One of the phrases I use most when speaking to a new-comer to higher education marketing is "Colleges and Universities have a bias toward reflection rather than a bias toward action."  For those that come from a corporate environment this lesson typically comes as a shock. Things move slowly in the academy. This is primarily due to the tradition of faculty governance in the process.  Like any other service based enterprise, without the input and buy-in from the employee base, you are not going to get too far. This is especially true in academics where "business models" are not the norm and misunderstood by a great many faculty.

It is with this background that I found the accounts of a recent speech by Margaret Spelling so interesting (Academic Impressions Daily News July 21/Diverse Issues in Higher Education). Ms Spelling spoke in Chicago at the second annual national summit addressing affordability, accountability and accessibility in higher education. In her presentation she called on higher education institutions to "educate 10 million more people by 2012 and particularly focus on those from low-income and minority groups as well as "nontraditional" adult students." She went on to suggest that if "higher education officials don't act, Congress and state lawmakers may step in and force mandates that could be ill-informed and based on politicking." She suggested a deadline to achieve this goal by 2012. (Interestingly enough this goal falls at the end of the next President of the United States first term...I can't help but wonder if this in itself is not "politicking").

While I do not disagree with Margaret Spellings basic thesis that America needs to do a better job of educating its populace. We are woefully behind much of the world and minorities and low income families are not being educated at a rate that will break the cycle of poverty. However, Ms. Spelling should know more than anyone that this is not going to happen in the next four years anymore than when President Bush decided that in his last year in office he would set a goal to bring peace in the Middle East by December.

Do I think this is an important issue? YES!

Do I think this we need to act sooner than later? Absolutely!

Do I think we need to work to make changes before the government does? Always!

Is it as simple as making a goal four years from now that will achieve this vision? Nope!

Education in America is under funded and not given the importance it deserves. We underpay educators in the primary and secondary ranks and fail to address many of the social issues that create barriers to higher education for those in lower economic segments. We need to develop a comprehensive plan that integrates the education across the board and does not put the responsibility on colleges and universities alone. Most of all we might even want to fund it at a fraction of what we spend on defense.  This is a complicated issue that does not have simple solution. The roots of the problem need to be addressed if we want to change the results. Anything more than that is window dressing.

-Tom Hayes

It is pretty well known how much I love college and university rankings.  No, that was not said in jest!  I adore reviewing the methodology and seeing how various publications and organizations use the various pieces of public and solicited information to establish their ratings.  It is fascinating to see how they derive lists based upon their readership or constituency's interests. 

For this reason, I was thrilled to receive a copy of the methodology for the Kiplinger's Personal Finance Annual College Rankings.  I've attached it here so that you can read it.  Since Kiplinger's audience wants a college survey that has number$ of interest, the Kiplinger's survey is based upon the "best values" in higher education.  Note that half of the criteria are financed-based and half are academic-based, with the academic qualitative information "determin[ing] the master list from which we cull our top 100 schools in each category and weighs more heavily in the final rankings than the cost information."  Interesting, because I can think of a handful of schools with amazing academic programs that aren't on their top 100...  Regardless, this is worth reading.

I've also been asked recently to re-post the survey for the reputational portion of the U.S. News & World Report rankings.  This is a year old, but it is still a gem.  If anyone wants the scoop on how USN&WR's rankings work, drop me a line.  Bob Morse generously walked me through it and I'm happy to share my knowledge!  Bob's blog entry on June 20^th indicates that this year two new features will be added to the USN&WR rankings--"up and coming institutions" and the opinions of high school counselors.

PS--I lambasted Bob last summer for not accepting comments on his blog.  I'm happy to report that function has been added!  Comment away J

-- Teresa

Weekend before last, it was my great privilege to join Sara Simpson in accepting a prestigious CASE award on behalf of her father and my business partner, Christopher Simpson. His book, Weathering the Storm, was honored with the Alice L. Beeman Research Award.

Also attending was Christopher's wife and dear friend of all of SimpsonScarborough, Millie. We all choked back tears as Julian Bivins, Chair of the CASE Board of Trustees, eloquently described Christopher's impact on the advancement profession. (Picture of Julian, Sara, and myself included below.)

CASE needs help identifying potential submissions for next year's competition. Please pass along this link to your professional network of colleagues, students, etc. to anyone you think may be interested.

I recently posted about my trip to Sao Paulo to work on the brand strategy of the Methodist institutions throughout the country. This is a photo of our Brazilian host, Paulo, and me in front of the Ipiranga Museum, located near the place where Pedro I declared independence from Portugal in 1822. The gardens were incredible with fountains and mazes. The blue sky looks almost fake, no?

The Washington Post reported today on House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel's writing "letters on congressional stationery and has sought meetings to ask for corporate and foundation contributions for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York, a project that caused controversy last year when he won a $1.9 million congressional earmark to help start it. Republican critics dubbed the project Rangel's 'Monument to Me.'" He has also secured "two Department of Housing and Urban Development grants totaling $690,500 to help renovate the college-owned Harlem brownstone that will house the center." 

His fundraising goal is $30 million for an academic center, which will house his papers upon his retirement.  It isn't the fundraising goal that The Post reports as receiving scrutiny (we all can appreciate $30 million isn't what it once was); the fact that he is "soliciting donations from corporations with business interests before his panel" is drawing ire from his peers and watchdogs.

Colleges and universities should fully embrace gifts and pork, but you need to have a communications plan in place when the details are scrutinized. If CUNY is onboard with the Center, then they need to provide details regarding the academic impact of the Center and the ways in which it will advance the institution.  And they need to help the public understand why the scrutiny is misplaced, if it is misplaced.  Otherwise, the "Monument to Me" will continue to be a lightning rod and distraction for Rep. Rangel and CUNY.

-- Teresa Valerio Parrot

The AP covered a topic near and dear to my heart this week.....online Scrabble! I've been playing Scrabulous for months now (sometimes up to 8 games at a time) without realizing that it was NOT developed by Mattel. And, I just started playing it within Facebook which makes it a lot easier to play with friends.

But, now Mattel is lobbying for Scrabulous to be pulled from Facebook because Scrabble is their intellectual property.  Aack!  I say shame on Mattel for not coming up with an easy way to play Scrabble online in the first place!  Don't deprive all of us who are hooked just because you are late getting into the game....just because you were trumped by a couple of guys in India who can only be blamed for loving the game! If Facebook loses Scrabulous, I'll still play on the main site. I'm used to it and it's a principle thing.

Anyone up for a game?

My return flight from Sao Paulo to Newark arrived this morning at 6am and I don't know where to begin in writing about my trip. I was in Brazil to speak with a group of presidents, senior administrators, and marketing personnel about developing the umbrella brand for all Methodist institutions in the country. We were hosted by the Universidade Metodista de Sao Paulo, one of the largest Methodist universities in the country.

It was absolutely fascinating to hear about the trends in the Brazilian higher education marketplace. The for-profit institutions have moved into the country in a big way. One had a goal of enrolling 100,000 students by 2010. They're already at 140,000 and the private institutions, including all of the Methodist schools, are really feeling it. From the way they described it, Brazil's traditional universities are suffering in competition against the for-profits much more than U.S. institutions. We assumed this is because the lower income socioeconomic group in Brazil is so large and so price sensitive.

Also, in Brazil, the public universities are free. Imagine our entire country having Georgia's HOPE scholarship. Getting into one of the publics is tough but when a student gets in, they always go....again because most of the families have modest incomes but also because the public universities, while free, are also the most prestigious.

The hi-ed adminstrators we met with were well-versed on marketing and branding issues. They don't seem to have the same issues we do about feeling that "marketing cheapens the academy." And, they are very pragmatic; there was a distinct "let's figure this out and get moving" aroma in the air for the entire, day-long workshop. It was an incredible experience. Will write more about the people and the place later.

These creepy  faceless people are part of a buzz marketing campaign for Lotus.I am not very sure what they have to do with cars, but that is sort of the point of these campaigns, right? They really get people talking. Blogs have been buzzing about these people who have been showing up at various events. Kind of cool, kind of freaky... I just thought I would share it with you.

- Meredith Simpson