Andrews University joins with other Adventist colleges to collaborate and reach out to Adventist high school students outside of the Adventist educational system.

Although Andrea Moskalova grew up as a Seventh-day Adventist, she attended public schools through her second year of college.

"I didn't really like attending those schools," says Andrea, "but I didn't really know what I was missing until I came to Andrews University."

Making the choice to attend an Adventist college, she discovered, was one that truly made all the difference in her life and in God's plans for her.

"Being at Andrews has brought me closer to God, and it's really helped me understand where He was leading me," says Andrea. "Once I started here, I realized how lonely my life was at high school and community college. I had only a few friends because I didn't participate in the party life, and I feel like my God-given talents and gifts were very underdeveloped because I didn't have an outlet at public school. I love the Christian environment at Andrews, where I've discovered understanding and supportive teachers, friends who have the same beliefs and goals, and a place to get truly active and involved in ministry."

One of the ministries Andrea is involved in is The Basement, a weekly ministry started by Andrews University for students in public schools. Andrea is currently the associate leader for this ministry, which helps create community for these young men and women, and gives them a safe place to understand and explore God's plans for their future.

This summer, Andrea will build on that ministry and outreach as she begins work as an enrollment coordinator on the Enrollment Management team at Andrews University.

Her new assignment at Andrews University reflects her personal journey. She'll begin working directly with other Adventist young people in public schools who face the sorts of choices she once did. Andrea will encourage them to make a choice for Andrews University—or perhaps another Adventist college within the North American system of schools and colleges.

Her responsibilities in this new job also reflect a new point of collaboration for Andrews University as it joins with 13 other accredited Adventist colleges in North America on a new project. The new initiative is designed to create a broader awareness of Adventist college programs and majors among Seventh-day Adventist students who, like Andrea, have not attended Adventist high schools.

"The Seventh-day Adventist church has always looked to our colleges to supply a steady stream of leaders, pastors, educators, health professionals, as well as well-rounded and ethical professionals in a variety of fields," says Niels-Erik Andreasen, Andrews University president. "But we need to make sure all Adventist young people—many of whom no longer attend an Adventist high school—are aware of what we offer as a system of Adventist colleges."

To better reach out to these students, the colleges spoke with focus groups on both sides of the country and also interviewed a number of students by phone. In those conversations, they discovered there was a general lack of awareness of the Adventist college options among students and parents, especially for those who aren't currently enrolled in Adventist high schools.

"We found that when our Adventist students attend an Adventist academy, they know a lot more about their Adventist college options because of our annual College Fair tour and frequent visits to those schools. But often those who are in public high schools have not visited our colleges and have historically had little formal contact with any of our Adventist colleges," says Randy Graves, director of recruiting services at Andrews University. "We want to help these students understand all of the options that are available at our Adventist colleges."

To achieve this goal, the colleges have jointly sent more than 40,000 letters and brochures to talk directly with these Adventist young people who are attending public high schools, home schools, or other private high schools. The letters invite young people to visit a website (adventistcolleges.org), where they could receive an eBrochure outlining Adventist college options. In addition to these letters, the colleges also sent e-mails to students and, in some cases, made personal phone calls. Nearly 2,000 students responded to these contacts and asked for more information.

This same effort is being repeated this year with updated materials going out to new names of sophomores, juniors, and seniors provided by church pastors and clerks throughout the country.

"Our Adventist colleges and universities have options for most of our Adventist young people," says Nadine Nelson, director of strategic marketing for enrollment management at Andrews University. "What's exciting is that this new approach will give us some improved and expanded ways to introduce these options to our Adventist students in high schools everywhere."

"Together, we have new opportunities to talk with young people that we haven't reached before who often don't know much, if anything, about us," says Stephen Payne, vice president of enrollment management at Andrews University and a member of the Adventist Enrollment Association joint marketing committee that pioneered this effort.

"We're working together as a team of Adventist colleges to change that," Stephen said.

Discovering the Reasons Behind Student Choice

This new approach to talking more directly with students who are not in Adventist high schools grew out of a number of focus groups and phone surveys with students both within and outside of Adventist high schools and who did or did not choose an Adventist school for their college education.

Other research projects conducted among Adventist young people, including Valuegenesis and Avance (a study of Hispanic Adventist youth), showed that as many as three out of four college-bound Seventh-day Adventist students do not attend Adventist colleges. It also showed the same ratios at the high school level, with up to 75 percent of Adventist young people attending public high schools, home schools, or other private high schools.

While this research showed that there was a lack of awareness of Adventist colleges, the findings also identified some commonly perceived strengths to choosing an Adventist college, including the faith factor—the ability to find friends, student peers, mentors, and teachers who share and reinforce a common faith. Additionally, the research showed that students, whether they attended an Adventist high school or not, felt that Adventist colleges offered students personal attention from and meaningful interactions with professors in ways that couldn't be found at a public college or university. Further, all groups—whether or not they chose to attend an Adventist college to further their education—perceived that Adventist colleges offered an excellent education.

"With our overall North American Adventist college system offering nearly 500 majors, and with nearly 180 different study options at Andrews University alone, I believe most Adventist students can find an academic option at Andrews or another Adventist college with a strong and transforming context of faith and learning, in a way that will consistently and effectively help students achieve their career goals and aspirations," says Heather Knight, Andrews University provost.

The joint project has been funded by the Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities (AACU), a consortium of the North American Division colleges and universities. Direct coordination and leadership for this project has come from the AACU's Adventist Enrollment Association, made up of the enrollment professionals at these colleges, and AACU's Joint Marketing Committee.

It's an ambitious project that reflects the hope of every Adventist college and university involved to help students connect with Adventist higher education and help these students achieve their personal dreams and God's will for their lives.

To find out more about this project and the options offered by Seventh-day Adventist college and universities in North America, visit www.adventistcolleges.org or write to Andrews University at enroll@andrews.edu.

Stephen Payne is "gum guy" and vice president of Enrollment Management at Andrews University.

SIDEBARS

A CENTRALIZED WEBSITE

Part of this collaborative approach between Adventist colleges and universities has been the introduction of a new website which offers a comprehensive list of majors and programs available, both undergraduate and graduate, within all 14 accredited Adventist colleges and universities in the North American Division. The website also provides information about campus visits, the financial aid process, special events and college information sessions, and links to each college's website, including Andrews University.

PARTICIPATING COLLEGES

The following Adventist colleges and universities are working together to consistently and effectively reach out to Adventist high school students outside of the Adventist educational system:

Andrews University, Michigan

Atlantic Union College, Massachusetts

Canadian University College, Alberta, Canada

Columbia Union College, Maryland

Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, Florida

Kettering College of Medical Arts, Ohio

La Sierra University, California

Loma Linda University, California

Oakwood College, Alabama

Pacific Union College, California

Southern Adventist University, Tennessee

Southwestern Adventist University, Texas

Union College, Nebraska

Walla Walla College, Washington