The World Wide Web is more than a virtual reality for recruiters and admissions officials at Kansas University.

It’s a financial, service and efficiency imperative.

“That’s where the prospective students are going. You have to keep up with them,” said Lisa Pinamonti, KU’s interim director of admissions and scholarships. “We would be hurting ourselves if we weren’t using the Internet and e-mail and having chat rooms and services checking the Web, because students are out there surfing the Web all the time.

“They’d rather see all the information right away than call us and wait seven to 10 days for it to arrive in the mail.”

This school year, the Office of Admissions and Scholarships will be delving heavier into electronic recruitment, admissions and retention than ever before  following up on a series of programs and features that continue to evolve as the medium itself expands its capabilities.

Online avenues give KU around-the-clock capabilities to reach students for minimal cost, Pinamonti said. And from chat rooms to online applications to personalized advice, the university is busy trying to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to specialized services.

Take admissions.

Of the more than 12,000 admissions received for this fall, 5,500  45.8 percent  came via the World Wide Web. For the summer term, half of all applications came through computer, not pen and paper.

Electronic applications offer immense advantages for students and admissions officials alike, Pinamonti said. Students cannot submit an electronic application without completing all necessary “fields” on the screen, such as name, address and phone number; written applications lacking essential information often are sent through traditional mail, delaying the admissions process.

“With the online application, they can’t leave anything blank,” she said. “Plus, we receive it faster. Students are always wondering when it’s received. You don’t know how long mail takes these days, but when you apply online there’s a sense of immediacy there, which students like.”

Eliminating paperwork

Students soon will be able to learn within one or two business days whether an application has been received, and whether the admissions office has received their transcripts and standardized test scores, said David Burge, the office’s assistant director for Web programming and services. The university also is looking into ways for students to submit transcripts and test scores electronically.

One day soon, perhaps, students won’t ever have to lift a pen or paper to gain admission to KU. Notification of acceptance to college could come within days instead of weeks, although the traditional formal paperwork still would be mailed out.

“The thick envelope will still exist, but hopefully we’ll be able to deliver the good news in a more timely fashion,” Burge said.

Getting to know the university from locations near and far also is becoming easier, Burge said.

The admissions and scholarships site offers an online counselor to answer questions about coming to school, such as those regarding tuition or available classes. Students can click on a “transfer credits” link to see how courses taken in junior college or another university might transfer to KU.

The office also provides 12 “listservs,” or e-mail groups, for students who have applied and been accepted to KU. Separated into regions  such as Douglas County/Johnson County, western Kansas or others out of state  the student-run groups together have more than 1,200 members, double last year’s participation.

Making connections

The office provides students discussion topics  the basketball team’s prospects for a national championship, for example  and the students do the rest.

“Prospective students are making connections with their peers in their communities, and bringing their relationships to KU,” Burge said. “People have met their future roommates on KU listervs. They already have relationships built before they ever set foot on campus.”

Efforts to attract students to campus also are taking to the Web.

Students visiting the Web site can click on a state or region and find out who the admissions counselor is for their region, plus a schedule for when counselors might be visiting their high school. E-mail addresses also are available for personal contacts.

Enrollment for orientation visits to campus also is handled online.

And for 12,000 students who already had indicated an interest in attending KU but had not yet applied, KU recently sent all of them e-mails to touch base and explain opportunities on Mount Oread.

All without office employees licking a single stamp, ringing up charges on a mail meter or cutting a check for printing charges.

“When you look at the cost of providing Web services to traditional mail services, it’s pennies on the dollar,” Burge said. “Postcards and traditional mailings don’t appear to be going away anytime soon, but the smart university is utilizing those low-cost opportunities to recruit students.”