BSU Graduate College personalizes the application process

The Boise State University Graduate College decided to save some trees and add a personal touch to its literature. The graduate college now offers a brochure custom designed to meet students’ individual inquiries, interests and needs. The Graduate College Website claims that with the personalized brochure, students can "receive immediate, personalized information about the graduate program of [their] choice." The personalized brochure is crafted at the Boise State Graduate Department Website simply by entering your name, area of study interest and if you have a need for housing, loans, etc. Once all of the information is collected and generated, the site sends an e-mail with the PDF brochure attached. The brochure is whittled down to the exact details inputted earlier by you. Cutting down on all the extras can help students who are already inundated with the graduate school application process. "Tests, the application process and getting references are all challenges when applying for grad school," Jennifer Pope, a first year master’s of public administration student, said. "If this service had been available, I’d certainly have used it." "We’ve had somewhere in the hundreds or thousands of responses," Associate Dean of the Graduate College Alfred Dufty said. Dufty has received plenty of positive feedback on the newly introduced personalized e-brochures, which have been available to students since late summer. Dufty said most of Boise State’s graduate programs are available via e-brochure. The e-brochure project was a collective effort, with a team of the printing and graphics, the graduate college and individual academic departments. Printing and graphics provided the sharp, organized look to the brochure, which emulates file folders. The colorful files are labeled on the tab, allowing students to navigate through select college information, financial aid and housing. Each academic department offering master’s programs fills out a template about their department including faculty, entry requirements and assistance. Several different universities nationwide utilize the personalized brochure method, but this is the first time Boise State has created a version of its own. "BSU has the hardware, software and the expertise available to create [the e-brochure]," Dufty said. Able Grimaldo, a senior social work major, plans to apply to the advanced standing master’s degree in social work program in fall 2009. "It [the Website] looks pretty cool and easy to navigate. I know the application process is long, and this makes it seem more organized," Grimaldo said. Grimaldo likes that the site gives students individual options to choose from, which appeals to him while he’s in the thick of the application process. To learn more about the graduate college, call 1-800-824-7017, or visit the offices in room 141 in the Math and Geosciences building.

LINDSEY RHODES-PURDY
Arbiter Journalist

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