Inside Iowa State

Feb. 23, 2007

Ingeniería, en Español

by Samantha Beres

The College of Engineering has launched a portal on its Web site to pages in Spanish. The information, geared toward prospective Spanish-speaking students, includes overviews of programs, faculty, facilities, admissions, student life and housing.

"Our intent is to enhance diversity," said Pam Reinig, director of advancement in the college. "The goal is to provide general information to persons who are more comfortable accessing information in Spanish."

That includes not only students, but influencers of students, such as parents and high school counselors.

According to ISU global recruitment coordinator Ann Gogerty, most students coming from Spanish-speaking countries speak English, but information in Spanish can be helpful - particularly for parents.

"Even if parents are bilingual, there is often a higher comfort level with Spanish," she said.

She said that in general, there has been an increase in native Spanish-speaking students at Iowa State. Each year for about the last five years, a steady 25 to 30 students have come from Puerto Rico, where ISU Admissions does heavy recruiting.

Prior to the launch of Engineering's Spanish portal, Reinig posted an information request form in Spanish. She received about three dozen requests over a six-week span from several states and countries, including Iowa, Texas, Pennsylvania, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Panama and Colombia.

The transcription for Engineering's Spanish Web site was done by a professional service. Reinig's staff is working with department chairs to gauge interest in having individual areas translated. Her department also will keep track of hits on the portal and their origins. In its first two weeks, the portal received 150 hits and the response card generated 78 inquiries.

The site can be found in the left menu at www.engineering.iastate.edu.

"The goal is to provide general information to persons who are more comfortable accessing information in Spanish."

Pam Reinig, director of advancement, College of Engineering