Transcript Document

CCCU
New England Workshop
Bringing Research to Action
July 10-11, 2002
Goals of the Workshop
 Summarize highlights of the research and
reference new nationally-based research
findings
 Organize for implementation within
functions and across campus teams
 Develop short-, mid-, and long-term
strategies for executing recommendations
Research Audiences
Rising
Juniors
Rising
Seniors
2002
2001
High
School
Graduates
2000
Prospects
Inquirers/
Parents
1986
Prospects
Inquirers/
Parents
Admitted
Students
1986
Inquirers
3
Research Highlights
Timing of the Search
Use of Information Sources
Role of Parents
Image
Financial Issues
Competitive Positioning
Research Highlights:
Timing for Admissions
Marketing
 Prospective students are beginning the
search process earlier, many before the
junior year in high school.
 Parents are starting even earlier.
Timing of College Search (2000)
50
40
28.2%
27.4%
30
21.0%
21.0%
18.0%
20
10
0
19.6%
17.1%
8.8% 8.8%
5.9%
6.0%
B e f o re F re s hm a n
Year
3.5%
B e f o re F re s hm a n
Year
D uring S o pho m o re
Year
Inquirers
B e f o re m id- po int
o f J unio r Y e a r
S pring o f J unio r
Year
S um m e r a f t e r
J unio r Y e a r
Parents of Inquirers
5.8%
2.4%
F a ll o f S e nio r Y e a r
Research Highlights:
Use of Information Sources
 Personal contacts and printed materials are
the most popular sources of information.
 The campus visit is the most powerful
recruitment tool at all stages of the search.
 Parents are more influential in the college
search than typically seen in the collegebound student marketplace.
Parents’ Influence in Choice of
College/University (2000)
(Very
Influential)
5
4
3.49
3.49
3.34
3.41
3.44
3
2
(Not at All
Influential)
1
Prospects
Inquirers
Parents of
Inquirers
NonMatriculants
Matriculants
Research Highlights:
Use of Information Sources
 Most prospective students are using the
Web at all levels of the college search.
 Students think of email and chat rooms as
“personal” communications.
Use of Source
100
93.0%
94.9%
80.7%
80
51.8%
60
47.3%
40
20
0
18.9%
7.0%
Printed materials
4.7%
The Internet
Yes
Personal
contacts
No
Personal
communication
via e-mail/chat
rooms
Research Highlights:
2000 and 1986 Comparisons
 The CCCU colleges and universities are
somewhat more visible in 2000 than they
were in 1986.
 The overall image of the CCCU colleges
and universities has improved slightly in
academic quality.
 Quality-of-life issues emerged as the most
positive feature of the CCCU schools in
1986 and in 2000.
Familiarity with Christian Liberal Arts
Colleges and Universities
(1986 vs. 2000)
(Totally 5
Familiar)
4
2.73
3.08
3.34
3.53
3.28
3
2.42
1.79 1.97
2
(Not at All
1
Familiar)
Prospects
Inquirers
1986
Non-Matriculants
2000
Matriculants
Concerns about Cost of Christian
Colleges and Universities
(1986 vs. 2000)
Top Mention = “Expensive”
50
40
30
20.7%
19.3%
20
14.3%
12.0%
9.1%
20.2%
14.4%
10.1%
10
0
P ro sp ects
In q u irers
NonM atricu lan ts
1986
2000
M atricu lan ts
Research Highlights:
“Big Picture” Image Issues
 Students have a narrower and less positive
view than their parents of a Christian
educational experience.
 Christian-related issues affect prospective
students’ decisions throughout the
admissions funnel.
Market’s Definition of a
Christian College or University
 The first word or phrase that comes to mind
when prospective students hear “Christian
colleges and universities”:
“Religion” (5%)
“Christian environment” (5%)
“Christian faith” (4%)
“Church” (4%)
Research Highlights:
“Big Picture” Image Issues
 The concept of the liberal arts is not wellunderstood by the CCCU market.
 Top negatives focus on concerns about
small size and a sheltered, protected
environment.
Research Highlights:
Academic Quality Image Issues
 Prospective students and their parents think
about specific majors and future outcomes
when they measure academic quality.
 Prospective students tend to assume the
CCCU colleges and universities lack
academic rigor and intellectual freedom.
 An all-Christian faculty is less appealing to
prospective students than to their parents.
Research Highlights:
Student Life Image Issues
 Prospective students have a “siloed” image
of student life on Christian campuses.
 Prospective students are becoming
increasingly interested in:
Personal growth
Development of moral character
Community service
Research Highlights:
Student Life Image Issues
 Impressions of social life become more
influential at the enrollment decision stage.
 Understanding of the integration of faith and
living as well as faith and learning evolves; it
is not immediately grasped by prospective
students.
Research Highlights:
Financial Issues
 Prospective students tend to think about
“sticker price;” parents about net cost.
 Perceptions of value are closely linked to
academic quality, preparation for the future,
and character development.
 Parents want evidence of the marketability
of the degree and personal growth.
Research Highlights:
Competitive Positioning Issues
 Among prospects, top competitors tend to
be public universities.
 Among inquirers, there is a shift toward
private universities.
 Among accepted students, they hone in on
Christian colleges and universities.
Research Highlights:
Competitive Positioning Issues
 Comparative CCCU assets are:
Spiritual growth and spiritual character of
fellow students
Academic quality of students
Overall quality of education
Academic reputation
Preparation for careers
Research Highlights:
Competitive Positioning Issues
 Comparative CCCU liabilities are:
Cost
Recreational opportunities
Research Highlights:
Competitive Positioning Issues
 Prospect to inquirer conversions are
stimulated by positive impressions of:
Opportunities for spiritual growth
Spiritual characteristics of fellow students
Research Highlights:
Competitive Positioning Issues
 Inquirer to accepted student conversions
are stimulated by positive impressions of:
Overall quality of education
Social life
 Cost was the only feature of Christian
colleges and universities that was not
perceived more positively by matriculants.
Recommendations
Hallmark Themes
Communications/PR Recommendations
Admissions Marketing Recommendations
Campus Team Strategies
Hallmark Themes for the CCCU
 Academic Quality: A high-quality education
in a secular world.
 Christian-centered Community: A close-knit,
Christian community that emphasizes
character development and spiritual growth.
 Future Orientation: Preparation for life as
well as a living.
 Financial Investment: The value proposition.
Academic Quality
 Theme: A high-quality education in a secular
world.
 Introduces the Christian focus
 Positions against public and private secular
competitors
 Acknowledges concerns about invasion of
voiceless/faceless world
 Can convey freedom of intellectual inquiry
 Sets foundation for integration of faith and
learning
Christian-centered Community
 Theme: A close-knit, Christian community
that emphasizes character development
and spiritual growth.
 Highlights character development
 Distinguishes spiritual growth opportunities
 Enhances appreciation for value
 Develops understanding of integration of faith
and living
Future Orientation
 Theme: Preparation for life as well as a
living.
 Addresses interest in careers
 Advances concept of development of whole
person
 Provides foundation for moral and spiritual
lifestyle
 Raises the bar for definition of success
Financial Investment
 Theme: The value proposition.
 Creates a succinct statement
 Folds in essential elements of first three
hallmark statements
 Should be written to the parent audience
 Connects cost and quality to create a distinctive
sense of value
Short-term Strategies:
Admissions Marketing
 Begin direct marketing efforts to prospective
students early.
 Build communications flows based on the first point
of contact, not the calendar.
 Develop a parent communications plan.
 Offer a service orientation to early inquirers.
 Anticipate the composition of the competition set at
each stage of the admissions funnel in developing
strategic communications.
Short-term Strategies:
Admissions Marketing
 Be bold in defining the uniqueness of the Christian
experience, but use “cascading” language.
 Monitor the effectiveness of on-campus visits at all
stages of the recruitment cycle.
 Increase emphasis on all dimensions of the social
experience, especially at the acceptance stage.
Short-term Strategies:
Communications/PR
 Use the hallmark themes from the research to
develop a distinctive institutional identity.
 Prepare a signature statement that both captures
the institutional identity and supports the CCCU
organization.
 Develop a definition of academic quality that best
describes the institution.
Short-term Strategies:
Communications/PR
 Create a distinctive, multi-dimensional description
of student life at the institution.
 Write a value proposition that augments the
signature statement.
Mid-term Strategies:
Admissions Marketing
 Collect tangible examples of academic quality from
the community:
 Challenge
 Student, faculty, and alumni achievements
 Positive changes in student profiles
 Emphasize faculty commitment to the development
of the whole person.
 Present evidence of quality and faculty commitment
at all stages of the recruitment cycle.
Mid-term Strategies:
Admissions Marketing
 Demonstrate how students get “real world”
experiences while still enrolled.
 Illustrate ways that students work together in
Christian and community service activities.
Mid-term Strategies:
Admissions Marketing
 Collect tangible evidence of outcomes.
 Talk about value in terms of investment in
preparation for future careers, character
development, and preparation for leading
responsible and fulfilling lives.
 Advance families’ understanding of net cost.
 Bring new technological systems to the financial aid
process.
Mid-term Strategies:
Communications/PR
 Adapt the CCCU hallmark themes to develop
institutional communications that apply to all key
stakeholder audiences.
 Choose a consistent institutional “look” to be used
for all constituencies.
 Use the CCCU logo to add visibility to the
organization.
Mid-term Strategies:
Communications/PR
 Develop messages describing Christian fellowship
on campus and its impact on all aspects of student
life.
 Align personal growth with spiritual development to
distinguish the Christian environment.
Long-term Strategies:
Admissions Marketing
 Develop awareness among prospective students
and their parents of the larger community of
Christian colleges and universities.
 Continue to develop electronic recruitment vehicles
and strategies.
 Seek compatible organizations for hyperlinking
opportunities.
Long-term Strategies:
Communications/PR
 Strengthen the bond between the CCCU and the
institution for coordinated promotion of a Christian
education.
 Increase the public’s perception of the overall value
of a Christian education.
 List long-term, value-added benefits
 Link social life and social responsibility
Short-term Strategies:
Campus Team Activities
 Develop student and faculty profiles to be used for
various outreach activities.
 Advantages of Christian faculty
 Portrayal of whole person (students and faculty)
 Develop a unique description of the intimacy and
the atmosphere of the campus community.
Mid-term Strategies:
Campus Team Activities
 Begin allocating new resources toward the Web
and other electronic communications.
 Make careful decisions about which print media
should be continued.
 Build a depth-and-breadth Web site for admissions
marketing and for other key audiences.
Long-term Strategies:
Campus Team Activities
 Create a distinctive set of messages for campuswide communication of the institution’s approach to
the liberal arts.
 Develop an ongoing institutional strategy for
communicating the concepts of:
 Faith and learning
 Faith and living
Summary Highlights
“We know these things for sure.”
 The college search is starting earlier for families.
 The use and influence of the Web represents a
major change in market behavior.
 Public universities are major competitors of
Christian colleges and universities.
 The phrase “liberal arts” is not helpful in clarifying
image or communicating value.
 The Christian mission plays a major role in the
college decision-making process.
“We know these things for sure.”
 Because of its perceived fragmentation, a Christian
campus experience is an underdeveloped building
block of the Christian identity.
 Prospective students have concerns about the
relationship between the Christian influence and
intellectual life.
 Academic excellence is intertwined with preparation
for the future.
 Parents are more involved in the college search in
the CCCU market.
 Perceptions of value are shaped by impressions of
an institution’s ability to offer tangible outcomes and
cultivate character development.
Incentives for Action
“This research is our friend.”
 Frame of reference
 Analysis paralysis
versus
 Management by fact
 “Silver bullet”
versus
 Incremental changes
“This research is our friend.”
 Admissions Marketing
“Good knowledge leads to good fortune.”
 59% of inquirers had some interest in applying.
 Potential impact on admissions funnel:
10,000 inq’s @ 10% = 1,000 app’s
10,000 inq’s @ 15% = 1,500 app’s
 No longer need to operate blind at top of the funnel.
 Many recommendations do not add costs.
“This research is our friend.”
 Communications/PR:
“Give me the freedom of a tight strategy.”
 Context for creative talent
 Ready, untapped market:
21% of prospects indicated some level of
interest in a Christian college or university;
33% are on the fence.
 Many recommendations do not add costs.
“This research is our friend.”
 Campus teams:
“The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.”
 Focus on cultivation of early interest.
 Preserve your distinctiveness.
 Adopt “organic” decision-making strategies.
 Use the research in all areas of communication to
help you work SMART.
Thank you
for the privilege of serving
the CCCU.