BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CRESTVIEW HILLS -- Thomas More College announced Wednesday that it is working to significantly increase its number of African-American students by 2001.
Thomas More hopes to double its African-American enrollment of 5 percent by 2001, said Laura Koehl, vice president for enrollment management and planning. Fifteen hundred full- and part-time students are enrolled at Thomas More. Seventy-five of the 1,500 are African-American.
An 11-member African-American Student Enrollment Advisory Committee, consisting of school administrators and faculty, business leaders and one elected official, will help steer the plan.
"We want to be able to reflect the population that surrounds us. . . . We felt it was important to have a diverse student body," Ms. Koehl said.
The efforts are part of the college's five-year plan, developed in 1996. It is the first plan of its type developed by the college to target African-American students, Ms. Koehl said. The plan includes:
Planning more publicity about the school.
Establishing relationships with African-African organizations, and considering specific programs that would promote access to higher education for black students.
Increasing recruitment efforts in the admissions office. A part-time recruiter -- who is a Thomas More alumnus -- was hired this past school year to help enroll more African-American students. The college hopes to keep the position and possibly increase it. "We have just found that we were not well-known, especially in the African-African community. Part of it is just building awareness," Ms. Koehl said.
Ms. Koehl is optimistic the recruitment effort will be successful. "I hope it will attract more qualified students to our campus that represent the diversity of our community."
Members of the advisory committee, which became more active during the 1997-98 academic year, were selected through university contacts and staff members.
Students are involved with the effort, from helping form the action plan to giving input to the advisory committee and participating in focus groups.
