NATURAL
RESOURCES COLLEGE
USES INTERACTIVE WEB
TO RECRUIT
BLACKSBURG,
Nov. 5, 2003 -- Leading
off the college-wide
seminars for the College
of Natural Resources
at Virginia Tech,
Richard Oderwald,
associate professor
of forestry and head
of enrollment services
and academic programs
for undergraduates,
projected that the
Web would be the wave
of the future for
recruiting students
and leveraging undergraduate
programs.
Oderwald
talked to faculty
and graduate students
from the college about
the role of the academic
office for the undergraduate
program, recruiting
efforts, and changes
faculty should expect
in the way classes
are instructed.
"My
office keeps students
on track with their
courses and accommodates
their needs," he explains,
"but recruiting students
is also a top priority
for us. PowerPoint
presentations about
various topics and
current issues on
natural resources
will be added to our
website to create
an interactive setting
for prospective and
current students.
We believe the website
will be our best source
for reaching the most
people with the least
cost."
In
the near future, changes
in teaching will take
place, and professors
will instruct more
courses that include
interactive computer-base
components. Oderwald
says the current structure
cannot handle the
number of students
it needs to. Interaction
has been the missing
key. "Right now students
watch professors from
a video lecture on
television," explains
Oderwald. "We need
more opportunities
for students to get
the information, with
interaction between
them and teacher and
between them and the
computer."
Oderwald
emphasizes that recruiting
becomes part of education,
which then becomes
part of recruiting.
It is not a linear
flow; it is a cycle.
Educating and recruiting
go hand in hand.
The College of Natural
Resources at Virginia
Tech is consistently
ranks among the top
five programs of its
kind in the nation.
Faculty members stress
both the technical
and human elements
of natural resources
and instill in students
a sense of stewardship
and land-use ethics.
Areas of studies include
environmental resource
management, fisheries
and wildlife sciences,
forestry, geospatial
and environmental
analysis, natural
resource recreation,
urban forestry, wood
science and forest
products, geography,
and international
development.
For
more information about
the undergraduate
programs contact Dr.
Richard Oderwald at
oderwald@vt.edu
or (540) 231-5297.
