Abstract:
The present disclosure provides methods and apparatuses for recruiting students. Using the methods and apparatus disclosed herein, educators can more efficiently recruit prospective students. Educational institutions can increase the efficiency of recruitment efforts by automatically generating outbound calls to prospective students. Outbound calls to prospective students are automatically generated when a prospective student is directed to call a recruitment center and the prospective student fails to call within a set time period. Outbound calls to prospective students are also automatically generated when a student is performing an online process to set an appointment and requests an immediate call. In addition, educational institutions can simplify the appointment scheduling process by incorporating an administrator&#39;s schedule into a student database. The student database may contain a list associated with a prospective student&#39;s preferred interview times, as well as a list of the administrator&#39;s available times. The present disclosure provides a method for presenting times to the student that are only present on both lists.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    This application is a non-provisional of, claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/888,705 filed Feb. 7, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The recruitment and retention of students is a time consuming and expensive process at all levels of education. Often, a prospective student or his or her guardians view a static website for an educational institution. The static website generally provides basic information about the educational institution to the student. However, the static website does not capture information about the student. This limited interaction does not allow the educational institution to fully capture detailed information about the student. 
         [0003]    Other educational institutions have dynamic websites that capture some prospective student information. These dynamic websites typically have the prospective student fill a form out requesting basic information in addition to prospective student information, such as their prospective area of study, etc. In return, a brochure or booklet may be delivered to the student. These websites allow the educational institution to capture certain metrics, such as the number of students requesting certain information and/or geographic data regarding the prospective students. However, these dynamic websites are only able to capture information about the student that the website is preprogrammed to capture. 
         [0004]    In order to improve the flexibility and interactively of this process, some educational institutions have recruitment offices, where recruitment officers are able to answer a prospective student&#39;s questions and ask unrehearsed questions. A prospective student may call the recruitment office, for example after visiting the educational institution&#39;s dynamic website, to obtain more information about the educational institution. A prospective student may also wish to speak with a recruitment officer about the prospective student&#39;s options and/or to schedule an interview. When a prospective student requests an interview with an admissions officer, the recruitment officer may be able to provide the prospective student with the admissions officer&#39;s availability. Often, the recruitment officer can access the admissions officer&#39;s schedule over an internal network. However, this system is more time consuming for the student than necessary. Due to lack of network integration, if a student has already provided their availability by entering it on the dynamic website, that information may be unavailable to the recruitment officer. 
         [0005]    Additionally, in some cases, students are asked to call a recruitment office in order to schedule an appointment. For various reasons, the student may not call the recruitment office. For example, the prospective student may forget to call, or the student may feel unsure about their admissions prospects and not wish to call. A recruitment officer may independently call the prospective student. However, many prospective students are never contacted because of the informal process that a recruitment officer uses to decide when to call a prospective student. Additionally, the recruitment officer may call the prospective student after the prospective student has decided to attend another educational institution, due to the delay between the prospective student&#39;s contact and the recruitment officer&#39;s subsequent call. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The present disclosure provides methods and apparatuses for recruiting students. Using the methods and apparatus disclosed herein, educators can more efficiently recruit prospective students. First, educational institutions can increase the efficiency of recruitment efforts by automatically generating time-based outbound calls to prospective students. Outbound calls to prospective students are automatically generated when a prospective student is directed to call a recruitment center, and the prospective student fails to call within a set time period. 
         [0007]    In addition, educational institutions can simplify the appointment scheduling process by incorporating an administrator&#39;s schedule into a student database. The student database may contain a list associated with a prospective student&#39;s preferred interview times, as well as a list of the administrator&#39;s available times. The present disclosure provides a method for presenting times to the student that are only present on both lists. Using these methods, an administrator can save time and focus on higher level issues. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a high level block diagram of an example communications system 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a more detailed block diagram showing one example of a client device. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a more detailed block diagram showing one example of a server. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an example process for automatically generating a time-based outbound call from a call center to a prospective student. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of an example prospective student flow. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an example process for scheduling an appointment. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a screenshot of an example student request page. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a screenshot of an example call request page. 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a screenshot of an example filtering question page. 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is a screenshot of an example appointment scheduling page. 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  is a screenshot of an example instruction page. 
           [0019]      FIG. 12  is a screenshot of an example confirmation page. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    The present system is most readily realized in a network communications system. A high level block diagram of an exemplary network communications system  100  is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The illustrated system  100  includes one or more student terminals  102 , one or more administration terminals  104 , one or more recruitment terminals  106  located at one or more recruitment centers  116 , one or more student servers  108 , one or more student phones  114  and one or more student databases  110 . Each of these devices may communicate with each other via a connection to one or more communications channels  112  such as the Internet or some other data network, including, but not limited to, any suitable wide area network or local area network. It will be appreciated that any of the devices described herein may be directly connected to each other instead of over a network. 
         [0021]    The student server  108  stores a plurality of files, programs, and/or web pages in one or more databases  110  for use by the student terminals  102 , the administration terminals  104 , and/or the recruitment terminals  106 . The database  110  may be connected directly to the student server  108  and/or via one or more network connections. The database  110  preferably stores student information, including, but not limited to student addresses, student interests, media codes, contact history, filtering questions, student answers to filtering questions, etc. The contact history may include a time stamped track of when the student first contacted the institution, if the student scheduled an interview, interview notes, enrollment date, etc. 
         [0022]    One student server  108  may interact with a large number of terminals. Accordingly, each student server  108  is typically a high end computer with a large storage capacity, one or more fast microprocessors, and one or more high speed network connections. Conversely, relative to a typical student server  108 , each student terminal  102 , administration terminal  104 , or recruitment terminal  106  typically includes less storage capacity, a single microprocessor, and a single network connection. 
         [0023]    One or more recruitment terminals  106  may be located at a recruitment center  116 . Accordingly, each recruitment terminal is typically similar in nature. 
         [0024]    A more detailed block diagram of a student terminal  102 , administration terminal  104  or recruitment terminal  106  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The student terminal  102 , administration terminal  104  or recruitment terminal  106  may include a personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a cellular telephone, or any other suitable communication device. The student terminal  102 , administration terminal  104  or recruitment terminal  106  preferably includes a main unit  202  which preferably includes one or more processors  204  electrically coupled by an address/data bus  206  to one or more memory devices  208 , other computer circuitry  210 , and one or more interface circuits  212 . The processor  204  may be any suitable processor, such as a microprocessor from the INTEL PENTIUM® family of microprocessors. The memory  208  preferably includes volatile memory and non-volatile memory. Preferably, the memory  208  stores a software program that interacts with one or more of the other devices in the system  100  as described below. This program may be executed by the processor  204  in any suitable manner. The memory  208  may also store digital data indicative of documents, files, programs, web pages, etc. retrieved from one or more of the other devices in the system  100  and/or loaded via an input device  214 . 
         [0025]    The interface circuit  212  may be implemented using any suitable interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface and/or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. One or more input devices  214  may be connected to the interface circuit  212  for entering data and commands into the main unit  202 . For example, the input device  214  may be a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, track pad, track ball, isopoint, and/or a voice recognition system. 
         [0026]    One or more displays, printers, speakers, and/or other output devices  216  may also be connected to the main unit  202  via the interface circuit  212 . The display  216  may be a cathode ray tube (CRTs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), or any other type of display. The display  216  generates visual displays of data generated during operation of the student terminal  102 , administration terminal  104  or recruitment terminal  106 . For example, the display  216  may be used to display web pages received from the student server  108 . The visual displays may include prompts for human input, run time statistics, calculated values, data, etc. 
         [0027]    One or more storage devices  218  may also be connected to the main unit  202  via the interface circuit  212 . For example, a hard drive, CD drive, DVD drive, and/or other storage devices may be connected to the main unit  202 . The storage devices  218  may store any type of data used by the student terminal  102 , administration terminal  104  or recruitment terminal  106 . 
         [0028]    The student terminal  102 , administration terminal  104  or recruitment terminal  106  may also exchange data with other network devices  220  via a connection to the network  112 . The network connection may be any type of network connection, such as an Ethernet connection, digital subscriber line (DSL), telephone line, coaxial cable, etc. Users of an administrator terminal  104  or recruitment terminal  106  may be required to register with the student server  108 . In such an instance, each user of an administrator terminal  104  or recruitment terminal  106  may choose a user identifier (e.g., e-mail address) and a password which may be required for the activation of services. The user identifier and password may be passed across the network  112  using encryption built into the administrator terminal&#39;s  104  browser or the recruitment terminal&#39;s  106  browser. Alternatively, the user identifier and/or password may be assigned by the student server  108 . 
         [0029]    A more detailed block diagram of a student server  108  is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Like the student terminal  102 , administration terminal  104  or recruitment terminal  106 , the main unit  302  in the student server  108  preferably includes a one or more processors  304  electrically coupled by an address/data bus  306  to a memory device  308  and a network interface circuit  310 . The network interface circuit  310  may be implemented using any suitable data transceiver, such as an Ethernet transceiver. The processor  304  may be any type of suitable processor, and the memory device  308  preferably includes volatile memory and non-volatile memory. Preferably, the memory device  308  stores a software program that implements all or part of the method described below. 
         [0030]    In particular, the memory preferably stores an outbound call generation module  312 , an appointment scheduling module  314 , and a filtering question module  316 . The outbound call generation module  312  determines if an outbound call to the student phone  114  should be made, based on information associated with the student and a set time period. The appointment scheduling module  314  is configured to determine one or more times when a student and an administrator are both available to meet for an appointment. 
         [0031]    The filtering question module  316 , determines which questions to present to the student. For example, if the student is at a student terminal  102 , and is accessing the student server  108 , the filtering question module  316  may transmit a first filtering question to the student terminal  102  from the student server  108 . If the student calls the recruitment center  116 , the filtering question module  316  may transmit a first filtering questions to the recruitment terminal  106 . The filtering question module  316  receives the data associated with a student&#39;s response to the first filtering question. The filtering question module  316  may determine the next question to present to the student. For example, the first question may be “Have you graduated from High School?,” and “Yes” and “No” as options presented to the student. If the student selects “No”, the data associated with the student&#39;s response may be transmitted from the student terminal  102  to the student server  108 . The filtering question module  316  may then cause the student server  108  to transmit, “Do you have a GED?” to the recruitment terminal  106  or the student terminal  102 . 
         [0032]    These software modules  312 , and  314  may be executed by the processor  304  in a conventional manner. However, some of the acts described in the method below may be performed manually or without the use of the student server  108 . The memory device  308  and/or a separate database  110  also store files, programs, web pages, etc. for use by other student servers  108 , student terminals  102 , administration terminals  104 , and/or recruitment terminals  106 . 
         [0033]    A flowchart of an example process  400  for automatically generating a time-based outbound call is shown in  FIG. 4 . Preferably, the process  400  is embodied in one or more software programs stored in one or more memories and executed by one or more processors. Although the process  400  is described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 4 , it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with process  400  may be used. For example, the order of many of the acts may be changed, and some of the acts described may be optional. 
         [0034]    In this example, the process  400  receives a communication from a student (block  402 ). For example, the student places a phone call via the student phone  114  to a recruitment officer, who is sitting at a recruitment terminal  106  at the recruitment center  116 . 
         [0035]    In another example, the student accesses the student server  108  to interact with a recruitment website, as discussed in further detail below. For example, the student may see an advertisement with a media code, discussed in further detail below, and a web address for the recruitment website. If the student was interested in the educational institution, the student could enter the web address into a browser on their student terminal  102 . 
         [0036]    The media code may be any code that identifies the advertisement. For example, a television advertisement may have an alphanumeric code such as “1C5×23,” and a newspaper print advertisement may have an alphanumeric code such as “N20D2E.” It will be readily appreciated that the media code may any suitable alphanumeric combination, including wholly alphabetic combinations and wholly numeric combinations. 
         [0037]    In another example, the student accesses the recruitment website from the educational institution&#39;s home website directly, or from other pages in the educational institution&#39;s website, or via a search engine. For example, the institution&#39;s home website, or other pages in the educational institution&#39;s website, may contain a link to the recruitment website. For example, the student may view the educational institution&#39;s home website, hosted by the student server  108 , on the student terminal  102 , and the student may click a link titled “Find out More.” 
         [0038]    The process  400  then receives information from the student (block  404 ). For example, the student may enter information into a form on the recruitment website. The information may be geographic information, address and phone number information, educational history information, the media code, appointment availability, etc. The information on the form may be transmitted from the student terminal  102  to the student server  108 , via the internet or other network  112 . The student server  108  may store the transmitted information. 
         [0039]    In another example, a student calls a recruitment officer at a recruitment terminal  106  in a recruitment center  116 . The recruitment terminal  106  may display a static list of filtering questions to the recruitment officer. For example, the recruitment terminal  106  may display “Have you graduated from High School?,” “What do you want to major in?,” etc. 
         [0040]    In another example, the recruitment terminal  106  displays a series of dynamic filtering questions to the recruitment officer based on the recruitment officer&#39;s input. For example, the recruitment terminal  106  may display “Have you graduated from High School?,” and “Yes” and “No” as options for the recruitment officer to choose. Upon choosing “No” the recruitment terminal  106  may then display, “Do you have a GED?” The recruitment officer&#39;s inputs into the recruitment terminal  106  are transmitted to the student server  108  via the internet or other network  112 . 
         [0041]    Some of the information may be automatically retrieved. For example, the student server  108  may automatically retrieve certain information based on the prospective student&#39;s phone number by connecting to a third party database via the internet or other network  112 . The information retrieved may be any suitable information associated with the prospective student such as geographic information associated with the prospective student&#39;s residence, media code, lead type, etc. 
         [0042]    In another example, a series of filtering questions is displayed to the student at the student terminal  102 , and the process  400  receives answers to the questions. For example, the student server  108  may transmit a form asking, “Have you graduated from High School?” with the options of “Yes” and “No” to the student terminal  102 . If the student chooses “No” by clicking on the link, or via another input method, the student server  108  may transmit another form with the question, “Do you have a GED?” to the student terminal  102 . 
         [0043]    If a student does not answer all of the questions or leaves the system before completing the questions, that information is stored by the student server  108 , in a student database  110 , in order to better tailor questions and determine which questions or what number of questions users stop at. 
         [0044]    The media code may be stored, and the processor  304  may perform an analysis to determine the appropriate administrator and program for the student, based on the media code. For example, the media code may be associated with a particular administrator and a specific educational program. 
         [0045]    The contact history analysis module  314  may lead type a student to determine how the prospective student heard about the educational institution. Lead typing associates a prospective student with a particular media advertisement for tracking purposes. 
         [0046]    The process  400  then stores the student information in the student database  110  (block  406 ). Preferably, the student information is stored with a unique identifier. The unique identifier could be the student name, phone number, email address, etc. Additionally, separate tables could capture different information such as demographics, referrals, interests, filtering question answers, etc. The student database  110  may also incorporate admissions officer schedule information. The admissions officer schedule information is a listing of available appointment times with admissions officers. The student database  110  may also track a student&#39;s enrollment and progression through the educational institution. 
         [0047]    The process  400  receives responses to filtering questions from the student (block  408 ). For example, the student server  108  may transmit forms containing questions regarding the student&#39;s interests, ability to pay, educational history, etc. 
         [0048]    The process  400  then decides whether the student meets the educational institutions qualifications, based on the filtering questions (block  410 ). For example, the educational institution may only accept students that have graduated from High school. If the prospective student does not have the proper qualifications, the system creates a flag to call the student in the future. For example, the student server  108  may determine that the prospective student will graduate high school in two years and create a flag on the prospective student&#39;s file. The student server  108  may also associate qualification information with the student. For example, the student server  108  may store information indicating that the system should call the student in two years. The system may wait for the proper amount of time before generating a call, as described below in relation to block  414 . 
         [0049]    If the prospective student has the proper qualifications, the student is asked to call into the recruitment center  116  (block  412 ). For example, the student server  108  transmits a message to the student terminal  102  for the student to contact a recruitment officer at a recruitment center  116 . In another example, a recruitment officer at a recruitment center  116  asks the student to call and make an appointment. If the student is not ready to make an appointment, the recruitment officer can tell the student to call back when he or she is ready. In such an instance, the recruitment officer preferably enter a note into the student database  110  indicating the student did not set an appointment. For example, the student database  110  may have a flag associated with the student to signify that a call is expected from the student at the recruitment center  116 . The flag is then transmitted to the student server  108  via the internet or other network  112  and stored by the student server  108  on the student database  110 . 
         [0050]    The process  400  then waits for the student to call the recruitment center  116  (block  414 ). Preferably, a process running on the student server  108  periodically checks for a notification that the student has called into the system. For example, the notification may be a flag in student database  110  being set to on or off. 
         [0051]    The amount of time to wait for a call from the student may be entered by the recruitment officer into the recruitment terminal  106  and transmitted to the student server  108  via the internet or other network  112 . For example, the student may say that they are going to call back in two weeks. In this example, the recruitment officer may enter two weeks into a field on a page on his or her recruitment terminal  106  and transmit that information to the student server  108 . A modifiable time limit may be allowed for the student to call in. For example, the time limit may be set by default to two weeks and then modified by a recruitment officer to one week. 
         [0052]    The student may also be able to request an immediate call. For example, the student may choose an option on the recruitment website for an immediate call. The student&#39;s choice is transmitted from the student terminal  102  to the student server  108 . The student server  108  may then immediately generate an outbound call. Generating an outbound call is described below in relation to block  418 . 
         [0053]    The process  400  then determines whether the time limit has passed without a student call (block  416 ). For example, a time sensitive trigger may cause a program to analyze the student database  110  in order to determine if a flag has been set. The flag indicates whether the student called the recruitment center  116 . The recruitment officer may enter notes about the call into the recruitment terminal  106 . The recruitment officer may also mark a flag indicating that the student called the recruitment center  116 . The recruitment terminal  106  may transmit the notes and the flag to the student server  108 . The student server  108  may store the notes as well as the flag in a data entry associated with the student. If the time limit has not passed, then the process returns to waiting for the student call (block  414 ). 
         [0054]    If the time limit has passed, then the process  400  calls the student (block  418 ) and an outbound call is automatically generated. For example, after the set time period has passed, the polling process may analyze the prospective student&#39;s account in the student database  110 . If the process determines that the student has not called, the student server  108  may begin an outbound phone call to the phone number provided by the student. The student&#39;s selections may determine at what time of day the phone call is made. For example, if the prospective student selected to be called in the evening, on the recruitment website, a call will only be made in the evening. 
         [0055]    Information regarding the student may be sent from the student server  108  to the recruitment center  116 . For example, the call may be assigned to a recruitment officer by the student server  108 . The student server  108  may send information regarding the student from the student database  110 . The information from the student database  110  is then displayed on the recruitment terminal  106 . For example, the student server  108  may retrieve information regarding the prospective student&#39;s responses to the filtering questions and geographic information from the student database  110 . The student server  108  then and transmits this information to the recruitment terminal  106  via the internet or other network  112 . 
         [0056]    A recruitment officer may speak with the student to schedule an appointment if needed, collect additional information if needed, or provide information, etc. For example, the recruitment officer may inform the student as to certain programs at the educational institution. 
         [0057]    A flowchart of an example process  500  that a prospective student would traverse is shown in  FIG. 5 . Preferably, the process  500  is embodied in one or more software programs which is stored in one or more memories and executed by one or more processors. Although the process  500  is described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 5 , it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with process  500  may be used. For example, the order of many of the acts may be changed, and some of the acts described may be optional. Additionally many other acts may be added to the process  500 . 
         [0058]    In this example, a student enters the web flow through a link on a school page (block  502 ). The link may send a school code and the media code to the student server  108 . For example, a website containing links to various educational institutions may contain a link to the recruitment website of an educational institution. The link may automatically submit the school code and the media code to the student server  108  via the internet or other network  112 . The school code may be an alphanumeric sequence that uniquely identifies an educational institution. The school code may also be an alphanumeric sequence that uniquely identifies a collection of educational institutions. In another example, the student enters this information manually. 
         [0059]    The student then enters their contact information (block  504 ). For example, the student terminal  102  displays a form requesting the student&#39;s contact information. In this example, the student enters their information and submits the form, which sends the information from the student terminal  102  to the student server  108 . 
         [0060]    If the student does not complete their contact information, the student server  108  may transmit a screen that asks follow-up questions as to why they are leaving (block  522 ). For example, if the student clicks on the exit button, another form is sent by the student server  108  to the student terminal  102 . The form may contain questions such as “Why are you leaving?” After the student answers the questions, the student may then brought to a good bye screen (block  520 ), and can return to the institution home page (block  518 ). 
         [0061]    After the student enters their contact information, they are asked if they have called in to the recruitment office or not (block  506 ). For example, the student server  108  may send a form asking “Have you called in?” The form may list the options “Yes” and “No.” If the student has called in previously, they are told that they are done with the online process (block  524 ) and can either call in again (block  526 ) or finish their session (block  520 ). 
         [0062]    If the student has not called in previously, the school code and/or the media code (block  508 ) directs the student to a series of filtering questions (block  510 ). These filtering questions could include areas of interest, scholastic history, future goals, hobbies, etc. For example, the questions regarding the prospective student&#39;s scholastic history could ask for a gpa, graduation history, GED equivalency, etc. The questions regarding future goals could ask what the prospective student&#39;s employment goals are, future salary expectations, etc. 
         [0063]    The student then selects an appointment (block  512 ) on an appointment selection screen  1000 , described in more detail below. For example, a calendar could be displayed with available days highlighted. In another example, a listing of available times is displayed. The user may enter a range of times, and the system returns the available appointment slots. If the student cannot make any appointments, they are asked to call into the recruitment center  116  (block  526 ) on a call request page  1200 , described in more detail below. Otherwise the student selects an appointment, and instructions are given (block  514 ) followed by directions (block  516 ) on a confirmation page  1100 , described in more detail below. After the confirmation page  1100 , the student is done (block  528 ) and taken to a final page (block  520 ). For example, the final screen (block  520 ) may display a message including instructions to call the recruitment center  116  if the student is interested in scheduling an appointment. 
         [0064]    A flowchart of an example process  600  to schedule an appointment is shown in  FIG. 6 . Preferably, the process  600  is embodied in one or more software programs which is stored in one or more memories and executed by one or more processors. Although the process  600  is described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 6 , it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with process  600  may be used. For example, the order of many of the acts may be changed, and some of the acts described may be optional, additionally many acts could be added to the process  600 . 
         [0065]    In this example, the process  600  receives an availability schedule from the student (block  602 ). For example, the student may be at the student terminal  102  and accessing the recruitment website from the student server  108 . The recruitment website may contain a scheduling page. The scheduling page may contain a form containing a selectable list of times that the student is available to meet. The scheduling page may also contain a calendar view allowing the student to select certain dates and times that he or she is available. The selection is transmitted from the student terminal  102  to the student server  108  via the internet or other network  112 . The selection may be stored on the student database  110 . 
         [0066]    The process  600  then receives a phone call from the student (block  604 ). For example, the final screen (block  520 ) may contain a request for the student to call the recruitment center  116  in order to schedule an appointment. The prospective student may call the recruitment center  116  from the student phone  114 . 
         [0067]    In another embodiment, an outbound call is made as described in block  418  of process  400 , and the recruitment officer speaks with the student. 
         [0068]    The process  600  then retrieves the administrator&#39;s schedule (block  606 ). The recruitment terminal  106  may retrieve a list of all available administrator appointment slots. For example, the recruitment terminal  106  accesses the student database  110 , which stores the available administrator appointment slots, via the internet or other network  112  and the student server  108 . The recruitment terminal  106  may display a calendar view of all available administrator appointment slots. 
         [0069]    The process  600  then provides the student with options that match both the student&#39;s availability and the available appointment slots (block  608 ). For example, the student server  108  transmits the student&#39;s availability from the student database  110  to the recruitment terminal  106 . The recruitment officer may see both the student availability and the available appointment slots. The recruitment officer may then inform the student as to what options the student has. For example, if the recruitment terminal  106  displays that the student is available March 2 at 10:00 AM and that an administrator is available at the same time, the recruitment officer may inform the student that March 2 at 10:00 AM is available. 
         [0070]    In another example, student server  108  analyzes both lists and only transmits times that are open to both parties. For example, the student serve  108  may process the list of available appointments and the student preferences and send a list of times where the student and administrator or administrators are free. The list may be displayed as a calendar. For example, the recruitment terminal  106  may display a month with available days shaded a certain color and the times written in the body of the calendar days. 
         [0071]    The process  600  then receives the student&#39;s preferred time (block  610 ). For example, the student may tell the recruitment officer the student&#39;s preferred time over the student phone  114 . 
         [0072]    The process  600  then reserves the selected time (block  612 ). The recruitment officer may reserve the time on the recruitment terminal  106 . For example, the recruitment officer may select the time from a list of times, or from a calendar view on the recruitment terminal  106 . The recruitment terminal  106  may then send the selection from to the student server  108  via the internet or other network  112 . The student server  108  may store the reservation on the student database  110 . 
         [0073]    The process  600  then sends a confirmation to the student (block  614 ). For example, the recruitment terminal  106  may send an email to the email address provided by the student via the internet or other network  112 . The email may state the time, location and date of the appointment. The student server  108  may also send an email to the email address provided by the student via the internet or other network  112 . 
         [0074]    A screenshot of an example student information request page  700  is presented in  FIG. 7 . Although the student information request page is described in reference  FIG. 7 , it will be appreciated that many other configurations are possible. For example, elements could be in different locations, elements could have different names, and elements could have different graphical representations. 
         [0075]    The student information request page may contain a student information form  702 . For example, the student information form may ask for the student&#39;s name, address, phone number, email address, social security number, etc. The form may be displayed on the student terminal  102 , and sent by the student server  108  via the internet or other network  112 . The completed form may be sent to the student server  108  by the student terminal  102 . The student server  108  may store the information on the form in the student database  110 . 
         [0076]    A screenshot of an example call request page  800  is presented in  FIG. 8 . Although the student information request page is described in reference  FIG. 8 , it will be appreciated that many other configurations are possible. For example, elements could be in different locations, elements could have different names, and elements could have different graphical representations. 
         [0077]    The call request page  800  may include a reference number  802 . For example, the reference number  802  may be an alphanumeric sequence that uniquely identifies the student. The call request page  800  may also include a phone number  804 . For example, the phone number  804  may be a phone number associated with a recruitment center  116 . 
         [0078]    A screenshot of an example filtering question page  900  is presented in  FIG. 9 . Although the filtering question page  900  is described in reference  FIG. 9 , it will be appreciated that many other configurations are possible. For example, elements could be in different locations, elements could have different names, and elements could have different graphical representations. 
         [0079]    The questions may be presented in a sequence. For example, the current question  902  may be sent from the student server  108  to the student terminal  102 . Based on the student&#39;s response, the student server  108  chooses the next response. For example, if the student selects that he or she has not graduated high school, the next question may be “Do you have a GED?” 
         [0080]    The questions may also be presented in groups. For example, a list of questions relating to the student&#39;s educational history may be displayed. The groups of questions may be educational history, ability to pay, interest areas, career focus, other schools applied to, extracurricular activities, estimated enrollment date, etc. The student may choose a response, or set of responses, on the student terminal  102  and the response is transmitted to the student server  108 . 
         [0081]    The filtering question page  900  may contain a status bar  904 . For example, a graphical representation of the prospective student&#39;s progress through the total number of filtering questions may be displayed on the student terminal  102 . The status bar  904  may also contain text information associated with the prospective student&#39;s progress through the total number of filtering questions. For example, the status bar  904  may state “You are 25% Complete.” 
         [0082]    A screenshot of an example appointment scheduling page  1000  is presented in  FIG. 10 . Although the appointment scheduling page  1000  is described in reference  FIG. 10 , it will be appreciated that many other configurations are possible. For example, elements could be in different locations, elements could have different names, and elements could have different graphical representations. 
         [0083]    For example, the available appointments display  1002  may be a list of times and may be displayed on the appointment scheduling page  1000 . For example, the student server  108  may compare the student&#39;s preferred times from the student database  110  with the available administrator appointment slots from the student database  110 . The student server  108  may then transmit the matching slots to the student terminal  102 . The available appointments display  1002  may be depicted in another graphical representation. For example, the graphical representation may be a calendar, icons representing days, etc. 
         [0084]    A screenshot of an instructions page  1100  is presented in  FIG. 11 . Although the instructions page  1100  is described in reference  FIG. 11 , it will be appreciated that many other configurations are possible. For example, elements could be in different locations, elements could have different names, and elements could have different graphical representations. 
         [0085]    The instructions page  1100  may contain instruction information  1102 . For example, the information may contain the prospective student&#39;s contact information, date of the appointment, instructions for the appointment, etc. An email notification may also be sent to the prospective student. For example, the student server  108  may transmit the confirmation page  1100  to the prospective student at the student terminal  102 , as well as transmitting an email to the student at the student&#39;s email address via the internet or other network  112 . 
         [0086]    A screenshot of a confirmation page  1200  is presented in  FIG. 12 . Although the confirmation page  1200  is described in reference  FIG. 12 , it will be appreciated that many other configurations are possible. For example, elements could be in different locations, elements could have different names, and elements could have different graphical representations. 
         [0087]    The confirmation page  1200  may display address information  1202 . For example, the confirmation page  1200  may include the address of the building that the interview will take place in. The confirmation page  1200  may also include directions  1204 . For example, the confirmation page  1200  may include directions to the address  1202 . 
         [0088]    It will be readily appreciated that various changes and modifications to the embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.