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Graduate admissions officers face challenges recruiting quality graduate students, including decreased staff and increased competition from other institutions. In an attempt to increase recruitment efforts, this study used process mapping and the “communication marathon” to engage graduate faculty in recruitment and outreach. Following implementation, the graduate school experienced an increase in faculty willing to participate in recruitment efforts and a 15 percent increase in new student enrollment.

puckett-h--smHeidi L. Puckett is currently Teaching Assistant Faculty at East Carolina University in the Department of Educational Leadership, as well as the Director of Outreach and Leadership Development. She has served in administrative roles in admissions
and recruitment for more than sixteen years in a variety of settings, including graduate and undergraduate programs and law school admissions. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate of education
in Educational Leadership from Argosy, focusing on higher education administration. Puckett’s research interests include enrollment management, educational leadership, and the education doctorate.

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