A month or so ago I was flying home to SC and forgot my book, so I picked up Delta's Sky Magazine and I came across this article about crowdsourcing. I immediately started thinking of ways that our clients could use this tool, and I brought the magazine back to DC to share with the team at our next retreat (it isn't stealing, they want you to take them!).

I did some background research on crowdsourcing, and it isn't as new of a technology as i thought. I guess I am behind on the times. It has even been applied in the world of higher ed.

Crowdsourcing is a mass collaboration enabled by web technology. It is a way to include the masses to get opinions on just about anything from product design to brand campaigns... to the design of a new bus station at Universty of Utah. 

The term was coined by Jeff Howe in a 2006 article in Wired.

 "Crowdsourcing is the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call."

Since te term was coined in 2006, there has been a explosion of different sites using the technique to accomplish a multitude of different tasks. It is inexpensive and in theory it seems like a great way to reach more people... my only question is how? Are you only reaching people who are tech saavy enough to have accounts on these sites? How can you harness this idea on your campus?  Think of the possibilities... and please email me (meredith@simpsonscarborough.com) if your campus has used this technology. I am just beginning to learn about it and I am dying to see more of it in action!

These are the articles I read. Definitely worth reading...

http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2010/03/01/Putting-the-IT-in-Crowdsourcing.aspx

http://msp.imirus.com/Mpowered/imirus.jsp?volume=ds10&issue=2&page=72

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.06/crowds.html

--Meredith

From Tufts, to Johns Hopkins, to Ithaca College, check out The 50 Social Media Innovators in Higher Ed. These schools were recently recognized by collegesurfing.com for having "active Twitter feeds, fan-packed Facebook pages, creative YouTube videos, and compelling blogs" that capture the attention of their target audiences and promote their school in a compelling and technologically up-to-date way.

Congratulations!

-Jeff Papa

According to College Graduates Hit Hard During Recession, unemployment data for college grads is a classic "good news, bad news" situation. Or, as I like to call it, a "good news, less than good news" situation. What do you want first? Let's start with the good news.....the unemployment rate among college graduates is notably lower (4.9%) than high school graduates who did not attend college (10.8%). Now for the "less than good news," the number of unemployed jobseekers is growing fastest among Americans with higher education; in fact, the number of unemployed college graduates surpassed 2.2 million, an increase of 136% since December 2007. Considering that many of us are actively searching for specific outcome data, as a distinguishing institutional characteristic, we need to closely monitor unemployment rates and understand how that information directly impacts our ability to communicate our successes to key external audiences.

-Jeff Papa

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

Now that many of us are "blogging," "twittering," or "on Facebook," one major question remains: is social media an effective tool for promoting our institutions and engaging our audiences?  It's simply too soon to know--at least for now. So what do we do in the meantime--if anything? If you're willing to take the plunge, you may want to jump into the social media pool (perhaps just with your toes at first) and test the waters and see what works--and then re-evaluate your strategies once the currents have calmed down. (Is it me or does anyone else need a Dramamine? J)

To learn how other schools are using social media, check out the article "Colleges Using Technology to Recruit Students Try to Hang On to the Conversation," which appeared in the May 1st edition of the Chronicle. Here's just a sample of what others are up to:

·         Assumption College features a stream of students' Twitter-style one-liners that are refreshed on its Web site

·         SUNY New Paltz uses Facebook as an active forum for prospective students to pose questions

·         Texas A&M University uses Facebook as a way for sports fans to post messages and promote school spirit

·         University of New Mexico maintains a Flickr pool of campus images, fed by photos from users' linked accounts

Last one in the social media pool is a rotten egg. (Sorry I couldn't help myself.J)

I've been recommending to my crisis clients that they get involved in social networking well in advance of any crisis situation so that they have an established presence and are well versed in the technology before a crisis hits.  The networks we discuss these days, of course, have to include Twitter.  Last week I presented on this topic at the CASE I conference in Boston, and this week I walked a client through the application's benefits as an internal and external communications tool.

I figured I should follow my own advice and yesterday finally set up my own Twitter account.  I would LOVE to follow any of your institutions that are using Twitter to communicate to their audiences--send me an email to tvp@SimpsonScarborough.com with your username or link to me via Twitter (user name tvparrot).

I also wanted to pass along an opportunity with a colleague I admire tremendously.  Cindy Lawson, of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, is presenting an audio conference with Higher Ed Hero on using social media during a crisis.  She and I chatted for at least half an hour this morning about how to use social media to an institution's advantage.  If this topic excites you as much as it does the two of us, you are in for a treat.

If you don't yet Twitter I invite you to join me on the other side!!

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

Can I borrow everyone with a Blackberry for two minutes?  Thanks!

Look at your Blackberry keypad and help me understand how you would use a traditional Blackberry keypad to dial word-filled 1-800 numbers?  If you only list an acronym-filled or word-based 1-800 number on your website (main page, admissions page, contact page, etc.), I suggest supplementing it today with the actual digits those words represent.  Otherwise, you might miss a call or two from those audiences you most want to hear from...

Whew!  I feel better now :).

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

Yesterday MSNBC.com ran an article about the booming Hispanic market in the United States (including the commonly misleading use of the term "Hispanic"), and the new marketing and communications tactics being used by a variety of companies and institutions to woo Nuevo Hispania.  Approaches used by the Boy Scouts of America, Walmart, AARP, Coke, and a few others are profiled.

As a topic near and dear to my heart as a Latina, I was intrigued to think about the implications of this rising demographic on colleges and universities beyond the diversity we so often discuss on campuses.  Specifically, how can we approach Hispanics with online and nontraditional offerings and how can we convince them to enroll? 

Latino Perspectives' article last August suggests online education is a match for many "Latinos because it allows them to pursue a degree without compromising family time, as is the case with a traditional college education." 

Panacea of prospective students?  Perhaps.  But, note the Pew Hispanic/Pew Internet survey of 2007 that found that 67% of Hispanics between the ages of 18-29 (our traditional student audience) have Internet access, versus 86% of their white peers.

So, this brings me back to my MSNBC article.  What can we learn from the Boy Scouts and Coke and Walmart about communicating to this rising American demographic?  And what can we learn from our peers who have captured Hispanic online enrollments?  First, we can't make assumptions across the "Hispanic" spectrum, and second we need to do some research and then craft messages that are supported by the data.  Otherwise, we are making decisions with anecdotes that, more often than not, miss our mark completely.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

PS-- visit here for information on the 2009 EDU Blogger Scholarship Contest :)

I read with interest the article last week in the Boston Globe, which talked about the Southern New Hampshire Univeristy's new Salem campus, a satellite campus that is being described as a "no frills campus."  As a word-person, I was intrigued by the terms being used to describe the branch campus and its programmatic offerings.  SNHU is describing value without using the often-stigmatized phrase "commuter campus."

The language of "value" is resonating with students.  As proof, today the AP ran a story about record enrollments for community college campuses.  Here is how the AP breaks down the economic benefits of fewer frills (my phrase) at a community college:

Nationwide, the average annual cost of community college is $2,402, compared to $6585 in tuition and fees at in-state public four-year schools, according to the College Board.  Averaging tuition and fees for private four-year schools: $25,143. 

Factoring in financial aid, the College Board estimates the average net cost at community colleges is only about $100.

What are the down sides to a "no frills" or reduced frills educational experience?  A parent interviewed in the Boston Globe story summarize the negatives well: "By being with other students and listening to the way they handle projects and even problems in life, you learn a great deal," Teri Gambardella said. "That's what they're missing right now. They just leave at the end of the day and go home."

This is the year's most critical season in higher education--the time between student acceptance and student deposits.  What language are you using to describe the value of your education and how does that experience compare to your "no frills" competitors?

- Teresa Valerio Parrot