Program Components:

Outreach/recruitment/marketing

Evaluation data

Outreach Division

12345 El Monte Road

Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

650-949-7713

Spanish speaking students by using Spanish language materials to create a better

understanding of career options at the college

Development of Recruitment Materials

This practice is designed for Spanish-speaking underserved high school students and

their parents. The college developed Spanish marketing materials to use with potential

students and their parents. The materials were identified by determining which English

publications were most difficult to keep in stock. An ad hoc campus committee formed

to make certain the materials were translated appropriately. The translated materials were

designed to be succinct, and eye-catching. Materials were designed in-house and printed

off campus. The translated materials include:

• A striking 8 1/2 x 11 poster saying "Why Pay More? (Porque Pagar Mas?)" compares

the annual tuition costs of a local private university, technical trade school, University of

California campus, and a California State University campus to costs at Foothill College.

• Brochures detailing careers in Biological and Health Sciences, the targeted areas of the

activity. The brochure contains information on the length of training, application

requirements and any necessary prerequisites, salary range, and the name and contact

information of the program director and affiliated counselor.

• Business cards were also printed in Spanish and a Spanish information phone line was

established.

Outreach activities

The college targeted their feeder high school with the highest percentage of Spanish

speaking students. Numerous activities were designed to reach out to these students and

their parents using the translated materials. They included:

• Presentation at the high school's college night. Sessions in Spanish were conducted for

students and parents, and information was available at tables.

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• Presentations at high school club meetings, to the Spanish Speaking Parents' Club, and

a notice was placed in the school newspaper.

•The project also contributed to a Foothill campus-wide event entitled " Raza Day. "

Students were bussed to the Foothill campus for a morning event that included a campus

tour, a career fair, and a panel presentation featuring Latina graduates of Foothill College

who are working in fields for which they trained.. The panelists included graduates in

career fields nontraditional to their gender. Career Program graduate panelists were

given questions to answer for their audience. Latino Heritage activities included lunch

and Mariachis.

Primary staff for the project were two staff members of Foothill's Outreach and Retention

office under the direction of the Dean of Outreach and Retention. The. Director of Tech

Prep/Co-Op Education, the career center coordinator and two Puente/Bridge counselors

also contributed to the project. (The latter included a second school at Raza Day and

provided a luncheon Latino speaker). The project used VTEA special populations mini

grant funds of $5000. Student transportation and food costs for Raza Day were provided

by Tech Prep.

Success in recruiting students attending Raza Day was tracked by asking students to

complete name and contact cards. Those cards were checked against Foothill enrollment

for the following quarter. Approximately 25% of students attending Raza Day registered

at the college. Another indicator of success was the enthusiastic reception by the high

school. A side benefit was that numerous parents of the targeted students expressed

interest in enrolling at the college.

Creating a strong relationship and getting buy-in from the feeder high school is essential

for replication. The more inter-departmental cooperation and collaboration that can be

generated on campus, the more likely local Latino high school students will be to register

in high-wage, high-demand career programs. Truly, a “door to success."