Tennessee Tech is strategically expanding its student recruitment efforts across Middle Tennessee, by establishing new localized roles designed to build long-term relationships with high school counselors.
Strategic Outreach and Recruitment Specialist Turner Fain holds a newly created position based in Mount Juliet to target high-achieving students in growing markets. Fain said the university focuses on researching specific academic pathways and connecting with out-of-state populations that align with the institution’s engineering and nursing programs.
“This is not a one-size-fits-all, we’re not trying to sell a product to everybody,” Fain said. “We’re looking for a two-way street alignment with students that would be a good fit for Tennessee Tech and we would be a good fit for them accomplishing their goals.”
Fain said the recruitment strategy involves collaborating with Admissions Counselor Jessica Silverman to bolster relationships across Wilson, Williamson, Rutherford, and Davidson counties through customized group visits and virtual speakers. The university also brings the campus directly to working parents through a roadshow called Tech to U, which features Tennessee Tech University President Dr. Phil Oldham.
“You don’t know the spark, you know, you don’t know that maybe when you talk to that 10th grader or 11th grader over in Wilson County about, you know, the pathway and the affordability of college and they didn’t think it was an option,” Fain said. “Or maybe they have this big dream that they’re aspiring to.”
Fain said an analytics team tracks milestones such as event attendance, scholarship applications, and summer orientation to measure the yield of enrolled students. The university also utilizes programs like Feature Fridays, organized by Ben Clark in the College of Nursing, to give high school students hands-on clinical experience.
“Whatever school you’re considering, just go see the campus,” Fain said. “Go step foot on the campus. Make I mean even if it’s on a Saturday that everything’s closed down, just walk our campus, see if it’s a feel for you.”
Fain said the university continues to grow its programs of study and evaluate new opportunities during board meetings to accommodate the anticipated increase in enrollment.