A stroll across any college campus spanning the nation can spotlight just how diverse student populations are. Today’s students come from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. They are of varying ages and have different desired teaching modalities. Some have demanding parental and guardianship responsibilities outside of the classroom. An assortment of students exists, each with complex and unique needs and similar aspirations targeted at a singular desire to achieve social mobility upon graduation.
But there’s a concern with the newest generation of students: Gen Z, who are currently between 11 and 26 years old, distrust higher education institutions, according to a recent survey conducted by Morning Consult, a research institution. The distrust exists because students are savvy, thoughtful and intuitive. Before enrolling in classes, prospective students must recognize and believe that the pursuit of a credential will have a significant return on investment upon completion.
This article is part of a monthly series provided by the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR), an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges.
Two focuses, in general, can help community colleges stand out as the leading institutions of choice at a time of significant disruption in the marketplace: brand recognition and rightsizing.
Brand recognition
Colleges must ensure they have a brand that continues to resonate and evolve with their diverse prospective students. In the digital age, where information bombards consumers constantly, brand recognition becomes even more critical.
Consumers lose concentration after just eight seconds, according to the International Journal of Engineering and Management Research. This statistic highlights the effects of an increasingly digitized lifestyle on the human mind. Superior brand recognition provides institutions a sense of credibility and acceptance to would-be consumers.
Colleges can ensure they’re achieving brand recognition by considering these questions:
- When was the last time your college conducted a refresh on its visual branding standards?
- Has your college held a series of focus groups to consider public perception?
- Is your institution following the latest creative trends, or has your marketing and communication efforts been set to “auto-pilot?”
Rightsizing the institution
Moving any organization forward may call for institutional-wide rightsizing. Rightsizing is “any cuts made during such efforts to an institution’s workforce or academic portfolio (to) free up funding to be invested elsewhere to enhance the institution’s viability,” according to Best Practices in Institutional Rightsizing, which was released by the Hanover Research Group and Inside HigherEd in June 2023. The report found that “rightsizing” may be perceived as “more friendly” than “downsizing,” which oftentimes carries a negative connotation and is often associated with layoffs.
“Rightsizing is more strategic, with a focus on shifting available resources by cutting in some areas to facilitate investment elsewhere,” according to the report.
It involves aligning faculty, infrastructure and programs with diverse student needs and evolving demands, ensuring a balanced and efficient operation. Through rightsizing, a college can enhance its capacity to offer tailored, high-quality instruction and support services while maintaining fiscal responsibility, creating a sustainable and thriving academic organization.
Higher education is shifting daily. The institutions that adapt to industry demands and take heed of student desires are the colleges that make certain of their long-term sustainability and viability.
