Plan IV and V dietetics program recruitment strategies and their perceived success

A recruitment effort is essential to the vitality of the dietetics profession. To gather information about recruitment strategies and to identify recruitment techniques perceived to be successful, we surveyed 258 program directors of approved Plan IV and V programs listed in the 1989 Directory of Dietetic Programs. One hundred thirty-nine questionnaires were completed, a response rate of 55%. On-campus students were recruited primarily from general education or basic nutrition classes or by means of written information placed in campus offices. High school, community college, and junior high school students were usually contacted through career information days, although high school students were contacted more frequently than were community college or junior high school students. Almost half of the respondents made a special effort to recruit underrepresented groups. A variety of strategies had a significant positive relationship with perceived recruitment success. Some involved personal contact-for example, meeting with high school science and home economics teachers, attending career information days at community colleges, and having a full-time faculty member assigned to meet with prospective majors. Other strategies involved the development of printed materials and displays. Department or school names that were directly related to nutrition, dietetics, health, science, or professional management were perceived as having a positive effect on promoting the dietetics program. Recruitment strategies perceived to be successful may be a useful starting point for recruitment efforts. The findings indicate recruiting strategies can be categorized into two groups--those that involve personal contact and those that involve the use and development of the print and graphic media.