It’s often said with great change brings great responsibility and new Director of Admission & Recruitment Latari
Fleming
Fleming has brought the change to Grambling State University with his Five Step Plan, which highlights
the student personally and bridges the communication gap between the student and the university.
“I’m excited about my new position,” Fleming said. “Not only because I’m a Gramblinite but because I worked
in the admissions office for about four years and I know the needs of the office. I know the needs of the students
as well as the challenges we face. I’m able to overcome those challenges and make Grambling State University shine and make those numbers grow.”
Since taking over in October, Fleming has put his Five Step plan in motion which includes: recruit, admit, enroll, retain, and graduate the student. In just three months Fleming and his student ambassadors have blazed the recruiting trail with stops in New Orleans, Houston, TX and Atlanta, GA.
“The way I plan on implementing the plan with my team is by communicating with the students,” Fleming said. “We have to be big on communication; be visible with the student. We have to put Grambling’s admissions and recruitment team out there more, along with the student ambassadors to utilize the ambassadors as student recruiters. Some of the best people to recruit for the university are the students.”
One of the challenges the university deals with is communication with the student through the application process. Fleming has increased communication with the students by sending weekly emails, ranging from incomplete applications to a recruitment video.
Another way Fleming has bridged that gap is the call center. Student ambassadors contact the student telling them “we’re excited to have you at Grambling,” answering questions and informing the student about important dates, as well as sending a personalized acceptance post card.
“We just have to continue to show that Grambling State University is still relevant, show that we’re here and we want them at Grambling, said Fleming. “The call center has helped a lot because we usually get a high volume of call from student asking their status.”
“We’re also working with an outside company that sends a personalized post card. It has helped a lot and were proud of it,” Fleming added.
In Oct. Grambling’s admissions office hosted High School Day, a Carnival in Tigerland. The fun filled day consisted of academic browsing, campus tours, carnival events, and on site admittance. High school students from Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi etc were in attendance.
During high school day, 20 students were admitted, while in Houston for the SWAC championships 84 students were admitted and in Atlanta for the Celebration Bowl 34 students were admitted.
“High school day was a success. This semester we’re looking for a spring High School Day,” Fleming said. “Not as big as the fall High School Day but something on the same caliber and level. We set the bar in the fall, so we want to keep it going in the spring. We haven’t set the day but be expecting something out of the box.”
Fleming, a Shreveport native, graduated from Grambling in 2007 with a B.S. in Hospitality Management and Marketing. He went on the be an Event and Sales Manager at Beverly Hills Hilton Riverside in New Orleans. He then changed his career focus to higher education and returned to Grambling.
Returning to Grambling, he worked as an Area Coordinator for Residential Life for a semester and switched over to admission.
While in admissions he wore many hats, working as a recruiter, counselor, and campus tour coordinator for four years. During those four years he earned his Master’s Degree in Arts of Teaching Phycology and Sociology.
Fleming later left to become the Assistant Director of student success at Odessa College. He got another chance to come back to Grambling as a transfer recruiter and now he leads to admission program.