With more students interested in attending CSUN, the university purchased a computer program called Enrollment Management Technology Connect earlier this year to help recruiting efforts.

EMT Connect is an online inquiry manager, contact database and e-mail communication system developed by the Hobsons Company to aid CSUN recruiters in disseminating information about to prospective students.

“It is a web-based database where students can go online and have a personalized web page for them with the information they asked for,” said Marieanne Quiroz, information resources coordinator for Student Outreach and Recruiting.

The online database allows students to create their own personalized “VIP” page to inform them of any important news or upcoming events at the university.

The EMT Connect program has been at CSUN for two semesters, and has helped out in the recruiting efforts, according to Gigi McGuire, assistant director of Student Outreach and Recruitment.

EMT Connect saves time for recruiting staff by performing functions like data entry and mass e-mailing, and at the same time benefits the university by reducing expenses on things, such as paper, staff, mailings and travel.

“We don’t have to send out as much paper as we used to,” McGuire said. “We now send out information based on what the student is interested in.”

With EMT Connect, prospective students will not receive a packet from the university containing information not related to their major. Instead, they receive information directly related to their major, according to McGuire

Depending on the criteria inserted into the database by each student, CSUN will send them only the information that is requested.

“Students are able to go online and enter their criteria,” said Matt Booher, product manager for Hobsons. “The system would then spit back information.”

There are currently 10 recruiters working for CSUN. As a part of their task, the recruiters go to approximately 30 community colleges and 150 high schools in the area and give presentations to prospective students about what CSUN has to offer.

According to Quiroz, recruiting is a good way to spread the word about the new website, running on EMT Connect, to help students find the information they are looking for.

Recruiters will give students cards containing information about the database website. Students who enter the website are required to input their basic information into the online database, such as name, address, e-mail and what major they are interested in. That way, the university already has the student’s information and knows the student’s interests, McGuire said.

“Through EMT (Connect), we can e-mail, run reports or send mail to the prospective student,” Quiroz said.

EMT Connect benefits the students, as well as CSUN, by giving them the information they ask for, according to McGuire. The program saves time and helps the university build a better relationship with each prospective student individually, Quiroz said.

EMT Connect is one of several products sold by Hobsons, a company that works in career and educational recruiting.

Oscar Areliz can be reached at oa2577@csun.edu.