A Few Good Students
The ERE department has for the last five years averaged about 175 students. Our goal is to increase that number over the next several years. The reason for this increase is two-fold. First, the CSU chancellor has mandated that the HSU student body increase in size or risk funding cuts. Second, the more students we have in the program the more elective classes we can offer. This increases the flexibility for our students to take electives that suit their interests.
Increasing the number of students in ERE in the relatively stable population of the northern coast of California is a challenge. Our faculty recruits statewide. We give regular talks at local high schools and have traveled from San Diego to Medford in search of prospective students.
But our message will never be as powerful as when it comes from our best salesperson: you. Word of mouth is frequently cited by our students as the main reason they came to HSU. A five minute talk with a prospective student extolling the virtues of HSU and the rewards of an ERE degree will do more to convince a perspective student to come to HSU than our website, talks, and careers fairs combined.
What you can do
There is a wide range of things you can do to help us recruit quality students.
- If you know a high school student or a community college student who is interested in math or sciences, have a short talk with them one-on-one. Let them know about your experience both at HSU and what your career has to offer. Most high school students haven't thought in detail about a future career. A few minutes of conversation can pique lifelong pursuit. If they show interest make sure you send them to the ERE website or better yet send us their contact information!
- If you would like to do more, we are seeking representatives in various regions that would be willing to talk to perspective students about the ERE department. This activity can range from us sending you email addresses of potential local high school students to actively giving talks at high schools in your area. Anytime we contact students one-on-one we are more likely to get them to come to HSU. Group presentations are a great ways to get the departments name out. Many high schools science teachers are willing to have engineers come in and talk about how they apply scientific principles in their job. After talking to the students about how a drinking water treatment plant works (for instance) you can tell them about your experience at HSU. We have prepared a PowerPoint (5 MB) that can assist you in identifying all the strengths of the ERE department. For more information or ideas, contact the department chair.
- If you are excited about the opportunity to help the department, we are seeking recruitment coordinators. These coordinators would organize the activities of other Alumni volunteers on a regional basis. New student recruitment is an active duty of the ERE External Advisory Committee . Coordinators will work closely with, or maybe members of the External Advisory Committee. Please contact the department chairif you interested as serving as a ERE department recruitment coordinator.
We gratefully thank you for whatever level of assistance you can provide us in our search for quality students.