Mississippi universities look to fall semester with virtual recruiting and safe practices – Clarion Ledger

As the weather gets nicer, Mississippians are getting out, but the need for social distancing remains in the time of coronavirus. Mississippi Clarion Ledger

It was welcome news to many ina letter sent lastweekfrom University of Southern MississippiPresident Rodney Bennett to a host of recipients, including current students, faculty,staff, admitted students andofficials who help students winadmission to Southern Miss.

"I am pleased to share that we are planning to resume on-campus operations this fall," Bennett wrote.

But what fall semesterwill actually look like is still up in the air. Gov. Tate Reeves' "Safer at Home" order is in effect until May 11 and it's not known when faculty, staff and studentscan return to campus.

The "Safer at Home" order is designed to open facilities in stages. When the governor might open college campuses where, unlike K-12 schools,students learn and live has not been revealed.

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"All of us as a state will determine how we will open campus safely," said Kate Howard,Southern Miss vice president for enrollment management. "We feel like the entire world will be different, and anything that is necessary we will be taking direction from our local and state government and the IHL Board."

On April 28, Commissioner of Higher Education Alfred Rankins Jr. established the Safe Start Task Force with representatives from each of the IHL Board's eight universities.

The task force will come up witha system-levelplan for starting and completing the Fall 2020 semester in the safestway.

Many of Mississippi's eight universities began closing their campuses at the end of March, shortly after coronavirus cases began appearing in the state. Dorms were closed and classes were taught online.

In August, school is scheduled to resume. Will campuses be open? And how will university officials convince not only returning, butnew,students to come to their schoolwhen coronavirus may still be ongoing?

Even so Mississippi's eight universities have already begun planning for fall semester. What they don't know is if students can be on campus, and if so, whether they'll be required to wear masks, whether large gatherings and athletic events can take place and if classes can resume in person or online.

For now, Southern Miss and the state's seven other universities have to concentrate on enrolling new students for fall semester, without the usual techniques they rely on campus visits, orientation fairs, pep rallies, one-on-one consultations with university admission officials and the like.

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Virtual has become the name of the game. At Jackson State, enrollment officials are using social media such as Instagram and Facebook to promote their school. They're having one-on-one online chats between admissions officials and students andthey're having group chats on Zoom with up to 100 students, among other methods.

"It's been working well," said Cheryl Pollard, associate vice president for enrollment management at JSU. "We have been able to stay in contact with students and students have been able to pose questions through our virtual platforms."

Pollard estimates thousands of potential students have been reached virtually.

Southern Miss officials estimate they have reached more than 1,100 students through onlineevents, Facebook lives and one-on-one online chats with admissions counselors.

At Mississippi State, John Dickerson, assistant vice president for enrollment and registrar, is preparing for next semester virtually.

"(With virtual)campus visit presentations, Facebook Live events, one on one sessions, we have had well over 1,000 students and parents participate," he said. "We will certainly have fall semester no question about that."

Like Southern Miss, whatfall semester will be like is uncertain, Dickerson said.

"We're still looking at a lot of different scenarios," he said. "Things are changing fast with COVID-19, but looking at a fall semester that gets as close to normal as possible but with a safe environment we're still looking at that."

At Ole Miss, Chancellor Glenn Boyce wrote a letter to the university community on the school's website. He said theleadership team has been working onwhat is needed for fall 2020.

"We remain committed to pursuing all possible ways to resume in-person instruction," he said. "We continue to monitor the evolving situation and plan accordingly with preserving the safety, health and well-being of our campus community as our top priority."

University leadership will notify students about plans for Fall 2020no later than June 30, Boyce said.

As for recruiting new students, Noel Wilkin, Ole Miss Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, said some of that effort is online.

"Due to the current circumstances, many of our strategies have changed and account for the fact that we cannot bring families to campus for visits and cannot visit students at recruiting fairs and high schools," he said in a statement.

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The Mississippi University for Women is also recruiting virtually, including plans to put a virtual campus tour on its website.

"We had relied on the recruiters to capture the student," said Iika McCarter, interim director of admissions. "Virtual recruiting allows us to be more creative in ways we had not imagined."

The university has Zoom meetings for Freshman Fridays and Transfer Tuesdays. They also use emails and phone calls.

"Obviously, every college and university is going to be affected by coronavirus in some shape or form," McCarter said. "We just keep pushing for a greater return (on our efforts)."

Mississippi Valley State University PresidentJerryl BriggsSr. also hopes to resume fall semester in a safe environment.

While I am very optimistic and hopeful about our return to in-person, on-campus operations, the Fall 2020 semester will commence following recommended guidelines and best health practices, he said on the university's website.

Briggs said he is setting upa university COVID-19 Recovery Committee, comprised ofadministrators, faculty, staffand students. The university will also seek guidance from IHL's Safe Start Task Force.

The university is recruiting virtually and by phone. Itcancelled a high school recruitment event it had planned for a gym.

Delta State is also preparing for Fall 2020 with virtual recruiting. On its website,prospective students can book an individual information session with the Office of Admissions.

"Within this session, you will be able visit live with an Admissions Recruiter and discuss topics such as academic programs, admission requirements, student life, and housing," it states.

Oddly enough, the change in recruiting is seen as a positive by some schools. While in-person campus visits and orientations can never be replaced, virtual reaching outmakes sensein some instances. For example, a student who lives a long distancefrom campus can now visit with an admissions officials online and still get the personal treatment.

At Jackson State, virtual recruiting may continue long after the coronavirus has passed.

"I think it is certainly a strategy we are going to utilize on a larger scale, but it will not replace face-to-face initiatives," Pollard said. "That is still going to be very important."

While virtual visits may eventually have a place inenrollment, the coronavirus may have an effect this year.

But Pollard said it's not the virus itself that is the factor.

"I think the financial impact brought on by coronavirus is going to be the biggest impact," she said.

At Mississippi State, enrollment numbers are uncertain.

"I think (enrollment)will be impacted," Dickerson said. "How much remains to be seen.

"It just depends on what the fall looks like and parents have to feel confident their students are safe coming to campus."

Conact Ellen Ciurczak ateciurczak@gannett.com. Follow @educellen on Twitter.

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Mississippi universities look to fall semester with virtual recruiting and safe practices - Clarion Ledger