversation platform that only allows 280 character tweets (posts). You can quickly communicate upcoming events, share photos, videos, and share articles.
For more information on how to use Twitter, visit help.twitter.com/en/twitter-guide.
Instagram
Instagram is a photo-based social media platform. This is great way to showcase your programs beautiful scenery and videos. Don’t be afraid to use 2-3 hashtags (e.g. #KIISAbroad #KIISGreece).
For more information on how to optimize Instagram for your program, visit help.instagram.com.
- Not every faculty should create an individual page/account for your program. KIIS suggests that the Program Director creates the page and have the faculty help maintain that page.
- Be sure to tag KIIS Study Abroad or use the #KIISAbroad hashtag so KIIS can share your posts on our social media platforms.
- Ask if your college, department or study abroad office can share about your KIIS program/country on their social media accounts.
- Encourage your program students to use your program hashtag, post on your social media page, or tag your program page to increase student engagement.
- Visit our Share Your Story page to submit photos, quotes or blogs from your own KIIS experiences. Also encourage students to submit blogs for the KIIS website. You also have the ability to share these blogs on your own or program’s social media.
- If you tag, mention, or post on KIIS, or KIIS affiliate, social media pages, we have the right to use photos for marketing purposes.
Promotional Materials
Postcards
Available on the KIIS Promotional Materials webpage for everyone to print as needed.
Posters
Visit the Promotional Materials page to download and print posters as needed.
Digital Ads
Seek assistance in creating digital ads to display on your home campus. Ads may be about your KIIS program, all KIIS programs with faculty teaching on your campus, an event you are planning to host on campus, etc.
Email Signature
Email signatures to link to your KIIS program page are available on the Promotional Materials webpage.
Event Posters
Create posters for special promotional events about your KIIS program.
Photos & Videos
The KIIS office as well as your KIIS Program Director has photos from KIIS program sites. Email your Program Director to request photos and/or videos.
PowerPoints
Your KIIS Program Director likely has a PowerPoint they can share with you for you to adapt to your home institution.
Many campuses allow you to post printed posters, postcards or digital ads throughout campus. For instance,
- Student Housing Floors and Lobbies
- Bulletin Boards
- Classrooms
- Department/College Buildings
- Student Newspaper
- TV Monitors
- Departmental or College Newsletter, Website, Student-All Emails
“As the only classical studies professional on my home campus, one of the greatest benefits of teaching abroad for me is the ability to connect with scholars in my field as we travel through Greece (or Italy or Turkey). In conversations over meals or exploring archaeological sites and museums, I have the opportunity to discuss current scholarship in classics, share ideas on teaching and learning, and revel in discipline-related humor–all of which help to inspire and reinvigorate me for teaching at my home campus during the next semester.”
– Kathleen M. Quinn, Northern Kentucky University Classics Professor, KIIS Greece & Italy Winter Faculty