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UH reaches out to Dallas

UH expanded its outreach to prospective students in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with a recruitment center that opened in February 2010. In addition, plans of developing a future recruitment center in Austin are in the works.

Dallas was selected in 2009 after extensive research, including a review of historical application, admission rates and enrollment data said Jeff Fuller, director of student recruitment.

“The growing interest in the University of Houston from the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolis and now the Central Texas has proven that more students want to get connected with UH,” said Fuller. “As of now, we will continue to monitor these two areas for expanded growth opportunity.”

Fuller also said that the center is located in a home office staffed by one admission professional.

In a report released by UH, Dallas County is ranked sixth for in-state residency at the University, with an enrollment increase of 63 students from 2006-2010.

Denton and Collin are the remaining Dallas area counties that made the list. In Austin, Travis County is ranked seventh and Williamson County is ranked 15th.

Harris County, Fort Bend and Brazoria counties rank at the top of the list with a combined increase of 2,633 students in the same time frame.

“The response has been wonderful ever since there has been a University of Houston admissions representative in the Dallas/Fort Worth area,” said Jennifer Offutt, the UH representative at the Dallas recruiting center. “This year applications to UH from the DFW area are up from last year, and I foresee that the final enrollment from this area will increase as well.

“It is a very exciting time to be recruiting students to UH, and more and more Dallas and Fort Worth high school students are showing interest in all of the opportunities that UH can offer to them throughout their college experience.”

Offutt returns to Houston for special events and meetings to keep in contact with some of the Dallas area students. Since the recruitment center opened, Offutt has focused on developing relationships with the high school counselors in the area and helping prospective students obtain as much information as possible.

“It takes a little bit of time to develop a relationship with all of the schools in Dallas and Fort Worth,” said Offutt. “But the admissions office is working extremely hard to make sure that the students’ needs are met.”

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