Russian Enrollments

[Roby, Lee]

Enrollment issues are surely a huge concern for most small institutions.  I write from Friends School in Baltimore (an Independent K-12 school with a Russian 6-12 program).  The one thing that I have done that has been very helpful in gaining and maintaining enrollment (that I think would also be applicable to the college scene) is to highly advertise Russian as one of the 7 foreign languages to be deemed by the US State Department as a "critical need" language.  In doing so, I have emphasized both how this indicates a true need for professional level proficiency in Russian (yes, Russian can be seen as "practical" much like Spanish or Chinese) and to emphasize all of the funding now available for study abroad opportunities as a result of this "critical need" status (cool, free opportunities for the committed and strong student exist).  This approach has had the dual benefit of stirring up interest, but also of encouraging excellence and a longterm commitment (past the idea o!
 f just "fulfilling the language requirement).
 
I began this "propaganda campaign," but then encouraged students to apply for this funding (at the high-school level it is in the form of NSLI-Y scholarships; at the college-level it is the "Critical Language Scholarship").  Now every fall 5-10 students are applying for these scholarships and 3-5 students return each fall after having spent the summer on such a program. They come back with a lots of enthusiasm, make their own presentations in front of the student body, and now are the carriers of the "propaganda campaign."  There is an infusion of interest into Russian (and greater support from the administration as there is the sense that this unique opportunity could be accessible to our Russian students), and there is less attrition at the higher levels.  While I think this approach is easier at the pre-college level as a initial recruitment tool as such "propaganda campaigns" can reach a larger audience more quickly, it might be as successful a vehicle for colleges' to h!
 elp to sustain enrollment beyond the intermediate level (or the end of the language requirement).
 
Lee Roby  

________________________________

From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list on behalf of Julie de Sherbinin
Sent: Thu 9/29/2011 2:55 PM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: [SEELANGS] Russian Enrollments



Dear Seelangers,

Thanks for the Lewis & Clark information.

I¹m impressed by the high enrollments in Russian at so many
institutions.  I¹d like to speak up on behalf of liberal arts colleges
in rural locations (many of us!) who aren¹t doing so well.  We
have 1.8 FTE in Russian. College enrollment is 1800.

This year¹s enrollment is typical of the kinds of ups and downs
we experience:
1st year        7
2nd year    11
3rd year        3 (one in Russia)
4th year        5
We have five senior Russian majors and three minors,
but that won¹t be the case for the classes of OE13 and OE15.

What does the picture look like at other small colleges?
The factors that seem to be at play here:
* Very few heritage speakers.
* Pre-arrival registration means OEadvertising¹ doesn¹t work
* A campus culture of conformity
* Student worries that Russian will penalize their GPA

How do y¹all do it?

Julie de Sherbinin
Colby College
Waterville, Maine










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