Sungti Hsu and Dr. Lynn K. Wilder, Counseling Psychology and Special Education

The key to a successful recruitment for this project is to identify individuals who are qualified, and the best way of distributing information about the Culturally Responsive Special Education and ESL Combined Program. According to the personnel preparation grant written by Drs. Prater, Marchant, and Wilder in the department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, qualifying individuals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and be either ethnically diverse, bilingual (Spanish preferred), or have a disability. The grant was awarded by the U. S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in 2004 for the length of four years. Grant monies will be used to provide tuition support for candidates who are accepted into the program. In addition to the qualifications indicated by the grant, individuals who are interested in applying to the program should also be willing to follow LDS standards and BYU honor codes.

The grant offers two-year tuition support for both undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students who are qualified as described above. The recruitment team targeted juniors and seniors in BYU-Provo, Idaho, and Hawaii campuses, and other universities and colleges in the state of Utah, college-age members of the LDS church who may not reside in Utah, and members of the communities around BYU who are ethnically diverse. Contact information of institute directors and bishops who preside over ethnically diverse wards was acquired through The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints headquarter located in Salt Lake City. The team also obtained a list of ethnic organizations in Utah through the Utah State Office of Ethnic Affairs in an effort to reach out to the individuals who may not be members of the LDS church, but might qualify for the grant. BYU partnership school districts were also informed about the program.

Once the targeted audience was located, strategies were developed to encourage qualified individuals to apply. Brochures, flyers, and lists of frequently asked questions were printed to distribute. The grant webpage and e-mail account were built and linked to the BYU School of Education website so that individuals who are interested in the program can access information online. Letters to college advisors, multicultural and disability centers, institute directors, local ethnic group leaders, and bishops were drafted and sent. The recruitment team also scheduled campus visits and information workshops with universities and colleges in Utah. Local media (e.g. newspapers, radio shows, and TV news stations) were among the list of contacts to feature current students’ personal stories. Newspaper advertisements were designed and featured in The Daily Herald, Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret Morning News, and LDS Church News.

The initial contact to other universities and colleges was more difficult than one would imagine for several reasons. First, it is looked at as a conflict of interests. Although no other university or college offers a combined Special Education and ESL program, many of them offer degrees in special education. Second, we lacked public relations support from the College of Education in facilitating contacts that were already established through the PR department that the grant could have used. Third, we had to comply with an unwritten rule about contacting student from BYU sister schools, BYU-Idaho and BYU-Hawaii. Although it would have been easy to recruit at these institutions because of the communication capabilities between our universities, we did not. Fourth, BYU is not known for recruiting students, especially students that are ethnically diverse, bilingual or having a disability. Because BYU enjoys the benefits of a never ending flow of highly qualified applicants, it has not needed to make special efforts to recruit students into any program. Fifth, campus visits were less effective than theorized because the study area of Special Education and ESL is very specific. After talking with advisors in career, multicultural, and disability centers across Utah, campus visits were scheduled to talk to students who might be interested in the Special Education/ESL program. These campus visits provided us the opportunity to meet with students face to face and answer their questions. Campus visits were productive to a certain extent, but because Special Education is a field that is misunderstood by many, we are targeting only a limited amount of students that are truly interested.

Letters to institute directors, bishops, and ethnic organization leaders had limited effect. There were few inquiries made because of the letters, however, only after surveying the applicants can we know which source was the most effective. On the other hand, newspaper articles and ads are by far the most effective way to inform individuals the information about this program. Most of the inquiries were made resulting from commercial ads and articles in newspapers. Recruitment meetings were held in school districts to encourage paraprofessionals or anyone that is interested to take advantage of this program. Faculty members in the Special Education Department were very helpful in spreading the word when meeting with administrators.

Through much effort from the recruitment team, in the year of 2005, approximately 150 inquiries were made, 25 individuals were interviewed and accepted into the program. The number of individuals who are ethnically diverse in the program grew from three in 2004 to 14 in 2005, the number of individuals who are bilingual grew from seven in 2004 to 24 in 2005, and the number of individuals who have a disability grew from three in 2004 to four in 2005. The team is still working on recruiting individuals who are interested in dual certification in Special Education and ESL for the year of 2006. The deadline for applications for undergraduate students is January 16th. February 15th is the application deadline for post-baccalaureate students. It is very exciting to see the fruits of our labors for the 2006 cohort and the change of demographic it will bring to the program. We predict continual growth of the diversity in the program and expect it will produce highly qualified individuals to serve underprivileged students who need educators who have a background in both special education and ESL.