| Stage | Decision to make | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Define needs | Which degree programs feed the roles you hire for | Sets the filter before any school is named |
| Build a longlist | Which schools award those degrees | Turns national degree data into candidate schools |
| Score | How each school rates on degree fit, alumni presence, distance and past hire quality | Ranks schools consistently instead of by habit |
| Size the list | How many schools your recruiting capacity can serve | Cuts the list to a workable few |
| Add non-target schools | Which lower-ranked schools earn a low-cost trial | Keeps the list open to new talent without overspending |
The stages draw on NCES IPEDS completions data for degree output and on Joveo’s campus recruiting guide for how smaller employers narrow their lists.
How to choose schools for campus recruiting starts with the degrees you hire for, then ranks each school on degree fit, alumni presence, distance and past hire quality. A short list suits small employers.
For the wider process, see what is campus recruiting. This guide covers only the school-selection step and stops before any on-campus activity.
Define the degrees and roles first
Degree programs are the first filter, because a school is only useful if it graduates people who can do the job. Start from open roles and write down the degree programs that have produced your best performers. Treat the program, not the school’s overall reputation, as the unit you are shopping for.
This matches how larger employers work. According to Joveo, university relations managers select the best academic programs to source top talent, which puts program choice ahead of school choice. Small and mid-sized employers tend to focus on a select few schools whose programs closely align with their hiring needs.
- List the roles you expect to fill in the next hiring cycle.
- Name the degree programs that qualify a candidate for each role, including close alternatives.
- Separate must-have from nice-to-have programs so the scoring stage can weight them differently.
With the program list written down, the next step is to find schools that actually award those degrees.
Build a longlist from degree data
The most direct route to schools offering the degrees you hire for is federal completions data. IPEDS is a system of survey components that collects data from all institutions that provide postsecondary education, and one of its collection areas is Completions, which records the degrees institutions award.
For a practical search, use College Navigator, the online college search tool built on IPEDS data. Search by program of study, and note each school that offers a degree on your must-have list. NCES reports also show the number of degrees awarded by level, which helps you see whether a program produces graduates at the level you hire.
IPEDS figures reflect a past collection cycle. The 2020 Data Feedback Report, for instance, draws on the 2019-20 cycle. Confirm that a program still exists, and what it is called now, on the university’s own program pages before it earns a place on the list.
Cross-check with your own records
Employer hiring records add what public data cannot. Pull the schools listed on past applications, interns and hires. Any school that appears in your records but not in your degree search deserves a second look, since it may offer a related program you had not considered.
Score schools with a weighted method
A weighted score turns a long list into a ranking you can defend. Rate every school on the same criteria, give each criterion a weight that reflects how much it matters to your hiring, and combine the weighted ratings in a spreadsheet.
Criteria and suggested weights
- Degree fit (heaviest weight). Rate how closely the school’s programs match your must-have list. A school with several aligned programs rates high; a school with one tangential program rates low. This is the criterion the evidence on small employers most strongly supports.
- Past hire quality (heavy weight). Use your own hiring records: how did people from this school perform, and how long did they stay? Schools with no history should be rated neutral, not low, so new options are not penalised for lack of data.
- Alumni presence (medium weight). Count current employees who graduated from the school. Alumni can give you credibility with students and a ready point of contact, but a large alumni group at a weak-fit school should not outrank a well-aligned one.
- Distance (lighter weight). Rate how easily your team can reach the campus. Raise this weight if travel money is tight, and see the campus recruiting budget guide for how location feeds into cost.
Fix the weights before scoring any school. Adjusting them afterwards to favour a school you already like defeats the purpose of the method.
Running the scoring
- Create one row per school and one column per criterion.
- Rate each cell on one consistent scale, using written definitions for what low, medium and high mean.
- Apply the weights and sort schools from highest to lowest total.
- Read the top of the list against your instincts. If a school you expected to rank high sits low, check the ratings before overriding the result.
Decide how many schools to target
A small employer should target only as many schools as its recruiting staff can serve well. Joveo notes that smaller businesses might rely on just one or two dedicated campus recruiters, and that small to mid-sized employers tend to focus on a few schools instead of many.
Draw the cutoff line on your scored list where capacity runs out, not at a round number. Schools above the line form the campus recruiting target schools list. Schools below it are candidates for the lighter route described next. If the line falls in the middle of a tight cluster of scores, shorten the list rather than stretching staff thin, because depth at a few schools usually serves a small team better than a thin presence at many.
Finalise the list before you set dates. The campus recruiting timeline lays out the sequence once you know which schools are on it.
Add non-target schools without overspending
Non-target school recruiting works best as a low-cost trial with a clear promotion rule, not as a second full target list. Schools below the scoring line are not rejected; they sit in a watch group that is reviewed at the end of each hiring cycle.
A route for adding a school
- Look for an internal signal. Start with schools that already appear in your applicant or hire records, or where an employee is an alumnus.
- Confirm the degree. Check College Navigator and the school’s program pages to verify that it awards a qualifying degree.
- Make contact with the program. Approach a faculty member or the career office in the relevant department and ask how students find employers.
- Score it like any other school. Apply the same weights so the school can be compared fairly with the target list.
- Promote or drop it. Move the school onto the target list when its score and hire quality justify the extra effort; otherwise leave it in the watch group.
This route keeps selection tied to evidence. It also means a strong program at an unfamiliar school can outrank a familiar name with weak degree fit.
Recruiting from community colleges
Recruiting from community colleges follows the same scoring method as any other school, with degree fit and hire quality doing most of the work. Because IPEDS collects data from all institutions that provide postsecondary education, community colleges can be searched and compared in the same tools as universities.
Check the level of the credential on your role list first, then use the degrees-awarded-by-level reporting to see which programs matter for it. Where your records show that community college hires have performed well, give that history real weight in the score.
Troubleshooting the list
- Every school scores about the same. The weights are probably too even. Give degree fit a clearly heavier weight than the other criteria.
- A favourite school ranks low. Check whether it lacks a qualifying program or simply lacks hire history. A neutral rating for missing history stops new schools from being unfairly penalised.
- The list is longer than the team can handle. Move the lowest-scoring schools to the watch group instead of reducing effort at the top.
- Program names do not match. Schools label similar degrees differently. Read the program descriptions on the university’s pages instead of relying on titles alone.
- Distance dominates the result. Lower the distance weight, or confirm that travel money, not preference, is driving it.
Frequently asked questions
How often should the school list be reviewed?
Review it at the end of each hiring cycle, when new hire records are available. Update past hire quality ratings, re-run the scores and move schools between the target list and the watch group.
Should alumni presence outweigh degree fit?
No. Alumni help with contacts and credibility, but they cannot make up for a school whose programs do not match your roles. Keep alumni presence at a medium weight below degree fit.
What counts as a target school?
A target school is one above your scoring cutoff, where the employer commits recruiting staff time. Schools below the cutoff are non-target and handled through the lighter trial route.
Where can the scoring data come from?
Degree data comes from IPEDS and College Navigator, program detail from university program pages, and alumni and hire quality from your own employee and hiring records.
