November 22, 1996 Contact: Jennifer McNulty (408) 459-2495; mcnulty@ua.ucsc.edu

UC SANTA CRUZ DEBUTS NEW "SUCCESS TEAMS" TO HELP COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Beginning this fall, college-bound students seeking information about UC Santa Cruz can use the World Wide Web to create their own personal "Success Team"--a group of UCSC professionals dedicated to providing each student with guidance on everything from deadlines to housing options.

Success Teams build a bridge to personal contact by using the Web to introduce students to the UCSC staff members who will help usher them through the admissions process--even the admissions counselor who will read their application, if they decide to apply. The program asks each student for basic information about his or her background and interests, then creates a personalized "team," posting photos of staffers and providing team members' phone numbers and e-mail addresses to make contact as friendly and easy as possible.

Success Teams are one of the new services introduced this year as part of the campus's "High-Tech for High Touch" campaign. The idea is simple: Use World Wide Web-based technology to build on UCSC's reputation as a campus that is friendly and supportive of prospective and enrolled students. In addition to Success Teams, UCSC has assumed a leading role in the "Pathways" project, the University of California's electronic admissions option that is available to prospective UC students at 58 participating high schools statewide.

Although the idea of using technology to provide personalized service may at first seem an oxymoron, the tools are convincing. The Success Team concept was such a hit when it was introduced to high school and community college counselors this past summer that what had been planned as a pilot program was immediately put into full gear.

"These new tools enable us to expand our outreach dramatically and reach more students than ever before," says J. Michael Thompson, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management and director of admissions at UCSC. "This won't supplant our ongoing efforts--we'll still visit 350 schools this year--but this enables us to make contact anywhere that there's Web access. Enrolled students are encouraged to use the services, too."

"With this effort, we are building on UCSC's reputation as a campus of innovation," says Thompson.

Editor's Note: J. Michael Thompson may be reached at (408) 459-5453 or via e-mail at thompson@cats.ucsc.edu. To create your own Success Team, use the following URL: http://www.ucsc.edu/admissions/success/

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