I was not surprised when I read the article by the above name in my online edition of University Business (the author was Neil Raisman). What baffles me is that this should come to a shock to anyone! The biggest reasons for leaving had to do with poor customer service and its ramifications. The tope three reasons for leaving according to Mr. Raisman are 1) the college doesn't care, 2), poor service or treatment and 3) it's not worth it. I have been saying for years that schools have been ignoring that we are in a "service economy" and need to accommodate the rising expectations and demands of the marketplace.
We are in the business of recruiting successful alumni which means the priority is not getting people in the door but providing the course work, support systems and non academic experiences that keep them there. It is about the total academic experience and those fight this concept will be all the worse for it.

Tom Hayes

http://simpsonscarborough.com/hayes.html

I don't have alot of time today (busy, busy here in DC)... so I will make this quick!

 

I read this article today on Inside Higher Ed about a study from Cornell about the importance of student services and the correlation between spending on student services and graduation rates. I thought it was interesting, and I wanted to share it in case you didn't see it.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/07/29/gradrate

Happy hump day!

--Meredith Simpson

Tedd Kelly, the founder and President of Consultants for Educational Resources and Research, Inc (CERR) passed away last week. Tedd was my first boss and one of the most influential people in my career. He and his dear wife, Patsy, hired me right out of college with absolutely no experience. They taught me how to behave in the business world and gave me opportunities I never imagined I would have at such a young age. 

The best thing about working at CERR (because it was a small firm) was that I could be making part of a presentation to a Board one day and then sitting on the floor licking stamps the next. Tedd and Patsy saw no limits to what I might attempt at work. They encouraged me to seek out new types of clients and develop new services. It was an absolutely amazing "first job out of college."

Tedd encouraged me to get involved with the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education the year I joined the firm, 1992. I was 22 years old and my paper was accepted for presentation. I thought I might throw up before that lecture. Today, I am Chair of the Symposium. There is no doubt that I owe the Kelly's for bringing me into the wonderful world of higher education and giving me my start.

Tedd and Patsy weren't regular bosses. They didn't treat me like an employee, they treated me like family. At my wedding, after the first dance with my father. I danced with Tedd (picture below). I will miss his quirky sense of humor, his gentle demeanor, and his kind heart.

 

God bless you Tedd and Patsy. You were influential role models for me and many others. It was a privilege to work with you and I will remember those years so very fondly for the rest of my life.

-Elizabeth Scarborough 

 

 

 

Living through the worst economic crisis since the great depression has caused nearly all of us to stop, at least for a moment, and ask ourselves some tough questions: what do we really need to survive and what can we live without? Well, private colleges are no exception; they have asked themselves the same tough questions and their collective response led to a rather interesting conclusion: the smallest average increase in tuition and fees in 37 years, according to a survey conducted by NAICU. Can there be a positive outcome from all this belt tightening? I think so, because in the final analysis, we all will be forced--personally and "on a college-level"--to determine what's really important to us and our institutions and to identify what we really need and what we simply cannot live without. Is that really a bad thing?

 

-Jeff Papa

Okay, I am the first to admit that I do not get it. I do not tweet nor do I follow those that do. I think I understand the concept, (However I am attending an Academic Impressions webinar on Thursday, July 22 on the use of Twitter in recruiting and marketing applications so I will know better then) I do not understand why someone would want to follow every thought or rambling that emanates from the "tweetosphere" ( I think I just made up a word), Maybe it is my Jesuit training but I would like to think and reflect on information before I react.  I hope that those that read what I may write would do the same. In a world of constant intrusion by cell phones and emails (can we ever really go on vacation again when you are constantly locked into emails), I do not need one more piece of information. Whatever it is, it can wait (with the possible exception of updated Xavier basketball scores). Walter Cronkite reportedly stated that the 24 hour news cycle was not good for news. His perspective was that it motivated people to react without making the second or third phone call to establish the credibility or voracity of the story.

My friend, Joe Hice, of the University of Florida says that Facebook is the "shrine to oneself." If that is the case, Twitter would seem to me to be the child screaming in the middle of the store that implies "Hey, look at me!"

 

Tom Hayes

 

http://simpsonscarborough.com/hayes.html 

 

 

I recently came home from the CASE Summit in San Francisco and recommend this conference to anyone who wants to hear new ideas and learn about cutting edge applications. One session I particularly enjoyed focused on social networking and new technology. One third of the session focused on Fresno State's new phone application for IPhones and Blackberry's. They are serving as a beta test for Harris. I have seen Stanford's application (recently bought by Blackboard for 4 million), and it was exciting to see the potential unleashed to the rest of the colleges and universities. I love the idea that you have your alma mater/favorite institution only a click away. You can check out news (perhaps the latest information on Musketeer basketball), You Tube videos, or find a bullding on the campus map using GPS. Stanford's application has been downloaded over 45,000 times by students, parents, alumni and those who just think it's cool. I am sure Harris's system will be comparable but having two companies out there will brig this concept to market even faster. As any other new concept, those that adapt it first will get the most mileage out of the communication device. For the rest of the institutions it still an effective way to connect to your most important markets. Hey Xavier, I'm waiting!

 

Tom Hayes

 

http://simpsonscarborough.com/hayes.html

 

 

 

In higher education, most schools are trying to make a name for themselves.   But what happens when your name itself leads to total brand confusion?  Working in branding in higher ed, every school who is conducting an image and branding study is trying to position itself to be differentiated and relevant.  As we research perceptions and associations of colleges and universities, many misperceptions are revealed.  But when you have a name that leads to additional misperceptions, it makes branding even more necessary.  For example, Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana, just received a court judgment that will require Franklin University in Ohio to refer to itself as "Franklin University of Ohio" or "Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio." 

Franklin University entered the Indianapolis adult education market with a media blitz this past spring promoting its adult programs, creating confusion, for Franklin College  (an undergraduate liberal arts institution of a little more than 1,000 students) who has received calls, comments and emails from people asking why they changed their name or if they started online programs.  Luckily, Franklin College's President quickly filed a complaint in U.S. District Court.

Other institutions who must experience similar issues are Miami University of Ohio and Miami University in Florida, Bethany College in Kansas and West Virginia,  "Loyola Universities" in Louisiana, Illinois and California and soon to be Maryland.  Even schools with names that are similar but not identical have issues - Seton Hill and Seton Hall, St. Mary's and Mount St. Mary's, even James Madison and George Washington!  This points to the fact that branding is necessary and needs to go beyond a name.  Make yourself more than a name - create an identity, an institution that is known for something not just its name.

Dana Edwards

There is a fun posting on Applywise about the five campuses that look most like Hogwarts; the school where Harry, Ron, Hermione and the gang study witchcraft and wizardry. Topping the list is University of Chicago, home to Hutchinson Hall (below) which was actually modeled after Christ Church, at Oxford, where the Potter movies are actually filmed.

It's all Harry Potter all the time in my household these days so I thought this was a fun article. Other campuses on the list were Yale, Cornell, Kenyon, and Bryn Mawr. For really big fans, it might be fun to take a little road trip and see them all!

-Elizabeth Scarborough

 

I found a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle fascinating. It discussed a very creative solution to the pressing financial issues facing community colleges in California. If you have $6000 to spend City College of San Francisco has an outlet for you. According to the Chronicle, "Chancellor Don Griffin at City College of San Francisco suggests using it to rescue an endangered community college class. Contribute and the class will be named for you."
Due to budget cuts in the state system, City College must reduce their course offerings by 800 courses. This will have an extremely negative impact on the school and its counterparts throughout the state who are in the same situation.  As I have written before on out blog, community colleges fulfill a very important role in our society. They are an important portal to higher education for a large portion of the public. This same audience is among the least wealthy and less likely to be disposed to the idea of higher education. To make matters worse, budgets do not typically go up as student enrollment increases. Presently, due to the economy, the demand for community colleges is increasing dramatically. As a result, the schools are therefore already stretched to the limits without budget cuts. Some may find the Chancellor's solution distasteful, but I find it a creative solution to a problem beyond his control. Which is worse, a public that is denied access to education and desires it, or the Wal-Mart Introduction to Retailing? (okay the David Carradine Memorial Kung Fu course may be a better example) There may be the need for controls that offset potential conflicts of interest, but is this a reason not to pursue the idea?
Some may say it further demeans the academy. However, this is just an extension of endowed professors, named buildings and classrooms. Over ten years ago, I wrote an article that imagined on line courses that were brought to you by corporations that were taught by "celebrity" or star faculty. Personally, I would rather students have the opportunity to study at an accredited institution that has sponsored courses where the faculty and administration care about their learning and success than have these students turn to some of the "sham" institutions that are geared to federal monies and care less about the student and their future.
Chancellor Griffin is obviously one of those people who makes lemonade out of lemons. I applaud his efforts. He is faced with a difficult situation that challenges the opportunity to fulfill an important mission.  My guess is that soon we can place our names on the back of individual chairs in classrooms. It is not a perfect world. On a positive note, maybe this type of program will get enough coverage and shame enough people that education will be given a greater priority in our society and government spending.
Tom Hayes
http://www.simpsonscarborough.com/hayes.html

I saw four articles in the last 24 hours about how schools are reacting to the shift in the economy.  For example, Southeastern Louisiana is cutting jobs, Duke is offering early retirement packages, furloughs are being introduced in the University of California System, and partial paychecks are being distributed at Lambuth.  Simultaneously, there are just as many articles focusing on how community colleges are bursting at the seams with higher enrollment numbers than ever before, younger students than ever before, and more full-time students than ever before.  Yesterday, in Michigan, where the car industry woes have produced a grim employment scene, President Obama announced a proposal to give $12 billion over the next 10 years to two-year institutions to teach and train more people for "the jobs of the future."

Community colleges are changing before our eyes and if this initiative is passed, these institutions will change even more quickly and drastically. The economy is begging for new training for the large numbers of unemployed people and the job market is changing with the fallout in the economy as is the case near Detroit.  I read a very interesting article about how the President of Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana, Thomas Snyder (one of four finalists), has taken himself out of the running for the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, an assumed "step-up" in the world of higher education administration.  Ivy Tech is viewed as a model success story in the community college realm.  With the push to support community colleges coming at the federal level, apparently Snyder did not want to leave that success with a very optimistic future while many four-year institutions are not nearly as confident about tomorrow. 

In Virginia, Tidewater Community College is breaking ground for a new student center.  Because the typical community college student is now younger, they want a more traditional college experience.  Instead of going to community college on a part-time basis, many students are either unemployed or right out of high school and have the time to hang out at school.  If community colleges are to meet the needs of the changing enrollees, they will need the money Obama is proposing in order to update rundown facilities and create new facilities never needed before like aquatic centers and fitness centers when child care centers were the only centers needed previously.

 Be on the lookout for even more changes to community colleges!

Dana Edwards

Did you see the ABC News article that indicated that some students are buckling down and completing their 4-year degree in only 3 years? From a student's perspective that's one, smart way of dealing with this economic crisis--get it done and move on. But from an enrollment management perspective, y'all may be saying, "I thought we already had enrollment and retention challenges, now this---what's next?" I say it's time to seize the moment, "put on our strategic thinking hats," and consider developing several new pedagogical models that will actually allow today's students to complete their degree in less time. You know--turning lemons into lemonade. I know this is crazy talk--but someone has to do it.

 

-Jeff Papa

I just read this article on NJ.com about how Rutgers' enrollment is going to top 53,000 this year. This just reminded me of at least five other articles I've read in the past two weeks or so which describe the flood of students entering public colleges and universities. Here's but one example from the NY Times, Well Regarded Public Colleges Get a Surge of Bargain Hunters.

I work with lots of large public universities and I love `em as much as anyone; heck, I went to a couple. But I do think it's curious that we are seeing so many articles about how students are choosing public institutions in record numbers while at the same time, we are also seeing many articles about how those institutions have frozen budgets, cut merit aid, cut services, etc. Shoot, according to this article in USA Today, Florida State is even cutting off professors' phones to save money.

So, the publics are going to be serving a lot more with a lot less. Honestly, it seems to me that is only going to bode well for all the smaller private institutions out there. The publics are going to be overflowing, which will serve to reinforce the important role that private institutions play in the high-ed landscape; giving students more direct access to professors. There could even be a backlash and maybe someday I'll be blogging about the flood of students entering private institutions.

-Elizabeth Scarborough 

 

I can't tell you the number of schools that have contacted me recently to discuss their pricing strategy and the price elasticity of their school. In the wake of the economic downturn, we all are wondering if our schools are priced appropriately and competitively. School after school is struggling with some very tough questions: What's the maximum we can charge without negatively impacting our enrollment? How does demand for our institution change as the price changes? What is the relationship between total cost (tuition, fees, and housing) and perceptions of quality?

 

If you are asking the same questions of your institution, you are not alone. But, as you can image, the answers to these questions are different for each school. Although many colleges and universities look alike, they are not. And to really answer these questions in an informed and thoughtful way, you need to study your unique market position and institutional differentiators. One thing I know for sure: many of us have not looked at our pricing structure in a long time--if at all. Perhaps that's one positive outcome of our current economic climate.

 

 

-Jeff Papa

Q. Why did Rosemont decide to do this study?

 

A. Our decision to do the branding study was a critical component of our operational plan following a massive and historic strategic planning process. Our motto for the planning was "Rethink. Everything." and we did! Our final plan, which was unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2008, does nothing less than what one trustee called the "refounding" of Rosemont College. We are going fully online for all of our Graduate and Professional studies degrees (three degrees are already launched), we are seeking more and deeper partnerships with other institutions and we are becoming co-educational in the traditional undergraduate college. We are changing so much that the need to re-think our brand, as part of the very first year of going operational on this plan, was imperative.

 

Q. As Rosemont begins the Fall 2009 academic year, male students will be admitted for the first time to the undergraduate college. How is the campus community preparing for males on campus?

 

A. In order to change so much, and well, in such a short period of time, we constructed a major operational plan, as mentioned before; this included two different task forces charged to plan everything we felt we needed to do in order to welcome men into the undergraduate college for Fall 2009. Because Rosemont has been co-educational in its other two schools (Graduate and Professional Studies) since their inception, we did not have to re-do everything (we already have men's Rosemont rings, for example). But the task forces recommended lots of accommodations for the first class of traditional-age, mostly residential males, from adding three men's sports in the first year (with others added in subsequent years) to re-writing the student handbook in gender-neutral language. This summer we are renovating the gym by adding a men's locker room and repainting the basketball court with women's and men's lines and even debuting a brand new mascot!

 

Q. What information did the research provide for marketing to male students moving forward?

 

A. It was good to see that in most cases, our prospective male students were looking for the same things in an institution: small class sizes, close relationships with faculty and liberal arts majors. That was comforting because what we felt made our strategic plan especially strong, and doable, was that we were returning to and strengthening our mission based on the primary Cornelian value of an individual education.

 

Q. Do you recall anything surprising to you that was revealed by the research? If so, what?

 

A.  One result that surprised many was that while most of our survey respondents were clearly attracted to many of the special aspects of our "individual education" that Rosemont offers, and does particularly well because of our focus on the student and our relatively small size, those same respondents did not like the word "small"! I was in fact not surprised because I had read similar findings from a market survey conducted over twelve years ago, so I guess some things don't change that quickly!

 

The best surprise was that our final branding message was so greatly shared by all who took part in the study. We were thrilled to know that our prospective students were indeed looking for the kind of individual academic mentoring that we provide, that our current students are convinced that that is what we do well already, that our alumni remember that mentoring when they think of what made Rosemont so special to them and that our faculty and staff agree that they like being at an institution where academic mentoring is important and embraced. We were aware that for other institutions this shared vision is sometimes not the case, so knowing that we were all in agreement and enthusiastic about it was a good surprise.

 

Q. How do you plan to use and apply the findings of this study? What is next for Rosemont?

 

 A. We are already using the results! We had our design team (our own in-house designer working with North Charles Street Design Organization of Baltimore, MD) meet with the SimpsonScarborough group on the day they came to campus with our study results. Next for Rosemont is a wholly new marketing campaign, a new "look" for our admissions publications and, I  know, a refounded Rosemont College!

 

There is a very cool new Website that includes information about 34 Philadelphia area colleges. The site, which was highlighted in a NYT article on Monday, was developed by college students in cooperation with the Philly Inquirer. It's purpose is to give students "a view of the city and its vibrant campuses, and to provide students a platform for their blogging, photos, videos, and journalism work." There are some really cool tools on the site including a map of all 34 colleges, a calendar of events on the campuses, and a question of the week. It's tagline is "34 colleges,1 city. College life in Philadelphia." Great idea and a great site. The partnership with the Inquirer is key to promoting it. Nice example of strong work for any consortium of colleges thinking about a joint venture on the web.

-Elizabeth Scarborough