| This case study focused on Dallas Metropolitan College (DMC), a small liberal arts school in Texas and the oldest historically black college west of the Mississippi. The DMC has experienced problems with sagging enrollment because of a shrinking pool of potential minority applicants and increased competition from other African-American colleges and wealthier, richly endowed European-American schools. This study first sought to establish the strengths and weaknesses in the school's prior recruitment campaigns and, then, identify marketing strategies deployed by the corporate sector and suitable for adaptation to student enrollment efforts.; The McDonald's corporation served as the example of choice because of its successful approach to marketing and ability to overcome adversity. By combining three research methods---case study, historical analysis, and oral history interviews---the researcher was able to gather and evaluate needed data and make recommendations for future recruitment success at Dallas Metropolitan College. The list of recommendations for educational recruitment is expected to be useful not only to Dallas Metropolitan College, but also to other historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) throughout the country and to small liberal arts schools with a focus on minority recruitment and a commitment to student retention until graduation. |
