Rating the quality of an academic institution is complex--undoubtedly. Check out the image below from the Chronicle of Higher Education that shows the many ways (30 to be exact) colleges and universities are currently being rated. No wonder prospective students and parents are confused and overwhelmed during the college selection process.
The August 19, 2010 edition of Inside Higher Ed ran an article
entitled "Can You Hear Me Now?"
The article focused on Georgia Gwinnett College who have passed out cell phones
(and data plans) to their 300 full and part-time faculty members. The idea is
that the school pays for the phone and the corresponding bills ($1000 each) for
the faculty but they must provide their cell numbers to students. This allows
students to contact the professors when they have a question or concern. While
many may see that this is an invasion of privacy and over the top hand holding,
Georgia Gwinnet believes it is having a major impact. The school admits any
student that graduates from a Georgia high school but still boasts a 75%
retention rate from freshman to sophomore year which is double open enrollment
schools typically experience.
We are in a service economy where our students expect the same
service they experience in their banks, stores and other service based
organizations. Why should they expect anything different from us?
In reality, Georgia Gwinnet probably has been so successful with
this program and high adoption by faculty because they are only five years old.
The service based culture was established from the beginning rather than trying
to change established behavior and overcome embedded attitudes. My hope is that
this approach will be seen an copied by others that understand the need for
responsiveness in our industry to our constituents.
....and yes, I give my phone number to my students at Xavier!
th@simpsonscarborough.com
There is yet another
article on the idea of evaluating the contribution margin of new programs
before they launch them. Salvador
Aceves, vice provost at the University of San Francisco has introduced a "a
nine-page Excel spreadsheet that assesses variables as diverse as three-year
enrollment projections, technology and library costs, new teaching loads,
marketing expenses, ongoing maintenance costs, and even new "university life"
responsibilities the program is likely to create."(Inside Higher Ed , 8-25-10).
This replaces a one page memo that deans filled out to propose new programs
previously.
My friend, David Kalsbeeck, Vice-President of Enrollment and
Marketing at DePaul University has been on the front end of this approach for
years. It is time that more of us look at return-on-investment and contribution
margin if we are to succeed in the long run. Does this mean we get rid of all
programs that do no make money...I doubt it. However, we need to balance what we
are able to provide in the marketplace with our ability to provide it
competitively. I can argue all day long why I should have a master's in English
program, even though it is losing money. However, if the competitive university
five minutes away has two to three times the market share in the master's
program and is making money..why should you be in this business to begin with.
I applaud Dr. Aceves and the University of San Francisco for
their efforts. I hope the article in Inside Higher Ed will motivate more
schools to pursue the same approach!
th@simpsonscarborough.com
I was honored to be an ACE Fellow in the year 2004-2005. I
spent my year shadowing President Georgia Nugent at Kenyon College. It
remains the best professional year
I have ever had. Imagine a year where your only job is to learn. On top of that
you get to learn from really smart people who are as generous with their time
as they are with their advice. It was wonderful!
Since my year as a fellow I have been part of the faculty
that works with the new fellows. My part of their learning experience is to
introduce marketing as a tool in the administration and leadership of higher
education. I relish the
opportunity and get to meet new crops of institutional leaders every year.
I am now in Chicago at the 2010-2011 ACE Fellows first week
of on-site learning. I will be presenting my session on marketing this
afternoon. However, I have so far been able to sit in and listen to updates on
the state of higher education by two of my favorite and insightful ACE staff.
First, Brian Cook, Director for the Center of Policy Analysis and then Terry W.
Hartle, Senior Vice President of the Division of Government and Public Affairs.
I am always impressed with the level of insight these two people bring to the
discussion on what is happening in the world of higher education, the impact of
demographic trends and the interaction between higher education and the
government.
If you ever have the chance to become an ACE Fellow, jump at
it! If you are in a position to sponsor or host and ACE Fellow, do it! You,
your institution and the ACE Fellow will all be better as a result.
Tom Hayes
th@simpsonscarborough.com
American University launched its new brand strategy through a big campus event yesterday. One of the brilliant elements of the launch was the creation of an 11-minute video (long, I know!) designed to help AU's students, faculty, and alumni understand the process, research, and thinking behind the new strategy.
We all know that launching any sort of "new" strategy on a college campus is likely to be difficult. There will always be detractors. To counter this, AU went to great lengths to bring internal audiences along. The video explains the research that was used to develop the campaign, describes who was involved in the process, discusses the importance of managing AU's identity, and works to get people excited about the idea of being a WONK.
An article in the AU Eagle this morning still describes students who argue they should have been more involved in the process. But students were extensively focus grouped as part of the process to develop the strategy. And, every last one was invited to participate in a survey about it. Even with this level of engagement, there is still more work to be done.....which is why the video is such a great idea. It was produced internally in about two weeks and was certainly worth the investment of time. A great examples of best practices for an internal brand launch.
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American University is launching its new brand campaign today. Executive Director of Communications & Marketing, Terry Flannery, and team have led the institution through an exhaustive process involving research, evaluation, strategy development, and creative development to arrive at the new plan for promoting the identity of the University.
Today they are staying true to "best practices" and engaging in a comprehensive internal launch which will include a video link from the Website (will post later today) and a major presence on their quad with t-shirts, balloons, and excitement (will post photos later today).
So, what does it mean to be a member of the AU community? It means you are a WONK. What is a WONK, you ask? Click here to find out!
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As they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words." Check out this chart from the Chronicle of Higher Education that shows enrollment growth over the past ten years among for-profits compared to any other area in higher education. Now think of all the press lately about the questionable enrollment practices among for-profits and ask yourself where our profession is heading. Sobering isn't it?
There was an interesting piece in The Washington Post yesterday titled, Colleges come up short on what students needs to know. It gave a little preview of a study slated for release today that was conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). The study looked at the extent to which colleges are covering what they call "the basics" of composition, literature, foreign language, U.S. government or history, economics, math, and natural/physical science. There is an associated Web site, www.whatwilltheylearn.com, that is billed as "a guide to what college rankings don't tell you."
Frankly, I like anything that is billed as an alternative to the U.S. News rankings. This source doesn't claim to be the definitive ranking of colleges but ACTA President, Anne Neal, says the site provides crucial information to students and families that has been missing.
I compared my undergraduate alma mater, James Madison University, to two other public institutions in Virginia with much higher rankings on U.S. News: William & Mary and UVA. JMU has a grade of B on "the basics." William & Mary is a C and UVA is a D. So, I am officially a supporter! Interesting to note, though, that grad rates at UVA and W&M are a full 10 percentage points higher. Things that make you go, "hmmmmmmmm......."
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Families are facing rapidly escalating college costs, are reaching across all funding sources to meet additional college costs, and are very worried about future tuition increases, according to a report just released by Sallie Mae and Gallup. After interviewing over 1,600 undergraduates and parents of undergraduates, the Sallie Mae and Gallup study uncovered some very sobering findings:
· Nearly half (49%) [of parents surveyed] are extremely worried this year that schools will increase tuition compared to less than one-third of parents two years ago.
· One-third of parents are extremely worried that their income will decrease due to job loss, up from 23 percent last year.
· Only 10 percent of parents were extremely worried two years ago that their child wouldn't be able to find a job, but that has risen to 27 percent this year.
· More families reported eliminating schools during the college selection process based on cost after receiving their financial aid packages (40% this year compared to 36% last year and 34% two years ago).
· 63 percent of families report eliminating colleges because of financial considerations at some point in the application process, compared to 56 percent in 2009 and 58 percent in 2008.
