The Legislative Action Team hopes to make an impression on legislatures with a 4-by-6-inch card.

The Action Team of administration and faculty lobbied for Eastern’s interests in Springfield for the first time last month. The group brought with it an informational card to personally hand to legislators or leave for the ones they were unable to meet with, said Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations.

The Action Team was formed in December as a subcommittee to the Council on University Planning and Budget.

The back of the card includes information such as enrollment numbers, average class size, university ranking and retention rate. Eastern’s retention rate freshman to sophomore year is listed at 81 percent.

Some of the information, including the graduation and retention rate, shows results of the university, Nilsen said.

“The information that is on the card is our statistical information … the outcome stories,” she said. “One of the things we know legislators are really interested in is our outcome.”

Legislators have busy schedules and the card is a convenient way to convey points about the university without confronting them with pages of information, Nilsen said.

The front of the card features a woman holding up a photo of Old Main. Eastern’s Web site is listed below the words, “Have you seen Eastern lately?”

The photo is a purchase photo not of an Eastern student, said Julie Abell, director of planning and institutional studies.

The cards have contributed to optimistic responses from legislators, she said.

“We’ve had really positive feedback,” she said. “This is all on how we market the university.”

She said the card is modeled after a graduation card mailed to announce commencement proceedings.

Abell said a fact sheet with more comprehensive information also is mailed to legislators.

While Nilsen said she personally will be back in Springfield three times this week, the Legislative Action Team will likely be back in April.

The Student Action Team also is working on a different way to make an impression in Springfield.

The group is working on a “view book” of the university, said Marty Ruhaak, student vice president for public affairs.

“It has the fast facts on there and then we have some personal statements,” he said. “It’s basically a book that brags about Eastern a little bit.”

The book also includes pictures of Old Main and other campus buildings, he said.

While the book is not a quick glance like the card, it will not have an overwhelming amount of information, Ruhaak said.