SimpsonScarborough is the data-driven partner for higher education marketers. 

The AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education has long been known as the preeminent conference for higher ed marketers, and while we're disappointed we won't be seeing everyone in-person in Chicago, what's one more (or a few dozen more) Zoom meetings? 

Editor's Note: When the NSC released the first collection of data, we were concerned that the data was not representative enough of institutions across the country to draw meaningful conclusions. Only 20% of schools were self-reporting — which is an issue in and of itself as it is not a random sample, and several geographic regions were either underrepresented or not at all represented. Due to the nature of COVID 19 and how it has affected geographic regions across the US differently, this was problematic.  With NSC's latest data release, more than 50% of schools are now reporting and all geographic regions are represented. While this is still not a random sampling, some of our concerns have been mitigated, and we're now comfortable drawing some high-level conclusions. However, we must caution that these findings may demonstrate bias and may change as more data is released.

At a time when expressions of identity and individuality are prevailing, and there's an acute intolerance of bias, discrimination, and systemic racism, we must ask ourselves — is there still a place for personas in higher ed marketing?

This is a guest post from one of our industry colleagues, Katharine Wehling. We believe her perspective about mission in higher ed is as important now as it's ever been. As she states in her article below, mission is what steers the university journey, renewing the overarching aims and sense of purpose, and inspiring stakeholders to action.“A Crisis is Looming for U.S. Colleges” proclaims NBC News in a recent article. Similar article titles appear almost daily, written by those within colleges and universities, and by interested outside observers. Amidst all of this, bringing a calming presence, is the university mission. Mission provides necessary guidance through volatile times and unrelenting change. 

We know that this week will be the most challenging week for many of you in a long line of really challenging weeks. So for this week's brief, we decided to look toward the future. But if you're not ready for that yet, just know how valuable, appreciated, and impactful your work is. Many institutions across the country begin classes this week in some form — all online, hybrid, or in-person. In many cases, they are offering all three options. In the future, this could pose distinct challenges for marketing and communications staff. It's hard enough to differentiate one delivery method in higher education, let alone three. To make that more complicated, the one method schools have traditionally marketed — on-campus — is the one with the best proof points. In fact, for many schools, the traditional on-campus experience is the only method with proof points, as many colleges and universities have never made a robust online or hybrid offer. 

Is there a reputational risk in actually opening now?

We're excited to announce that our Founder & Chairman, Elizabeth Johnson, will be a guest on The Collective Good's Place Makers Live Podcast on Monday, August 3rd at 6pm EST where she'll preview the findings from the third wave of our National Student Survey. We just pulled out of the field from data collection on Monday, surveying both returning and incoming students on the two pressing issues that face every college campus across the country: Coronavirus & race.

Historically, the buying experience at most institutions has been — how should we say it — not great. We can blame complexities like the application or admissions process, but I'd argue most of it is attitudinal. Namely, schools never tried to create a great customer experience as an element of the buying process because they do everything possible to not call their students customers. 

ICYMI, it's a presidential election year. Throw that on top of all the social, cultural, and economic instability, and you've got yourself a perfect storm of questions and considerations when it comes to digital recruitment strategies.