prst 5450/6450/7450 computer-based technologies for etraining

SARI Report #246, 11/01

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As a part of efforts to narrowcast recruitment information to prospective students, a proof of concept web portal, Why.UCDavis.edu, was designed for the Division of Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies. The first phase of HArCS’s e-recruitment effort targeted students offered admission to the division in early March 2001. Use of the portal between early March and May 1, the deadline for accepting admission, was limited: only 14% of freshmen admits visited the portal. The yield for HArCS declined from the previous year, as did the yield for the campus as a whole. However, the gap between HArCS’s

yield and the campus yield declined, continuing the trend since 1996. An Admitted Students Questionnaire was sent to HArCS admits in mid-May 2001 to gather data to compare with baseline data collected using the same instrument in 1998. Comparison of HArCS admits’ campus ratings, images, and other measures in 1998 and 2001 showed few statistically significant differences. Comparisons of portal users and non-users in 2001 also revealed small differences. This was unsurprising, given limited use and the multitude of influences on a student’s college choice. However, most differences were in a positive direction and were logically consistent with both the aims of the project and the page-visiting patterns within the portal. Additionally, a logit regression of college-choice influences on the probability of enrolling demonstrated a positive and statistically significant effect of portal use on subsequent enrollment.

Evaluation of an

E-Recruitment Portal

By Gillian Butler

Design & Layout: Brenda Graf Student Research Assistant: Stella Lin

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background/Methodology Results Supplemental Material

A. E-Mail invitation to Why.UCDavis.edu

B. Responses to open-ended questions

C. Graphs of responses to “can’t rate,” “ratings” and “images”

D. Logit Regression Results

Background and Methodology Purpose: In July 2000, funding was granted to Student Affairs for a “proof of concept” electronic recruitment portal. The Division of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (HArCS) was selected as the focus of initial portal development. The two-year project was to proceed in two phases: the first phase would target recruitment efforts on applicants admitted to HArCS for Fall 2001, and the second would target prospective HArCS applicants for Fall 2002. Subsequently, an e-recruitment portal, Why.UCDavis.edu, was developed under the guidance of a committee including participants from Admissions, the HArCS Dean’s Office, Instructional and Educational Technology, and Student Affairs Research & Information. Beginning March 6, 2001, applicants admitted to HArCS were sent an e-mail letter from Dean Langland, congratulating them on their acceptance to UC Davis and inviting them to visit the Why.UCDavis.edu website. Students without e-mail addresses were contacted by regular mail. At the end of the month, admitted students were sent another e-mail from the Undergraduate Advisor in their major, again inviting them to explore the Why.UCDavis.edu website. Evaluation Plan: Given the nature of the project as a “proof of concept,” an evaluation strategy was adopted prior to the implementation of Phase I. The ultimate goal of the portal is to increase yields (Phase I) and applications (Phase II). However, the college choice process is complex, and the ultimate decision to apply or to enroll is the result of many intervening variables. An evaluation plan was adopted that would examine not only changes in yields, but also changes in intervening variables. A survey of Admitted Students undertaken by Student Affairs Research & Information (SARI) in 1998 provides baseline data for HArCS admits from high school. This data includes: percentages of admits who can’t rate various characteristics of UC Davis, ratings of UC Davis on those same characteristics, admits’ images of UC Davis, the percentage of admits using the UC Davis web site as a source of information in their college choice, and a rating of the effect the web site had on their consideration of UC Davis. Consequently, copies of the Admitted Students Questionnaire were administered to two samples of students admitted to HArCS for Fall 2001 from high school: the first sample was of admits who had sent in their Statement of Intent to register as of May 8, 2001 (hereafter referred to as enrolling students) and the second sample was of admits who had not indicated that they intended to register in the Fall as of that same date (hereafter referred to as non-enrolling students). These samples were supplemented with all remaining HArCS admits who were identified by software internal to the portal as having logged into the Why.UCDavis.edu. Sampling As of May 8, 2001, 1919 students were identified as having been admitted from high school into HArCS. Of these, 446 had returned a Statement of Intent to Register, and 1473 had not. Based on return rates for the 1998 Admitted Students Questionnaire, simple random samples of 215 enrolling HArCS admits and 369 non-enrolling HArCS admits were drawn. These random samples were supplemented with all HArCS admits who had logged into the Why.UCDavis.edu e-recruitment portal.

Mailings A first class mailing of the Admitted Students Questionnaire with a personalized cover letter over the signature of the Director of Admissions was sent to enrolling HArCS admits on May 11, 2001 and to non-enrolling HArCS admits on May 14. A reminder postcard was mailed to both samples on May 25. A second first-class mailing of the questionnaire with a personalized cover letter was mailed to all HArCS admits in the sample who had not yet responded on June 7, 2001. A final e-mail follow-up reminder was sent to remaining non-respondents on July 3. As displayed above in Tables 1 and 2, a total of 188 responses were received from enrolling HArCS admits and 178 from non-enrolling HArCS admits. Overall response rates for the two samples are 68% and 37%, respectively. Representativeness of Samples The evaluation of the effectiveness of the e-recruit portal will compare both 1) HArCS admits in 1998 and HArCS admits in 2001 and 2) portal users and non-users within the samples of HArCS 2001 admits. Table 3 compares respondents to the 2001 Survey of Admitted Students to the populations of enrolling and non-enrolling students on the following dimensions: gender, ethnicity, region of origin, high school GPA, and SAT 1 composite scores. Table 4 compares portal users and non-users on these same dimensions. Females are somewhat over-represented among both of these respondent groupings; whites are somewhat over-represented among non-enrolling respondents; and admits from southern California are somewhat under-represented among non-users of the portal. All in all, however, survey respondents accurately reflect the underlying populations of HArCS admits on these demographic and academic dimensions, indicating that the samples were not excessively distorted. Still, these similarities do not guarantee that the views of respondents accurately represent those of the entire population. Inferences from the sample to the population should be made with appropriate caution.

Table 1: Sample of Enrolling HArCS Admits Population 446 Random Sample 215 Returns from Random Sample 144 Response rate: Random Sample 67%

Supplemental sample (all additional portal users) 63 Returns from supplemental sample 44 Overall response rate 68%

Table 2: Sample of Non-Enrolling HArCS Admits Population 1473 Random Sample 369 Returns from Random Sample 136 Response rate: Random Sample 37%

Supplemental sample (all additional portal users) 109 Returns from supplemental sample 42 Overall response rate 37%

Table 3: Representativeness of Random Samples

Enrolling HArCS Admits Non-enrolling HArCS Admits % of

Population n = 446

% of Respondents

n = 144

% of Population n = 1473

% of Respondents

n = 136 Gender % % % % Female 70 72 72 83 Male 30 28 27 17 Ethnicity % % % % American Indian/Alaskan Native 1 1 1 1 Asian 30 30 20 20 Black/African-American 3 1 3 1 Chicano/Mexican-American 11 13 9 9 East Indian/Pakistani 2 2 2 2 Filipino/Filipino-American 3 3 3 2 Latino 3 2 4 4 White/Caucasian 40 42 47 52 Other 2 2 3 2 Decline to state/Missing 6 4 9 9 Region % % % % Central California 11 12 8 7 Local 15 11 9 10 Northern California 3 3 2 2 Southern California 25 26 42 38 SF Bay 43 42 35 38 Out of State 3 6 4 5 Academic Indicators Mean Mean Mean Mean H.S. GPA 3.64 3.68 3.83 3.93 SAT I Combined Score 1148 1147 1230 1236

Table 4: Representativeness of User and Non-User Respondents

USER NON USER % of

Population n = 273

% of Respondents

n = 143

% of Population n = 1646

% of Respondents

n = 223 Gender % % % % Female 74 78 71 78 Male 26 22 28 22 Ethnicity % % % % American Indian/Alaskan Native 0 0 1 1 Asian 32 34 21 23 Black/African-American 4 4 3 1 Chicano/Mexican-American 7 5 10 11 East Indian/Pakistani 2 3 2 1 Filipino/Filipino-American 2 2 3 3 Latino 3 1 4 3 White/Caucasian 40 41 47 48 Other 2 2 2 2 Decline to state/Missing 9 9 9 7 Region % % % % Central California 8 10 9 10 Local 6 4 11 13 Northern California 2 1 2 3 Southern California 34 36 39 31 SF Bay 41 41 36 39 Out of State 8 8 3 4 Academic Indicators Mean Mean Mean Mean H.S. GPA 3.75 3.76 3.79 3.79 SAT I Combined Score 1206 1185 1211 1191

RESULTS Usage of the E-Recruitment Portal Log-ins to the portal were tracked by software which identified users, the number of times they accessed the portal, and which pages of the site they visited. Thus, the information reported below is based on the population, not a sample. Out of a total of 1919 high school students admitted to HArCS as of May 8, 2001, 273 (14%) had logged in to the Why.UCDavis.edu site. Unfortunately, there are no industry comparison figures for higher education by which to evaluate level of usage.

Portal User14%

Portal Non-user

86%

Usage of the E-Recruitment Portal% of HArCS High School Admits as of 5/8/01

(n=1919)

Three-quarters of the students who logged into the site did so only once. Less than 3% logged in four or more times. Clearly, students were not accessing the portal multiple times as expected in the design phase. Students who subsequently decided to enroll at UC Davis were more than twice as likely than those who decided not to enroll to visit the HArCS portal.

Portal User26%

Portal Non-User74%

Enrolling Students' Usage

Portal Non-User89%

Portal User11%

Non-enrolling Students' Usage

Males and females were equally likely to have accessed the portal. Asians and African Americans were more likely than others to log on, while Hispanics and Whites were less likely to. Usage of the site was highest, proportionately, among admitted students from out-of-state (32%) and the Bay Area (16%). Reasons for not logging in The Admitted Students Questionnaire asked students admitted to HArCS majors why they did not log in. Regardless of whether HArCS admits ultimately decided to enroll at UC Davis or not, their reasons for failing to log in to the Why.UCDavis.edu site were primarily because of lack of interest or time, not due to lack of access or technical difficulties with the site. Among non-enrolling students, the most common reason for not accessing the portal was that they had been accepted to another school that they were more interested in attending. Most of the remaining non-enrolling respondents said that

they did not have time to log in. A few students simply forgot about the website or disliked computers. Two students felt that it was unnecessary to log in to the website because they had visited the campus already. Only one student did not log in because s/he had no internet access. Typical comments included:

I received admittance from a college higher on my list than UC Davis. I felt no need to research a college I had no intent of attending. (Non-enrolling admit) I don’t have the time and UC Davis was no longer one of my top choices. (Non-enrolling admit) I didn’t have the time or the interest to log in. (Non-enrolling admit) I’ve just been really busy and then I received a letter of acceptance from UCSC and I knew that I would go there. (Non-enrolling admit)

Among enrolling HArCS admits, the largest number of respondents said that they did not have time to log into Why.UCDavis.edu. Others did not log in because they felt they already had adequate information about the campus from publications, friends, other UC websites, or other sources. A couple had already decided they were going to attend UC Davis, and didn’t feel they needed more information. Four students said they were unaware of the website and three said they forgot to visit it. Six students said they have little or no access to the internet; another two reported technical difficulties logging in. Typical comments included:

Didn’t have time when initially received the e-mail, subsequently found all the necessary information in Davis catalog and information mailed to my home. (Enrolling admit) I was preoccupied with studying for AP tests and completing some large projects. (Enrolling admit) Had viewed general UC Davis website extensively during and prior to admissions process. Will login to site for admitted student when current school schedule permits more time. Mailed communications from Davis have been very helpful. (Enrolling admit)

Usefulness of the site to those who logged in Whether ultimately enrolling or not enrolling at UC Davis, HArCS admits who logged into the Why.UCDavis.edu site found it informative and well-organized They were especially appreciative of the information it presented on specific majors and the glimpses of student life and campus atmosphere it provided. Typical comments included:

I felt that the website was well-organized, and provided useful information about the various programs offered at Davis, and also gave a good overview of the campus. (Non-enrolling admit) It was very informative in all aspects – easy to use and organized, and with so much information that any questions I had were answered. (Non-enrolling admit) I was able to find information on available majors and activities in school. Attractive website overall, it portrayed a well-rounded school. (Non-enrolling admit) The website is full of information and photos. UC Davis’s website is the best designed of ALL UC and non-UC campuses. (Non-enrolling admit) Number one it showed that UCD really cared about getting students acquainted with campus – no other college did this. (Non-enrolling admit) It gave me an idea of the programs offered by the departments. Also the presentation gave me a sense of the positive attitudes and enthusiasms among the faculty and students. (Non-enrolling admit)

Usage of the UC Davis Website In contrast to the limited use of the e-recruitment portal, respondents to the Admitted Students Questionnaire reported a dramatic increase in use of the UC Davis web site between 1998 and 2001. Enrolling HArCS admits’ use of the UCD site increased from 37% to 72%, and non-enrolling HArCS admits’ use increased from 18% to 51%. While use of the site increased, so did respondents’ mean ratings of the site as a positive influence on their view of UC Davis. Enrolling students gave the site a mean rating of 3.62 in 1998; that rating increased to 4.05 in 2001 (p=.01). Other data suggests that admits may not have clearly distinguished between the UC Davis site and the HArCS site. Therefore, it is possible that the higher mean rating for the campus web site was influenced by use of the Why.UCDavis.edu site. For example, both enrolling and non-enrolling admits who logged into to Why.UCDavis.edu rated the UC Davis site higher than those who did not log in: however, the differences in mean ratings were not statistically significant. YIELDS It cannot be conclusively demonstrated that the e-recruitment portal was successful in terms of increasing the proportion of HArCS admits deciding to enroll at UC Davis. Although the yield for HArCS was lower for Fall 2001 than for Fall 2000 (23% vs. 25%), the yield is lower for the campus overall as well (25% vs. 27%). However, the difference between campus yield and the yield for HArCS admits, which has been falling since 1996, became smaller yet between Fall 2000 and Fall 2001.

2527272728 28

23

252424

2223

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

Fall 1996 Fall 1997 Fall 1998 Fall 1999 Fall 2000 Fall 2001

Campus HArCS

Historic Yields of Fall H.S. Admits, 1996 - 2001: Total, Social Science, and HArCSSource: Data Warehouse Historic Cubes

Encouragingly, HArCS admits who logged into the portal were more likely than non-users to enroll at UC Davis (42% vs. 20%). However, a clear causal direction cannot be inferred from these numbers.

Enrolling20%Non-

enrolling80%

YIELD: Portal Non-Users

Non-enrolling

58%

Enrolling42%

YIELD: Portal Users

Capability of Rating Campus Characteristics Comparisons of 1998 and 2001 Admits Larger percentages of both enrolling and non-enrolling HArCS admits felt capable of rating the campus in 2001 than in 1998. However, few of these differences are statistically significant.

Table 1: Percentages of HArCS Admits Who Can’t Rate UC Davis Characteristics: Fall 1998 vs. Fall 2001

Characteristic % who can’t rate: 1998

% who can’t rate 2001

Statistical significance

Enrolling Students Availability of majors that interest you 12% 5% .05 Graduates get jobs in their chosen fields 53% 38% .02 Provides students individual guidance & attention 36% 19%% .01 Non-enrolling Students On-campus cultural & recreational opportunities 50% 38% .04

Comparisons of Portal Users and Non-Users Oddly, admits who logged into the Why.UCDavis.edu portal were more likely than those who did not to indicate that they felt unable to rate UC Davis characteristics. Only one of these differences is statistically significant: non-enrolling portal users were more likely than non-users to gauge themselves unable to rate UC Davis on “graduates get into good graduate & professional schools” (62% of users vs. 41% of non-users). Ratings of Campus Characteristics Comparisons of 1998 and 2001 Admits Ratings of campus characteristics by HArCS admits in 1998 and 2001 varied little, and did not vary in a particular pattern (i.e. mostly higher or mostly lower). This is true of both enrolling and non-enrolling admits. Only two items for the enrolling admits were significant: the quality and availability of on-campus housing, and the attractiveness of the campus. There were no significant differences in ratings by non-enrolling students.

Table 2: Mean Ratings of UC Davis characteristics by HArCS Admits: Fall 1998 vs. Fall 2001

Characteristic Mean Rating: 1998

Mean Rating 2001


Enrolling Students Quality and availability of on-campus housing 3.17 3.36 .03 Attractiveness of the campus 3.23 3.43 .04

Comparisons of Portal Users and Non-Users Use of the Why.UCDavis.edu portal appears to have had little effect upon enrolling HArCS admits’ perceptions of the campus. Only two campus characteristics were rated differently by enrolling users and non-users; and in the case of “off-campus cultural & recreational opportunities”, non-users rated the campus more favorably than users. Enrolling users did, however, rate “campus is safe for all students” more highly than did non-users.

Table 3: Mean Ratings of UC Davis Characteristics by HArCS Admits: Portal Users vs. Non-Users

Characteristic Mean Rating User

Mean Rating Non-User


Enrolling Students Campus is safe for all students 3.70 3.39 .01 Off-campus cultural & recreational opportunities 2.72 3.06 .03 Non-enrolling Students Comfortable, friendly campus community 3.11 2.99 .03 Provides students individual guidance & attention 2.89 2.52 .01 On-campus cultural & recreational opportunities 3.22 2.72 .00 Diverse student body 3.21 2.92 .05

Positive effects on the ratings of UC Davis are more pronounced among HArCS admits who ultimately decided to attend another campus. Ratings of non-enrolling users are higher than those for non-users on nearly all items. As shown in Table 3, the mean ratings on four dimensions related to campus climate were significantly higher among non-enrolling admits who visited the Why.UCDavis.edu site. Image of UC Davis

Comparison of 1998 and 2001 Admits

Whether or not they eventually chose to martriculate at UC Davis, admits’ images of UC Davis did not change substantially between 1998 and 2001. HArCS admits enrolling in Fall 2001 were less likely than those enrolling in 1998 to view the campus as “friendly”, but more likely to see it as “partying”. Admits enrolling elsewhere were less likely to feel the campus is “comfortable” than their counterparts in 1998.

Table 4: Percentage of HArCS Admits Identifying as UC Davis Image: Fall 1998 vs. Fall 2001 Image Percentage 1998 Percentage 2001 Statistical significance Enrolling Students Friendly 86% 76% .02 Partying 5% 12% ..03 Non-enrolling Students Comfortable 65% 51% .01

Comparison of Portal Users and Non-Users

Use of the Why.UCDavis.edu portal had different effects on enrolling and non-enrolling HArCS admits. Among admits who subsequently enrolled, users of the portal were more likely than non-users to view the campus as large and less likely to see it as career-oriented. Among admits who did not enroll, users were more likely to see UC Davis as friendly, comfortable, and not impersonal.

Table 5: Percentage of HArCS Admits Identifying as UC Davis Image: Portal Users vs. Non-Users Image Mean Rating User Percentage Non-User Statistical significance Enrolling Students Friendly 72% 51% .01 Partying 23% 36% .04 Non-enrolling Students Friendly 70% 49% .01 Comfortable 70% 49% .01 Impersonal 20% 8% .01

Multivariate Analysis Efforts to discern the effect of the Why.UCDavis.edu portal on HArCS admits are confounded not only by the limited usage of the site, but also by the complexity of the college choice decision. Research by both SARI and many other researchers verifies that a variety of factors effect the college choice of entering freshmen. Previous research at SARI has found the following factors to be statistically significant predictors of whether a particular admitted student will eventually enroll on our campus: high school GPA, SAT1 combined scores, location of permanent residence, and ethnicity. For instance, it is quite evident that students with exceptionally high academic credentials are more likely than others to gain entrance to the college of their dreams. It is not likely that even the most compelling website would persuade such students to attend UC Davis rather than, say, UC Berkeley or UCLA. Thus, a more realistic evaluation of the impact of the Why.UCDavis.edu site’s impact upon the probability that a particular admitted HArCS student will enroll at UC Davis may be gained by using a multivariate model that takes into account the impact of other factors known to exert an influence over student’s decisions about which college to attend. Given that the dependent variable –enrolling or not enrolling—is dichotomous, a logistic regression model was used to estimate the effect of use/non-use of the Why.UCDavis.edu site on the probability that a given student would enroll at UC Davis in Fall 2001. The results of this procedure indicated that, controlling for the effects of academic indicators, location, region, and ethnicity, usage of the HArCS portal had a positive and statistically significant (p<.001) effect on the probability that a student admitted to HArCS would subsequently enroll at UC Davis. The model estimated that use of the portal increased the odds that an admitted student would enroll by 85%. (Detailed results in Appendix D.)

Appendix A Letters of Invitation to Why.UCDavis.edu

Dear (student first name), Congratulations on your admission to UC Davis! We’re excited about your interest in the campus and an area of study in the Division of Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies. I’m writing to tell you about a Web site we’ve designed just for you: http://why.ucdavis.edu. We hope you will find it enjoyable and helpful as you make this important decision about your future. The site also includes information to contact us directly to answer any specific questions you might have about UC Davis. We look forward to hearing from you. I hope that after your exploration of all that UC Davis has to offer, you’ll join those who are already enjoying a great experience here. Sincerely, Elizabeth Langland, Dean Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies

Appendix A Letters of Invitation to Why.UCDavis.edu

Date Dear (student first name), As the Undergraduate Adviser in the (major) major, I congratulate you on your admission to UC Davis! The quality undergraduate curriculum we offer in the (major) program will provide you a wonderful educational foundation that can lead to graduate studies or a successful career. You will find that personal attention is the standard within the program, much like what you would find in a smaller, private four-year college.

Making a final decision about which institution to attend can be challenging, and I want to extend an invitation to you to contact me via e-mail at [email protected] about any questions you have regarding the (major) major. I will be happy to help you become better acquainted with our faculty and the unique features of the major.

You may also have questions about UC Davis in addition to your major. If you haven’t already done so,

please visit our Web site, http://why.ucdavis.edu, to gain a good overview of what makes UC Davis a great place to be.

Visiting our campus can make a tremendous difference as you make the decision about your education.

If you plan a visit to UC Davis, please let me know if you would like to arrange a meeting. I hope that after exploring all that we have to offer at UC Davis, you will decide to pursue your

undergraduate education at one of the nation’s finest institutions.

Sincerely, Professor (adviser name) Undergraduate Adviser (Department/Program)

APPENDIX B Comments from the E-Recruitment Survey of HArCS Enrolling Admits Question: If you did log in, was the website useful to you? Why or why not?

• Because it was directed right at me, I really liked that about UC Davis. It gave me a lot of helpful

information.

• Better!! Inside view of the school campus.

• Difficult to find required information. Had to call long distance to establish an overnight dorm for me

to stay while visiting.

• Everything is well organized and easy to link to. UCD has an excellent website.

• From what I saw, it has an interesting insight into the campus activities, and a sign of concern for

undergraduates.

• Got to learn more about it. Saw pictures, etc.

• Helpful and informative.

• It answered many of my questions and it gave me more of an idea of what the campus is like. I could

look into aspects of the school that closely related to me, such as athletics, majors and campus life.

• I did not log into the above site in question 2. I did, however, log into the Science Dept as well as

other helpful sites. The site provided information about my intended major and a phone number list to

contact professors. I am very obliged for this resourceful information being open to the public.

• I didn’t spend very much time at this site.

• I don’t really remember.

• I feel that the staff will be very supportive and helpful once I get to campus.

• I understand more about specified majors, and I knew more about the school itself.

• I like that it explained some of the majors more in depth.

• I logged in but I don’t remember, which means that it’s probably not very useful.

• I received a wealth of useful information. The site also gave me a sense of what college I would be

attending.

• I thought it was useful because it gave me some idea of events that are currently appealing and that

are prospective events.

Question: If you did log in, was the website useful to you? Why or why not?

• I visited the International Relations and Spanish Department’s website on ucdavis.edu to find out how

their classes compared to those offered at UC Santa Barbara.

• I was able to find information on my major, contact people when I had questions, and see what was

happening on campus.

• I was able to find more information about my major as well as other majors. I also found a lot of

information regarding dorms and living situations, as well as campus life. The website was very

informative in several areas.

• I was checking all the activities that Davis is offering.

• I’m undeclared-Humanities, but I also want to explore my other options in fields such as business.

Unfortunately, the site only had minimal info on humanities.

• Interesting information on faculty and fine arts department.

• It answered all the questions I had concerning the major.

• It did give me more information about UC Davis academic-wise.

• It gave me a better look at the Davis Campus and what it has to offer. Programs that I was unaware

of were introduced to me. And questions that I had were answered.

• It gave me a chance to see what is offered during each semester and what is required when going

into the field.

• It gave me a first hand look at the school that I have not gotten through my other information source

(at that point my information source were limited to friends).

• It gave me a good overview of the many various programs that Davis offers, and it helped me to see

how organized and professional Davis is.

• It gave me all the info that I needed. It was beneficial because I needed to make a presentation on

Davis and the website was useful.

• It gave me an idea of the programs offered by the departments. The presentation also gave me a

sense of the positive attitudes and enthusiasms among the faculties and students.

• It gave me information about financial aid, majors, and etc.

• It gave useful information about the majors and courses to take to fulfill these majors. I found it to be

useful in that it had links to specific inquisitions of mine.

• It gives you an introduction to focus you indicated at Davis. I didn’t go in depth on the website, but I

found it useful.

• It had many information on the different majors.

• It helped me see that Davis does have a good solid program for Arts & Humanities.


• It helped me understand what my options are.

• It provided many useful information.

• It provided me with a lot of information and had answers to my questions.

• It provided me with viable information about the wide variety of majors offered.

• It reassured me that UCD is a great school for my major because it advertised it very largely.

• It was nice to know that the school tries to contact you personally.

• It was pretty informative. It was mostly entertaining though, and very positive about the school. It

was nice to have some names of the major people in my possible department.

• It was useful because I was able to see what majors were under Humanities. But it also didn’t help

because I couldn’t find anything about being able to switch majors anywhere.

• It was very informative and useful to me. I became aware of things I was not aware before.

• It was very informative in all aspects-easy to use and organized, and with so much information that

any questions I had were answered.

• It went more into detail regarding the entire admissions process aside from showing various things

and the University has to offer.

• It’s because the website was well organized and I was able to see overall view of the whole program.

This website was somewhat attractive to me.

• Most websites and view books just rehash the same information about the same things.

• Provides additional information excellent for parent use.

• The information helped me decide to go to Davis instead of Santa Barbara.

• The web site was somewhat useful. I could find out my admission status and other stuff that I must

turn in.

• The website got me really excited about going to Davis, and answered a lot of my questions.

• The website is full of information and photos, UC Davis’s website is the best designed of ALL UC and

non-UC campuses.

• The website is very helpful in finding information about Davis and the faculty members at Davis.

• The website was useful since it gave me an overview of how things work at UC Davis. Moreover, the

website provided information on most of the concerns that I had. For example, the GE requirements

and the placement examinations.

• Told me about specific majors with excerpts from students and professors.

• Very helpful in showing me all the way variety they have in majors and other activities.

• Well laid out, answered all of my questions.


• Well, truthfully I had already decided to go to Davis by the time it came, but it did encourage me

more. First because I felt that the school really wanted me. Second, because I saw other aspects

that I hadn’t thought of before.

• Yes, because it gave me more information about clubs and organizations around campus and in the

community.

Question: If you did not log into UC Davis’s http://why.ucdavis.edu, why didn’t you?

• Basically, I was too lazy. Anyway, I had practically already made my college decision.

• Because all the college website with useful information are words and boring. If the invitation said

more than that, like ‘interview of current student?’ or ‘Peek inside the class’ I would have went. I

already know that Davis is a good school, and has everything and stuff, maybe or ‘friendly

environment’ or ‘good interactive professors,’ but what I want to know is more than that. An average

freshman schedule, or what kind of food would there be. I don’t know. Maybe Davis’ website does

have all these, but I didn’t go, because from what you guys told me, it was another boring college

website.

• Because at the time I was unavailable to access the net.

• Because I didn’t know about it.

• Because I haven’t had time yet, and I already know that I’m going to Davis, so I don’t need

propaganda.

• Because I simply did not have time, to effectively log in and look at the site.

• Can’t remember.

• Didn’t have time when initially received the e-mail, subsequently found all the necessary information

in Davis catalog and information mailed to my house.

• Forgot and never got to it.

• Had to viewed general UC Davis website extensively during and prior to admissions process. Will

login to site for admitted students when current school schedule permits more time. Mailed

communications from Davis have been very helpful.

• I did login to this website, but not specifically the one for Humanities, Arts & Cultural Studies. The

website had little to do with me deciding to go to Davis. But I suppose if anything it was a positive

influence.

• I did not know about the website.


• I did log in to this website because I do not have Internet at home. Also, when I have questions about

the school I tend to ask the people I know who have already graduated from UC Davis.

• I didn’t know about or I didn’t really pay attention to it. However, I will login soon.

• I didn’t receive a letter of invitation to visit the site.

• I didn’t think it was necessary and plus I am not very comfortable on the computer.

• I don’t have Internet access.

• I don’t remember. Sorry!

• I didn’t visit the website for that purpose. I was checking out more of the surrounding area of Davis

when I was web surfing. I may however go back now to see the Humanities, Arts, and Cultural

Studies.

• I do not have accessibility to the Internet in order to login to UC Davis’ website. I have mostly been

researching UC Davis through pamphlets and view books at my high school’s career center.

• I don’t get online much so getting on the website seemed useless, especially since I was receiving a

lot of information already by mail.

• I don’t really use computers much and logging on to some website didn’t sound like it would help

much.

• I have not had much time and do not go on the computer often. I was not aware of the site having

specific areas for majors. I received a couple of e-mails about being accepted, but I don’t remember

reading about a site. I plan to look into it shortly.

• I have very, very, very, limited access to the Internet.

• I haven’t been able to connect onto the Internet for a while. However, when I get my Internet

connection back, I will definitely log into UC Davis website.

• I haven’t felt the need to visit the ‘why UC Davis’ website. I have visited the summer orientation,

catalog, housing, computer ownership, and English Department and ResNet websites. These were

all very helpful and informative. But I will be sure to visit the ‘Why UC Davis’ site if I need to.

• I haven’t had a chance yet.

• I just never did. No reason.

• I logged in but didn’t get the chance to browse around any of the majors.

• I logged on for a couple of minutes, but not long enough to see it or read through it. Since then I

haven’t had time to go on it.

• I logged on the website to get more information about the school. Anyhow, I intend to log on during

the summer and to take a closer look at the Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies website.


• I was involved in a student outreach program. The school flew me down and paid for my lodging. All

the questions I had were answered by my orientation chaperone (Jacquelyn Ross). If she didn’t know

the answer, she found out for me. (She was absolutely wonderful.)

• I was preoccupied with studying for AP tests and completing some large projects.

• I was unable to log onto the website. I tried several times but could not connect.

• It never really helped me find out about my major. It felt more like a promotional website than an

information one.

• It was too small, one page only that had no relevant information on my major.

• Just have not had the time.

• My computer has trouble handling large complex websites.

• Never got around to it!

• Never had enough time to log into the site.

• Not enough time, and not sure that I want to study that quite yet.

• Overload with information already.

• The day I received the e-mail, I was too lazy to check the website. After that day I had forgotten

about the website.

APPENDIX B Comments from the E-Recruitment Survey of HArCS Non-Enrolling Admits Question: If you did log in, was the website useful to you? Why or why not?

• Because, it gave me a chance to view the college and its surroundings before I visit.

• Gave me more reasons to consider UC Davis.

• I believe I had already made my decision at the time I received the letter.

• It contained very good information on campus life, and department courses offered.

• I could find out what art majors Davis offers. More detailed descriptions of each major would have

made it more helpful.

• I felt that the website was well organized, and provided useful information about the various

programs offered at Davis, and it also gave a good overview of the campus.

• I found the things I needed.

• I got a lot of helpful information from the website regarding campus activities and welcome

sessions. It also helped to introduce me to the friendly and active atmosphere at UC Davis.

• I grew up in Berkeley. This is my home. My mother went to UC as did my brother. I was proud to

be accepted to Berkeley and I just couldn’t turn down the offer. I rode up the elevator to top of

SATHER TOWER when I was on a field trip in kindergarten, and I always felt connected. I just

didn’t know if I’d get accepted. Your services were all good.

• I had already decided to go to Berkeley.

• I visited it, but the page was not working.

• I was able to answer all of the questions I had thanks to the website.

• I was able to find information on available majors and activities in school. It is an attractive

website overall, it portrayed a well-rounded school.

• I was able to find out about my intended major.

• I was just browsing. I wasn’t looking for anything that could help me.

• It was useful, well organized website.

• It was helpful in determining whether you had the exact major I wanted.

• Most of the information I already knew.

• Wealthy of good information.


• Number one, it showed me that UCD really care about getting students acquainted with the

campus, no other college did this. It also let me know what the college is like.

• Since I am undeclared I wanted to look at the available majors.

• The information of the site was not very specific; it was information I already gathered.

• There was a lot of information on things I wanted to know about.

• Very easy to use and navigate.

• Well organized, user friendly, good source of information, e-mails very personal and responsive,

best college site.


• Because I was accepted to my first choice, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and knew without questions

that I wanted to go there.

• Didn’t feel it was necessary because I had visited the campus years ago.

• Didn’t have time.

• Forgot to.

• I did not log in because I could not go to UC Davis due to the distance from home, when I

received the invitations I just ignored them.

• I didn’t expect to attend UC Davis.

• I didn’t feel like it, and I wasn’t seriously considering Davis.

• I didn’t have a lot of time to login, partly because I do not have Internet available at home.

• I didn’t have the time or interest to login.

• I didn’t have the time because I was more interested in UC San Diego, my number one choice.

When I got my acceptance letter from UCSD, I ignored everything from the other colleges I

applied to.

• I didn’t need to.

• I don’t have the time and UC Davis was no longer one of my top choices.

• I don’t particularly like the Internet.

• I don’t remember hearing about it. However, I’ve never found college websites to be all that

useful.

• I had already received early admission to Tufts, so I couldn’t even consider UCD.

• I think it is better to communicate by writing.


• I received admittance from a college higher on my list than UC Davis. I felt no need to research a

college I had no intent of attending.

• I wanted to wait and research school after I had a better idea of my options where I was accepted.

• I was not very interested in UCD. I thought I might go to UCD then transfer to UCLA to be in

school of Cinema-television. However, I was accepted to UC Santa Cruz so if I were going to be

in the UC System it would not have been at UCD. Instead I chose to attend USC.

• I was very busy with my course work at school and did not find any time to go online.

• I wasn’t planning on attending Davis. All colleges load up their websites with positive features

about themselves. I already got accepted to Santa Cruz.

• I wasn’t very interested in attending Davis.

• I’m not fond of computer resources.

• It did not appeal to me could be a reason why I don’t remember.

• I’ve just been really busy and then I received a letter of acceptance from UCSC and I knew that I

would go there.

• My decision to attend UCD was consistent upon whether or not I was accepted into my first choice

college. I ultimately chose to attend NYU because of my acceptance into their specialty program:

BA-DOS. UCD was not a low choice of mine, simple it did not offer a 7-year BA-DOS program.

• My first college choice is simply, that, my first choice. I thought that by logging in I would be

obliged to UC Davis, so I didn’t.

• UC Davis was not really my first choice, second, third or fourth choice. I’m not that interested

because it doesn’t have my major (business) and the location isn’t that great.

• UC Santa Barbara has the kind of major I was looking for. I know right off that if I get into UCSB I

would go there.

http://www.sariweb.ucdavis.edu/downloads/246.E-Recruit%20Evaluation.htm

APPENDIX D Logistic Regression Results: Odds of Enrolling

B S.E. Significance EXP (B)* Intercept 15.339 1.034 .000 Use of Portal

User .615 .077 0.000 1.849

Non-User -.615 .077 0.000 .541

HS GPA -3.341 .255 0.000 .035

Marketing Region Low Yield Region -.657 .098 0.000 0.518 Medium Yield Region .288 .089 0.001 1.334 High Yield Region .369 .115 0.0001 1.446

SAT1 -.003 .001 0.000 .997

Parent’s Income Low Yield Income -.356 .089 0.000 .700 High Yield Income .556 .097 0.000 1.743 Income Unknown -.199 .107 0.062 .819

Ethnicity

Low Yield Ethnicity .444 .185 .016 1.560 High Yield Ethnicity .500 .148 0.001 1.648 Unknown Ethnicity -.944 .260 0.000 .389

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