Beyond advertising

Recruitment goes beyond the message. In the words of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs (1987):

Recruitment is the responsibility of every member of the community college. Everyone with whom a student comes in contact will have an impact on him/her, and this contact can sustain or destroy a prospective student's motivation for joining the program. All staff ... are responsible for making ABE or GED students feel comfortable and a part of the educational setting. (p. 9-10)

While this quote was from a report on Native ABE, its message is applicable to the general ABE population. Some sensitivity training or orientation should be given to all front-line workers. Continuing communication between instructors and students is also necessary.

In an ABE self-study, Camosun College found that students wanted more orientation to the college and its programs in order to understand the system. Many of them did not know that extra help was available after class, nor did they know about EIC entry policies, college calendars, program brochures, career advising tapes and so on. Even more astounding was the finding "that 33 percent of students did not know that they had been tested!" (Adult Basic Education Program Review, 1988, p. 69).

This lack of awareness is quite common among the target population, and is a stark reminder to all practitioners not to take knowledge of information for granted. Vital information probably needs to be repeated frequently.