Fall 2010 AIA Newsletter
AIA News
The Bates Alumni in Admissions Newsletter
“During the third week of October, much of campus was treated to the spectacle of a big yellow crane hoisting the roof of Roger Williams Hall off in big old chunks and depositing them on the ground. By Oct. 28, Bill was all but wearing a flattop
-Staff writer, Doug Hubley, updating the Bates community on campus construction.
Well, as usual, things are busy at Bates! Maine is experiencing another gorgeous fall, and The Quad put on quite the show this year, helping a new batch of prospective students fall head-over-heels for Bates. The lovely weather has also been conducive to construction. You can tell after reading the above, my freshman dorm no longer has a roof! To learn more about the exciting additions and updates to campus facilities, see: http://home.bates.edu/views/2010/11/01/ccu-10nov1/
Updates
I never tire of hearing alumni tell me that what keeps them especially connected to Bates is their work in Alumni in Admissions. Thank you, thank you! It is sometimes hard to keep up with all of the changes on campus. Below, I will highlight a few that are particularly relevant to your work in AIA. If you have any questions at any point about what is happening at Bates, please be in touch!
Alumni Interviews
One quick coaching point: Please do not interview students in your home. Pick a convenient public location such as a coffee shop, library, bookstore, etc. This is a Bates AIA policy that is in keeping with Best Practices for Alumni in Admissions programs across the country. Thank you for understanding.
“We encourage students to interview”
There are a few important changes to note in regard to Alumni Interviews. All interviews –whether completed with a dean in Lindholm House or with an AIA volunteer in a Chicago Starbucks– are still weighted equally in our admission process. We have changed our language when talking about interviews. No longer do we “strongly encourage an admissions interview and hold students at a disadvantage for choosing not to interview.” Now, we simply “encourage” students to interview with Bates. This does not change how we will conduct interviews, and we will still look at the interview as a sign that the student is particularly interested in Bates. This slight change is in better accordance with NACAC guidelines.
Expanding the Interview Season
We have played around with the deadlines for several years now, and have finally decided that Bates should offer students more opportunities to complete their admission interviews. We want to encourage applications from students who have found Bates late in the college search, among other reasons. So, we have extended our interview season past the regular decision application deadline.The interview request deadline for regular decision applicants is now February 15, 2011. This means that you will be hearing from us with interview requests in January and February. As always, do not feel pressured to conduct interviews during the holidays. Also, if you are maxed out on interviews for the season, don’t hesitate to let us know. For more on the changes in interview deadlines, see: http://www.bates.edu/off-campus-options.xml
New Online Interview Report
I mentioned this previously, but here it is again. We have a new, password protected, online interview report which we will use next year. In the next two months, Dawna and I will be asking a small group of AIA to test it out, with the plan of releasing it to the entire AIA network this spring. After seeing it myself, I think I can safely say that you will love it! It is much more user-friendly than the current version. Perhaps most exciting, after logging into the form with a user name and password, you will be able to see all of your interviews for the season, if the student applied, and in April, you will be able to see the admission decision for each of your interviewees.
David G. Russell ’66 Award for Outstanding Commitment to Bates Alumni in Admissions
Many of you might already have seen that our David G. Russell Award recipient this year is James Houston ’95. In the five years that I have worked with AIA volunteers, I have spoken with few alumni that are as passionate about recruiting high school students. James approaches his AIA work as a true counselor. Extensively networking with guidance offices, families, alumni and my colleagues in Admissions; James never forgets that students are at the heart of this process. Please join me during Leadership Weekend at Bates, May 13-15, 2011, to celebrate James dedication and commitment to AIA and to Bates.
Talk with you soon
We wish you well as you continue the interviewing/fair season. Remember to keep us posted as your contact information or availability changes. Please accept a huge thank-you from those of us in Lindholm for all of the time and effort you put into Alumni in Admissions and all that you give back to Bates.