Recruiting to halt the decline in undergraduate agronomy enrollments

Abstract

A questionnaire was sent to agronomy and related departments at land-grand institutions to determine trends in undergraduate enrollments and to identify effective recruitment techniques. Results from the questionnaire (71% response) showed that university enrollments have increased by 9% since 1978, while 21 and 51% enrollment declines for the same period were seen in the colleges of agriculture and agronomy departments, respectively. Most of the questionnaire respondents are either using or considering recruitment programs to attract students into agronomy. Recruitment techniques considered to be effective include strengthening the introductory crops and soils courses, offering scholarships to incoming students, and recruiting at special functions such as career days. Techniques rated as relatively ineffective include presenting recruitment talks to high school students, hosting state judging contests, and sending promotional materials such as brochures to students.