• Marketing of Higher Education Has Implications for ANAC
• ANAC PR Directors Meet

Marketing of Higher Education Has Implications for ANAC

As in the case of the competitive forces unleashed with the advent of non-need merit scholarships, the ultimate impact of "take no prisoners" admissions marketing based on selectivity as the prime indicator of institutional excellence gives pause to those who measure excellence in terms of outcomes. An even larger issue is the dichotomy between the selectivity "arms race," on the one hand, and the kind of universal education needed, on the other, to prepare a sufficiently large and sophisticated work force to satisfy the insatiable appetite of an economy driven by high technology demands. No wonder that so many new players have entered or are attempting to enter the higher education arena, as traditional higher education spends more and more money seeking to recruit a dwindling percentage of the total student pool.

The answers are in no way simple—certainly not for New American Colleges who must market themselves as being selective on the input end because of this invidious yardstick for excellence, while, at the same time, reaching out to the range of traditional and nontraditional, first-time and transfer, residential and commuter, full and part-time, and credit and noncredit students needing education in the local region within an hour of campus. There is no inherent contradiction, of course, between selective admissions and adding educational value to achieve impressive outcomes. The paradox arises when selectivity by itself is perceived to equal excellence (and may be a self-fulfilling prophecy if the students admitted are already smart enough). Most of traditional higher education feels compelled to compete on a playing field where only the richest institutions can win. Beyond the irresistible pull of reputational excellence, any educator will testify to the importance of a student body with some very bright students who will model high standards for all students.

It is against this high stakes backdrop that ANAC PR directors met in New Orleans and that ANAC members recognize in seeking to articulate clearly the distinctive educational contributions these colleges and universities make in a traditional higher education environment that some would say has run amuck. One is tempted to cheer Robert J. Samuelson's November 1 column in Newsweek—"The Worthless Ivy League?"—precisely because it places the onus for excellence on long-term outcomes. One bottom line outcome Samuelson cites are studies that show that over the long term the earning power of graduates is about the same, whether they attended an elite college or "Podunk." On this scorecard, "Companies prefer the competent from Podunk to the incompetent from Princeton." The column goes on to address the pivotal role of motivation and the impact "tough courses" have both in motivating students and producing high outcomes.

If one part of the marketing challenge for New American Colleges is articulating a message that identifies excellence with outcomes as well as selectivity, another essential element is understanding the expectations of the student audience to whom the message is directed. In this regard, George Dehne and Victoria Profy of GDA Integrated Services—consultants to smaller colleges and universities—presented results of their extensive survey research (and findings in the survey literature) on perceptions of college-bound traditional age high school students. Among their findings:

• Ideal-size of institution has grown from 3,500 to 5,000 students in the last five years. Only 8% of respondents say they prefer an institution with less than 2,000 students. This "ever-bigger" movement is combined with a seeming opposite desire for a variety of "boutique" programs and opportunities that emphasize the student as an individual. The era of "both/and," rather than "either/or" has arrived.
  
• Tomorrow's students want to attend colleges in or near large urban environments—easy access to a city of at least 200,000 students.
  
• The ability to customize will be essential. "Egonomics" is or will be particularly acute among traditional-age students, as reflected in the rising importance tomorrow's students place on communication, professional, lifelong learning, social, leadership and management skills. All were ranked more highly than discipline knowledge. ¨
  
• Providing "experiences" will be essential in promoting student satisfaction, an insight Disney and the Rain Forest Café have exploited. "Edutainment" is a term coined to describe this phenomenon. The other side of the "both/and" coin is "cocooning"—a desire to spend large amounts of time in a college room with all the high tech amenities of the one and two-child homes where many students grow up. These two phenomena will pose a multitude of challenges for faculty and student affairs staff.
  
• Conventional wisdom in recent years advised a broad education to prepare for "six or seven" career changes over a lifetime. Some futurists now believe that college graduates will work for as many as 12-15 companies and have three different professions over their work lives. Particularly noteworthy is the impact that high tech software is having in disseminating knowledge and know how formerly the domain of the professions.
  
• The ubiquitous presence of technology on campus and its use as a standard course feature—as tool and Internet access. At the same time, tomorrow's students will insist on personalized attention and being treated as individuals.
  
• Two terms from Faith Popcorn's book, Clicking—Sixteen Trends to Future-Fit Your Life, Your Work, and Your Business (1996), are "clanning" and "anchoring" ("cocooning" is another) which refer to students' desire to associate with like-minded individuals and an increasing tendency to seek fulfillment in spiritual values, respectively—both suggesting a return to traditional values.
  
• "Vigilante Consumerism" is on the rise as suspicion about institutional motives and lack of trust increase. Partly this is due to excessive marketing claims, partly to declining customer satisfaction with the quality of goods and services (as measured by the Consumer Satisfaction Index).

The Symposium on Higher Education of the American Marketing Association in New Orleans, served as a venue for public relations directors at ANAC institutions to hold their first ever meeting, November 7. In addition to sharing their institutional marketing materials, strategies, and procedures, the group agreed that their focus in meeting together should be to position ANAC in ways that present the differentiating features of private comprehensive higher education, enabling ANAC to articulate a "message" helpful to its member institutions. From this premise, participants felt that cooperative activities would be beneficial and identified steps that would be taken to work together.

In particular the group will work together to hone the New American College message, especially the characteristics which differentiate ANAC members from liberal arts colleges and flagship state universities. It was noted that expressing the essence of the entire institution in a unique, compelling, and integrative way is a daunting challenge (e.g., core liberal arts plus professional programs, transfer and adult students, graduate programs, outreach to the community, etc.), but one that will have powerful impact when done well. The group will also seek coverage in the national media as a way of raising the profile of ANAC institutions collectively. Strategies were discussed for proceeding in these two areas, an initial step being to add regional and professional accrediting associations, media outlets, relevant foundations, and all national higher education associations to the Bulletin email list.