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7/23/2006
Next Steps
In its collaboration with Azorus, the university is also launching an experiment with another innovative recruiting tool called Digital Ink. The handwriting recognition solution will allow prospective students to use a digital pen to complete a special paper-based form, and have that data immediately entered into the Azorus database. According to Vercruysse, Digital Ink may significantly enhance Ryerson’s frontline recruitment efforts by further automating data collection by liaison staff at job fairs and other on-the-road situations.
The Digital Ink field trial will be completed this fall, and prospective Ryerson students for fall 2007 will get the full benefit of the integration project—a dynamic personal experience tailored to each student’s unique interests and inquiries.
Advice
One unexpected byproduct of the new system is a significant drop in run-of-the mill e-mail inquiries, indicating that students are finding the answers they need on the site. That has freed human resource staff for other projects. But,Vercruyesse notes, while tools like Digital Ink will provide a powerful new way to collect recruitment data, they won’t fully replace the need for traditional hard-copy request cards or access to computers at large-scale events that draw tens of thousands of prospective students.
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