Competition for Established Branch Campuses

I love competition and the challenge of growing enrollment and budgets.  I enjoy all the elements, at least as I’ve experienced them.  Marketing releases lots of creative energy, and the challenge of continuously improving institutional processes appeals to the puzzle solver in me.  I also believe that branches tend to do best when they develop strong internal and external partnerships, and partnership development has been one of my most enjoyable experiences.

In this context, I’ve been thinking about the competitive pressures faced by those branch campuses that have been around for a while.  For several generations, institutions created branch campuses as a vehicle to expand access and draw additional enrollment.  I’ve often said it is a holy mission, providing opportunity to people who otherwise would not be able to realize their educational dreams.

These branches tended to be in small cities or either in the suburbs or the downtown area of cities, depending on where the main campus was located.  For decades, the practical limits of commuting distance meant that a branch, or any other commuter campus, could recruit effectively over about a 30-mile radius.  Sometimes, branches and other institutions have overlapping circumferences, but until recently, most campuses had relatively clear service areas.

It’s not that way anymore.  At this point, I hear people talking about two challenging trends.  One is the emergence of fully online or very limited residency programs that blow away any concern about a 30-mile commuting distance.  As I’ve written before, I think branches can compete against fully online programs, but it requires adjusting some of their traditional practices.

The other challenge is more complicated to describe.  The trend seems to be that many institutions are developing outreach centers or sites that are relatively low cost, but intended to draw new enrollments to specific programs.  One example involves small private non-profits that are fighting enrollment and endowment declines and recognize the need to attract more adult learners to their institutions.  There is nothing wrong with these moves, but they definitely have gotten the attention of leaders at some more established branch campuses with whom I speak.

For all that, the greatest threat to many branch campuses will not come from other providers.  It will come from their own main campus, as the powers-that-be are attracted to the cost and efficiency of their own online programs and consider branch campuses to be an unwelcome competitor.  (In fact, branches and fully online programs can enhance each other, attracting somewhat different student markets.)  Watch your back and develop strong internal partnerships that demonstrate how you can help generate institutional revenue!

A Workshop Opportunity to Explore the Encore Stage

Please forgive me for this “brief commercial message,” which I’m posting on both of my blogs.

For the past couple of years, I have engaged in one of the most satisfying professional experiences of my life:  The exploration and pursuit of my encore career.  After “retiring” from university administration, I became a consultant and certified professional coach, while rebalancing the elements of my life to bring the renewed sense of purpose that may be the hallmark of the Baby Boomer generation.

Now, in collaboration with my fellow coaching colleague, Yvonne Ulmer, I am pleased to announce a workshop for people who seek fresh opportunities in the second half of life.  From December 6-8, in St. Petersburg, Florida, Yvonne and I invite you to share in a three-day retreat, in which you can reflect, explore and begin designing your own encore experience.

The retreat will be held at the Postcard Inn, on beautiful St. Petersburg Beach, beginning on Thursday evening, and finishing at noon, on Saturday.  You might want to come early or extend your stay, as a great pre-holiday getaway.  The fee for the workshop is only $500 and that includes two assessments that you will complete online, before you come to the retreat.

During our three days together, you will develop a personal vision of your ideal life, both professionally and personally.  You will receive feedback on your assessments and learn how your personality and individual strengths are critical elements in finding that purpose and passion that can launch you toward the future.  By the end of the three days, you will have designed that future life and created an action plan to get your started.

The intended audience is anyone who may be approaching a planned on unplanned retirement, but wants more than a life of leisure, as well as individuals who may be more nearly mid-career, but seek a change in direction.  Check out our workshop flier, at http://www.yvonneulmer.com/docs/CenterStageAct2Encore.pdf.  From there, you can find links to register, reserve a room at the hotel, and see more about the backgrounds of your presenters.  Of course, if you think the workshop might be of interest to friends or co-workers, please feel free to pass along the information.  If you have questions, you can contact either Yvonne or me, and our email addresses are on the flier, as well as on our individual web sites.

If it turns out that you are more interested in a one-on-one coaching relationship, both Yvonne and I welcome new clients.  Get in touch with either of us to discuss how we work with clients to support their encore careers, professional development, or leadership challenges.

From Epic 2020: New Video on Disruption in Higher Education

Back in August, I recommended that readers take a look at a video posted online by my friend, Bill Sams.  If you haven’t watched it, check it out at www.epic2020.org.  On the Epic web site, you’ll find links to other sites of interest.

In the Epic 2020 video, Sams drew on recent and current events to forecast a radically different environment for higher education, by the year 2020.  Regardless of your personal point of view, and certainly regardless of what you want the future to be, I think Sams captures trends that deserve attention.  The video has been viewed over 40,000 times, so lots of people are paying attention.

Now, Sams has posted a new video, providing a “…concise view of what has already happened.”  The video, which is a brief, Ted-type lecture, leads to the conclusion that 2012 may actually be the tipping point, following which traditional higher education will be forever changed.  Check the video at http://epic2020.org/2012-the-tipping-point/.  Again, agree of disagree, but do not overlook the fact that Sams has essentially brought together a summary of current events.

My own best guess remains that we will see a variety of options for the pursuit of educational objectives.  The challenge, however, will be for individual institutions to identify a program niche, develop outstanding services, control costs, and generate enough revenue to thrive.  If an institution sticks primarily to face-to-face delivery to residential students, then I think it will be difficult to be successful.  Indeed, far too many institutions have a financial model that actually loses money on every residential student.  Without strong endowments to support the financial loss, attracting new audiences is the only hope of survival.

The strategic issues for branch campuses are only modestly different than for main campuses, because branches are more like main campuses than they are different.  Delivery and packaging options are extremely significant to diversification and the ability to respond to changing demands.

Check out the Sams videos and consider how your campus or institution will attract sufficient enrollment to stay successful.  Of course, as I’ve said before, even if traditional education does better than I think it will, attracting new audiences will support even greater success and provide better opportunities for your audience.

A Few Thoughts on Branch Campus Marketing

Early in my administrative career I became interested in marketing.  Before a new campus dean and I were appointed, the campus had drifted toward the low end of its enrollment cycle, which also contributed to a budget deficit.  I don’t remember how I moved from thinking about recruitment and retention to educating myself on marketing, but when I did, I found a natural fit for a psychologist interested in social behavior.

I don’t want to overstate my own marketing contribution, because we had staff working on marketing and advertising, and we also used a local marketing firm.  However, I did a lot of reading, and I talked with anyone I thought could help us.  I also think I brought some leadership, in terms of linking marketing with academic and other strategies.

The single most useful thing I did was to create a marketing advisory committee, including several small business executives.  These folks gave me a master class in marketing, and I’ll be forever grateful.  I think we became relatively smart about our work.  Along the way, both at Ohio State and at Ohio University, I learned some things.

First, I learned that any marketing effort should be preceded by market research and followed by assessment of its effectiveness.  Some of this work isn’t easy, but it is necessary, in order to manage limited resources.  Relying on intuition is not nearly enough to support decision-making, and I have seen many examples where habit and belief were seriously disconnected from effectiveness, especially in my consulting work.

I can’t go into detail, here, but your best marketing options depend on the most cost effective way you can reach a specific audience.  Sometimes that is through direct mail, but other times it will be online banner ads.  Sometimes, in specific situations, it may even be a billboard.  Regardless, the goal these days is to make sure the right people see your message and are drawn to your web site to learn more.  The web site should not only provide important information, but also encourage your prospects to get in touch.  Once prospects seek more information, you need a clear, reliable set of messages and follow up contacts that move them through that well-known recruiting funnel.

Second, I learned that professional marketing people are creative and have real knowledge.  In particular, they provide design skills that are well beyond the ability of most of us.  Nevertheless, you still need to reserve final approval for yourself, if you are in charge.  As the client, presumably you know how any given marketing effort relates to other elements of your enrollment strategy.

Finally, I learned that my role, as a leader, was to keep us focused on strategy and target audiences.  For example, the best of us can be drawn to the latest “sexy” ways to advertise, but thinking strategically and programmatically is essential.  Otherwise, you’ll risk spreading dollars thinly and miss the best opportunities.  Effective marketing is too rare, but it is a sweet thing, when it is done right.

Differentiating Your Campus: It's About the Students

Higher education has become intensely competitive, with a remarkable range of program options, delivered in various ways and at various prices.  In that situation, how you communicate and demonstrate what you are about makes a huge difference.  In the business world, people talk about their “value proposition”:  What is your promise to students, and how do prospective students perceive that promise?

In my last post, I argued that it is difficult to differentiate on program or price, these days.  Instead, I maintained, how people are treated becomes a critical differentiator.  My prediction is that student-centered institutions will have a competitive advantage in the years to come.

Branch campuses should do well in this environment, given that most believe that personal service is fundamental to their mission.  Unfortunately, main campus processes and attitudes can be problematic, and some branch campus staff and faculty members are less student-oriented than we’d like.  Institutional leaders who want to see enrollment growth at their branch campuses need to help fix processes and change attitudes that get in the way.

What does it mean to be student centered?  It means that your web site is contemporary and easy to navigate.  It means your staff responds quickly and personally to inquiries, then stays in touch, providing information that matters to the audience.

If you are student centered, you make it easy to apply for admission, you are “transfer friendly,” and you appreciate the significance of financial aid.  You don’t play games with extra fees that distort the real cost of attending, and you use credit for prior learning to help cut the time to graduation.  Your class schedule includes online and hybrid options, to add flexibility.  When you promise a course, you deliver that course, and you schedule it to meet student needs, not anyone else’s.

At student-centered institutions, academic advising, supported by online information, is one of the deepest commitments. Retention efforts and learning support are state of the art and targeted to student success.  It should go without saying that office hours reflect student needs, not staffing convenience or historical practice.

One more point:  If you lead an institution, you should be obsessed with data and with continuous improvement.  Student support is an investment, not an overhead expense.  You should be able to show the financial return from each area of service, and use calculated dollar values before adding more staff.  It is important to offer the right programs, with the right delivery options, and at the right price.  But increasingly, your reputation for being student-centered will be critical.

A thoughtful, comprehensive approach to improving in each of the areas I mentioned should help you communicate the value added by enrolling at your campus.  Remember, your story will be told, as much by your students on Facebook and elsewhere, as in your online banner ads.  It’s a new world, and that world will reward institutions that pay attention to service.

Branch Campus Value Propositions

From Wikipedia:  “A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered and a belief from the customer that value will be experienced.”  What is your institution’s value proposition?  Does it distinguish you from your competitors?

Take a look at some institutional web sites and surf the Internet to see what is available.  I swear it seems as if every institution in the country is offering an online criminal justice program.  Check out how many business degrees and RN to BSN completion programs are available online.  Students have many options, and as they become increasingly value conscious, it follows that you need to make sure that your messaging differentiates your institution from competitors.

Now, consider the preferences of adult learners, who are a prime recruiting target:  We know they value the program they want, delivered flexibly and at an attractive price.  We know they care about how long it will take them to earn their credential.  So, your marketing-recruiting effort should set you apart in ways that matter to the audience you want to reach.

Sometimes, that sort of differentiation is difficult for branch campuses, as well as for online programs and main campus programs intended to serve adult learners.  However, if these audiences show the greatest potential for growth, then prospects need to easily find what interests them on the front door of the institution’s web site.  Links should be prominent and intuitive. 

For branch campuses, differentiating on program or price is increasingly difficult.  Students simply have too many options.  Although you may offer popular programs and price competitively, your prospects still have many ways to go.  Perhaps they are considering a fully online program, or maybe a key competitor offers an accelerated one-course-at-a-time model that you do not.  If you do not offer credit for prior learning, prospects may view that as a time and money issue, choosing to go elsewhere.

The point is that many students today will balance the pros and cons and then make a very intentional decision based on perceived value.  If differentiation based on program or price is difficult, then how do you set yourself apart?  Increasingly, in my opinion, the difference maker will be student services.  In an era driven by social media and word of mouth, institutions that are truly student-centered will have an advantage.  In the branch context, you need somehow to persuade students that connecting with you will bring value that is harder to find, elsewhere.

Next time:  What it means to be student centered.

More on Credit for Prior Learning

I’ve written before about credit for prior learning.  Last week, Inside Higher Education had a piece about a significant partnership between 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State University System of Higher Education and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) that will facilitate the assessment of prior learning, through CAEL’s Learning Counts service.

You can read about the initiative at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/08/23/pas-public-universities-open-doors-prior-learning-credits.  Note that, like most reputable prior learning assessment programs with which I’m familiar, it is portfolio based, and with CAEL’s strong reputation, there is no reason to doubt that prior learning can be matched to specific university courses in a reliable manner.

Understanding how credit for prior learning fits into a comprehensive strategy to serve adult learners is important.  Remember, other than flagship public institutions and elite privates, most institutions will find it impossible to balance their budgets through traditional residential programs.  Branch campuses’ stock in trade is serving adult learners and other nontraditional students, and attracting this audience is increasingly important for many small private or regional public institutions, as well.

Adult learners are extraordinarily value conscious, with cost and time to degree important elements in their value equation.  A solid enrollment management strategy should include concern for transfer-friendly practices, flexible scheduling and online options.  Credit for prior learning is an appropriate tool in this context.

I was struck by one part of the article:  “One reason many colleges are skittish about granting credits for prior learning is because to do so is to acknowledge that the academy doesn’t have a lock on college-level learning. Some faculty members also view the process warily, arguing that it can be an academically suspect money grab and a weak substitute for college.”  People who take their stand on the notion that only colleges provide college-level learning are going to find the future a very tough place to live.  Uninformed arrogance is an all-too-common weakness of the “academy.”

I do think nationally recognized standards for awarding prior learning credit would be helpful.  I’m aware of institutions that essentially give away far too much credit, with far too little documentation.  Common standards would not only increase the credibility of prior learning assessment, but it would help institutions feel more comfortable transferring such credit, as assessed elsewhere.  I hope CAEL’s effort will contribute to reliable standards.

Institutions or campuses can refuse to award prior learning credit, but if they do so, they will seriously harm their competitive position.  I congratulate CAEL and the Pennsylvania system on their partnership.