General Description
Recruiting students to the field of aging remains a challenge, partly because of persistent biases and assumptions that many people have toward older adults and geriatric work. While the HPPAE model works to dispel these misperceptions, university-community partnerships should be prepared to make active student recruitment an essential part of the program. Student recruitment is most successful when these principles are in place:
Benefits of Student Recruitment
Proactive recruitment will go a long way in attracting the best and the brightest to the field, creating an ever-widening network of HPPAE students and graduates who can act as ambassadors for the program and strengthen the geriatric workforce.
Implementation Guidelines
When Recruitment Should Begin
Student recruitment should be addressed as early in the process as possible, ideally before fall semester placements are made.
"While in the HPPAE program I was able to learn in three different agency settings, for-profit, nonprofit, and working with older adults. This model also forced me to step outside of my comfort zone, to learn in new and different ways. It challenged me to speak up, take initiative, and learn fast.
As I learn more each day about what it means to be a leader, I look back and am thankful for the dynamic experience I had in the HPPAE program. I know that the HPPAE program is the foundation on which I am building as I move onward and upward in my geriatric social work career."
Lisa Tatge, HPPAE Graduate, University of Iowa School of Social Work
Who to Involve in Recruitment Efforts
Successful recruitment is a group effort that can involve:
Setting a Target Number for Recruitment
The number of students in an HPPAE will vary according to the size and interest of the student body, the time commitment of faculty and staff, and the scope of the community partnership. Successful HPPAEs have been implemented with as few as four students per cohort; the mean enrollment for the first two cycles of Hartford-funded HPPAE was seven students.
Profile of a Potential HPPAE Recruit
Recruitment Strategies That Work
We have found the following to be the most persuasive "selling points" for encouraging students to apply to the HPPAE:
Field rotations:
Our research consistently shows that the rotational model especially attracts because it offers opportunities for instruction and immersion in multiple settings. It is also important for participants to hear that, as interns, they will be treated as students, not as employees or substitute staff.
Stipends:
The availability of stipends (or fellowships) is a critical factor in getting students interested in geriatric social work. The amount of stipend may vary from school to schoolstipends at existing HPPAEs have ranged from $1,500 to $7,500. They should be at a level necessary to secure and motivate, rather than establish, program interest. To determine the right amount for your HPPAE, assess:
Peer endorsements:
Word-of-mouth testimonials from former and current HPPAE students are extremely influential. Many schools have second-year HPPAE students actively recruit first-year students at field placement days and special events at school and in the field.
Strong instructional support and the HPPAE brand:
HPPAE students also indicated that the opportunity to participate in a specialized curriculum increased peer and field instructor support. Access to specialized resources influenced their decision to specialize in aging, as did being part of an innovative, nationally recognized model.
Job placement or career opportunities:
Once informed, students understand that specializing in aging can position them well in the current and future workforce, given the countrys changing demographics. The Social Work Leadership Institute is working to facilitate networks of HPPAE graduates and to connect these graduate networks with employers throughout the country. For details, check out www.socialworkleadershipinstitute.org and a MySpace page exclusively for HPPAE students and graduates: www.myspace.com/swli.
"My HPPAE program was a demanding and intense experience, and it was just a great introduction to the field of aging. I am now a psychiatric clinician at the Acadia Hospital in Bangor, Maine, a nonprofit psychiatric and chemical dependency treatment provider. Whenever I serve older patients, I put my HPPAE learning to use."
Mary Kellogg, HPPAE Graduate, University of Maine School of Social Work
Additional Recruitment Strategies
You may also reach out to potential students through:
Reach out to faculty as conduits to the students and as champions of gerontology through: