Lake Superior State University recently released its annual list of words/phrases that should be banned from the English language. (Apparently they have been doing this list for 34 years but this is the first time I've seen it.) Among the list of banned words are: 

1.     Anything "green" - Thank goodness; this is one of the biggest bandwagons in history. I mean, I'm all about "going green" (sorry) but if people spent as much time being green as they do talking about being green, our planet would be in a lot better shape.

2.     "Carbon footprint" - I was actually proud of my carbon footprint (or lack thereof) because I haven't owned a car in ten years. Then someone reminded me how much I fly.

3.     "First dude" - NEXT!

4.     "Bailout" - Unfortunately, I think this one is going to be around for a while regardless of whether or not it's banned.  

-Elizabeth Scarborough

Jeff Abernathy, Vice President and Dean of Augustana College, was on NPR recently talking about how Augustana is taking advantage of the economy and other institutions' fears to hire amazing faculty.  Their president, board and dean are confident about their current financial successes and are poaching some of the faculty you are most worried about losing. 

Jeff provides food for though in his extended piece that appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education (kudos to Jeff for proving deans can have an amazing sense of humor!).  You might want to read it to see how your peers are approaching the current economic turbulence.  Of note, see this page, which the college created as a microsite for faculty applicants.  If I've already shared it with you, consider it my further endorsement for a great online resource.

-- Teresa Valerio Parrot

The opening speaker for CASE VI was Jason Ryan Dorsey, who at 18 wrote My Reality Check Bounced, and more recently penned 50 Ways to Improve Schools for Under $50.

Jason talked about how to work with and motivate a multigenerational workforce, and provided advice on how to connect with alumni that span the generations.  I blogged in November about Neil Howe's presentation at the AMA Symposium on the millennials.  One major difference between Neil's approach and Jason's is that Jason IS a millennial.  He isn't only talking about research findings and cultural trends, he is speaking from personal experience.

Some of the resonate advice he gave: if you have desired expectations of a Gen Y employee's performance give them specific guidance and provide them with examples.  Don't assume they know what you are talking about, because "Gen Y often lacks real world experience.  Deliver continuous feedback in short bursts."

It was with great delight that I saw the CASE VI committee anticipated his advice that examples are of great importance when requesting specific outcomes from Gen Yers.  Look at the cool "What to Wear" graphic they included in the conference program.  I LOVED IT!  I remember the first CASE conference I attended many moons ago... I felt so much younger than my peers and I seemed to be over-dressed or under-dressed at every turn.  Bravo committee!

-- Teresa Valerio Parrot

According to Lynn University professor Robert Green, a recession can lead organizations to "take kneejerk reactions in which there are long-term, negative implications." Instead, he says in an article on the University's Website, organizations should consider three key strategies:

1.     Consider reducing the number of employees to create an oppy for greater leadership and collaboration.

2.     Reevaluate your product line (for us that means the academic programs we are offering) and develop a strong, exciting brand message.

3.     Continue with your advertising and marketing research efforts.

These strategies, Green says, are more likely to lead to success in competitive markets in the post-recession era.

-Elizabeth Scarborough

I read with great interest the op-ed from John F. Schwaller, president of SUNY Potsdam, in which he describes the negative impact of proposed budget cuts to public higher education in the state of New York. 

I think this is a very interesting piece about the historical basis for public higher education, and it raises a great question about the future of public higher education funding.  As reference, the Chronicle of Higher Education has on its website a map that shows the percentage change in higher education appropriations from 2006-7 to 2007-8.  To put this in context, though, you also need to see state appropriations for higher education in dollars, which appears at the bottom of this Inside Higher Ed story.  This differentiation is important, because a large increase to a small number doesn't mean much, unfortunately.

Below is a sampling of articles written within the last week show the future of public institution enrollment and public funding--

• The University of California System cut their freshmen class for fall 2009 by 6%, and California State University System's Fresno State University "abruptly move[d] up deadline for applications" by three weeks after the freshman class size was decreased.
• The Arizona Board of Regents are considering adjusting the mandated in-state/out-of-state student mix to increase the out-of-state student tuition for the state's public universities.
• As reported in Inside Higher Ed: HBCU leaders urged Obama to prioritize their institutions in his forthcoming economic stimulus package.
• The University of Tennessee is cutting 700 positions and allowing employee furloughs after public higher education support in the state dropped by $181.6 M.
• A 10% reduction in higher ed funding signifies a $9 M reduction in public support for Boise State University.

 I'll stop there, because I've shared enough heavy news for one day.

 - Teresa Valerio Parrot

I was reading the United Airlines magazine yesterday and noticed that United has an administrator with the title, "Chief Marketing & Customer Officer."  This person's team is responsible for finding "innovative and creative ways to give customers more options." That means they are responsible for developing new products and services that respond to customers needs. This doesn't happen in high-ed; the marketing team would never be invited to make decisions about how we serve our students and what "products" we offer. But, because the marketing department has the best handle on customer needs and wants, this is the way it's done in the commercial world. I have faith.....we'll get there someday.

Elizabeth Scarborough

If you live anywhere near Phili, you have probably noticed that Temple is celebrating its 125th anniversary. I was in 30th St. Station the other day and was completely blown away by the University's ad campaign. On both sides of the station hung ENORMOUS banners. Simply and elegantly done, one said, "Celebrate" and the other just contained Temple's signature "T." I made my business partner, Tom Hayes, take a picture of one (below) on his cell phone.

Temple's creative strategy is just brilliant. The "T" is getting close to being the high-ed equivalent of the Nike Swoosh or the Target bullseye. They are already at the point where they don't even need to include the name of the institution on these banners. A great example of at least the creative aspect of branding well-done in higher ed.

Elizabeth Scarborough

When the economy gets tough, the tough start investing in their marketing initiatives.  Ok, I know what you're thinking....and yes, this may seem a bit counterintuitive from a budgeting perspective, but according to an article I just read called "Recession Marketing" now is NOT the time to cut back on your marketing efforts.  In fact, according to the article, you need to find out where your brand currently resides in the minds of your target audience and then take the information gained from market research and start promoting your institution.  The more frequently you market your brand, the more likely you will be included in your target audiences' "evoked set"--a subset of colleges and universities that students are seeking because they believe those institutions (and ONLY those institutions) will meet their needs.  Marketing is muscle, not fat - so be careful about cutting it! When possible, in these tough times, "try to maintain, or if possible, increase your marketing." I hope this mantra helps you the next time you are sitting through another less-than-fun budget meeting.

Jeff Papa

President and Partner

SimpsonScarborough

If you are like me, you can't read enough about how to make good decisions in this economy. I'm devouring articles on it pretty much every day now. This article on BrandChannel.com makes an interesting point; "well-established brands that represent both quality and value...can actually benefit from a recessionary economy." Why? Because weaker brands are weeded out.

Additional points of note:

* "A recession will force many companies to communicate about (or to find) their brand soul"

* "A brand paradox is that marketing expenditures are often slashed in recessionary times, so brands risk becoming less visible."

* "A company's management must have strong enough stomach to follow a contrarian's strategy and invest funds in brand marketing when other expenses must be controlled."

* "The bottom line for a brand facing a recession is that it...must aggressively and tirelessly buils a compelling case for the brand's singularity."

The article veers way off course when it starts describing the problem with "fake" brands; you know like those fake Fendi purses they sell on Broadway downtown. As a consumer of said products, the author lost me on that part.

If you want more on marketing in a down economy, sign up for my colleague, Teresa's, CASE Webinar, Communicating with Your Audiences: Making Your Case in a Down Economy, on Tuesday, February 24th.

Elizabeth Scarborough 

[T]he "spacebook" blog has been pretty successful in terms of reaching middle-school and elementary-school kids. Back in November, I posted a little on-the-fly analysis, based on Google Analytics, of how our well our mix of traditional and non-traditional (read: social media) PR campaign worked for this site in its early days. You can see the analysis, complete with charts and graphs, at http://highered.prblogs.org/2008/11/21/traffic-from-a-pr-campaign/ . So if you're interested in reading about that kind of measurement stuff, take a peek at that post (and the comments, of course).

The health officials had recommended nursing homes, hospitals, schools, universities and restaurants discard specific containers of peanut butter linked to the outbreak.

CU leaders last year announced plans to create a $9 million endowment to fund the Visiting Chair in Conservative Thought and Policy on the Boulder campus, which long has been derided as a liberal bastion.

"The entire concept of a Visiting Chair in Conservative Thought and Policy politicizes academics in a way that is contrary to the university's mission," senior Jesse Jensen, president of the College Democrats, said Monday. "By endowing a chair in one specific political ideology, we are not promoting intellectual diversity -- we are tokenizing a point of view that should be presented in all classes on political thought."

Putting Ingenuity to Work

As the economy continues to show signs of distress--we lost over 500,000 jobs last December alone and unemployment exceeds 7% --those of us in higher education are looking for ways to stay strong in these thorny times.  Here are just a few ways institutions have put their ingenuity to work:

1.      Kent State University (my alma mater) is offering free tuition to laid-off workers.

2.      Merrimack College recently mailed 15,000 postcards announcing what the school deemed some "economic good news" -they would not raise tuition or room and board charges next school year.

And colleges and universities are not alone; students are also thinking "way outside the box." Check these out:

1.      After receiving an acceptance to NYU, one student invited virtual strangers to subsidize part of his education. Here's his plan: "He'd get 10,000 strangers to donate $2.50, $3.50, or whatever they could afford. To thank them, he'd send a piece of his graduation cap or gown. Within weeks donations poured in from the U.S, Nigeria, Spain, and many other countries. As of earlier this month, he has raised $11,000, more than enough to finance his first semester."

2.      Other students have created peer-to peer lending sites where "needy students can solicit anyone--friends, relatives, coaches, strangers--to 'sponsor' their grades. The better students score, the more tuition money they'll receive."

These are just a few examples of what schools and students are doing in these challenging times.  We need to ask ourselves the all-important question: what are we doing, at our own institutions, to navigate through the economic downturn?

Jeff Papa

President and Partner

SimpsonScarborough

There was an article titled, How to Market During a Recession, in The Financial Times of London, back in Feb of 2008. You really should go read it right away. The author describes 8 factors you should consider when developing your marketing plans for 2009. They are:

1. Research the customer -"You need to know more than ever how consumers are redefining value."

2. Focus on family values - "When economic hard times loom, we tend to retreat to our village. Look for cosy hearth-and-home family scenes in advertising to replace images of extreme sports, adventure, and rugged individualism"

3. Maintain marketing spending - "This is not the time to cut advertising. It's well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times."

4. Adust product portfolios - "Marketers must reforecast demand for each item in their product lines." (In higher education, that means we have to reconsider what programs we are offering and how we are delivering them.)

5. Support distributors - (not very relevant in high-ed)

6. Adjust pricing tactics - "Customers will be shopping around for the best deals."

7. Stress market share - Translation for high-ed is that you want to relax your goals with regard to certain co-horts. Focus more on making you class than on attracting a certain profile.

8. Emphasize core values - "...maintain quality rather than cutting corners...service existing customers rather than trying to be all things to all people. Chief executives must spend more time with customers and employees." 

Elizabeth Scarborough

In ordinary times, a college degree goes a long way toward securing employment, even during a recession. It also offers some measure of job security: Workers with at least a college diploma are less likely to lose their jobs in down times. But college grads such as Razmara are now finding that a postsecondary education isn't necessarily enough.
In fact, labor economists say the unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor's degree or higher is poised to hit a record high.
This recession is so far-reaching, they contend, few are immune from the consequences.

At the close of 2008, more than a few private colleges and universities began to ask themselves the tough, yet all-important question: will the current economic downturn negatively impact our enrollments? Although this is not the most pleasant issue to deal with at the beginning of a new year, I strongly encourage my colleagues at private colleges to ask this very question of their own institutions. And if you are concerned about your enrollment situation, you are not alone: a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NICU) revealed that 65% of the 371 participating institutions are greatly concerned about preventing a decline in their student enrollments. And the recent New York Times article entitled Private Colleges Worry About a Dip in Enrollment indicates that "getting exactly the right enrollment -- always a tricky proposition -- is especially crucial for small colleges with tuition-driven budgets."  Now for the tough questions: What are you doing to communicate and illustrate to families of both current and prospective students that your institution is, in fact, worth the cost of attendance--even in these challenging economic times? What specific steps are you taking to discourage current students from leaving your institution for a lower-priced alternative? I am generally an optimist, but in our current economic climate we have to ask ourselves the tough questions or we may find ourselves out in the cold.

Jeff Papa

About a year ago, I overheard my friends, Bruce Ryan and Blixy Taetzsch, from Tompkins Cortland Community College talking with eachother about how one of them had "woo" and the other was an "organizer." They acted like these labels were clues to why one or the other behaved in certain ways. As in, "Oh Bruce, the only reason you are saying that is because you are such an organizer." 

I had no idea what they were talking about until they gave me a book called Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book is linked to an online assessment tool, called StrengthsFinder. You can use the tool to find out which of the 34 themes represent your greatest strengths. Mine are:

1. Achiever - the power supply that drives me to work long hours

2. Includer - which explains why I am so afriad to hurt anyone's feelings

3. Self-assurance - means I am not easily swayed by others' arguments

4. Learner - the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence is energizing to me

5. Responsibility - a near obsession for doing things right

We are having a staff retreat next week at SimpsonScarborough and everyone on our team has "discovered their strengths." We have a consultant, Rob Fletcher, coming in from Quixote Consulting to help us understand what this all means and how our strengths complement or conflict with each other. Maybe this will help me understand why EL is so good at meeting deadlines, why DE is so adept at remaining calm in the midst of a crisis, and why TH is so good at customer service.

Elizabeth Scarborough