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FEBRUARY 2000
Vol. 1, No. 3

PRESIDENTS EDITION

Welcome to the third issue of Communications Resources, CIC’s periodic kit of tools and ideas to help you tell your institution’s story. In this edition’s potpourri, we offer some ideas on why many small colleges elect to remain small. You’ll also find two samples of thoughtful presidential writing. Finally, there is information about Web sites that will link you to comparative financial statistics, data on student outcomes, information about strategic planning, and a list of consultants.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Published by CIC in 1987, the essay Small by Choice argues that small colleges are small because they want to be....and because there are inherent benefits in smallness.

PRESIDENTIAL WRITING

• In a column from the first edition of Prospect, the handsome new magazine from Elmhurst College, President Bryant Cureton reflects on size, quality, values and other traits that distinguish great colleges.
• Clarke College President Catherine Dunn makes the case for the affordability of private colleges in an opinion piece that was published in the Dubuque, Iowa, Telegraph Herald.
  

DATA

• Comparative data. We’re told the 1999 data will be available soon, but in the meantime you can download the results of the NACUBO’s 1998 Comparative Financial Statistics Survey for Independent Four-Year Institutions. Point your browser to www.nacubo.org/website/members/issues/surveys/cfs/index.html.
  
  
• Life after college. The U.S. Department of Education recently published some analysis of a study that looked at bachelor's degree recipients four years after graduation. You'll find it in Education Statistics Quarterly, Vol. 1, Issue 3, Fall 1999. The full text is available at http://nces.ed.gov. (In the Quarterly’s "Index," look in the "Postsecondary Education" section for "Life After College.")
  

PLANNING

Sample plans. The Web site of the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) offers several sample institutional strategic plans, along with considerable other helpful information. [www.scup.org]
Strategic planning bibliography. Robert Sevier, vice president for research and marketing at Stamats Communications, has developed a comprehensive "Strategic Planning Bibliography," which lists nearly 200 books and articles. The document is available on CIC's Web site at http://www.cic.edu. Sevier gave a valuable presentation on marketing at this year's Presidents Institute; his PowerPoint slides from that session are also posted on the CIC site.

CONSULTANT LIST

While not comprehensive, University Business magazine’s list of consultants nonetheless includes some 200 firms and individuals that conduct business with colleges and universities in a wide variety of fields. Surf to this address: www.universitybusiness.com

FEBRUARY 2000
Vol. 1, No. 3

PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTORS EDITION

Welcome to the third issue of Communications Resources, CIC’s periodic kit of tools and ideas to help you tell your institution’s story. In this edition’s potpourri, we offer some ideas on why many small colleges elect to remain small. You’ll also find two samples of thoughtful presidential writing. Finally, there is information about Web sites that will link you to comparative financial statistics, data on student outcomes, information about strategic planning, and a list of consultants.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Published by CIC in 1987, the essay Small by Choice argues that small colleges are small because they want to be....and because there are inherent benefits in smallness.

PRESIDENTIAL WRITING

• In a column from the first edition of Prospect, the handsome new magazine from Elmhurst College, President Bryant Cureton reflects on size, quality, values and other traits that distinguish great colleges.
• Clarke College President Catherine Dunn makes the case for the affordability of private colleges in an opinion piece that was published in the Dubuque, Iowa, Telegraph Herald.

DATA

• Comparative data. We’re told the 1999 data will be available soon, but in the meantime you can download the results of the NACUBO’s 1998 Comparative Financial Statistics Survey for Independent Four-Year Institutions. Point your browser to www.nacubo.org/website/members/issues/surveys/cfs/index.html.
  
  
• Life after college. The U.S. Department of Education recently published some analysis of a study that looked at bachelor's degree recipients four years after graduation. You'll find it in Education Statistics Quarterly, Vol. 1, Issue 3, Fall 1999. The full text is available at http://nces.ed.gov. (In the Quarterly’s "Index," look in the "Postsecondary Education" section for "Life After College.")

PLANNING

Sample plans. The Web site of the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) offers several sample institutional strategic plans, along with considerable other helpful information. [www.scup.org]
Strategic planning bibliography. Robert Sevier, vice president for research and marketing at Stamats Communications, has developed a comprehensive "Strategic Planning Bibliography," which lists nearly 200 books and articles. The document is available on CIC's Web site at http://www.cic.edu. Sevier gave a valuable presentation on marketing at this year's Presidents Institute; his PowerPoint slides from that session are also posted on the CIC site.

CONSULTANT LIST

While not comprehensive, University Business magazine’s list of consultants nonetheless includes some 200 firms and individuals that conduct business with colleges and universities in a wide variety of fields. Surf to this address: www.universitybusiness.com

FOR CAMPUS PR DIRECTORS

Additional resources:

• "Must have" Web sites. Matt Conn, the director of college relations at Washington & Jefferson College, uses the Internet very thoughtfully to advance his work. Included here is his updated list of Web sites and other Internet resources that are "musts" from his perspective in college public relations.
  
  
• Two other sources. Consultants in higher education promotion often have a valuable "big picture" perspective that can help in day-to-day work on campus. For ideas about marketing higher education, consider subscribing to the free e-newsletter "QuickTakes," from the consultants at Stamats—it’s accessible through their Web site, www.stamats.com. For perspectives on how to think strategically about using new media, check out another e-newsletter, "NET Results," written by Lipman-Hearne consultant Michael Stoner—also free, it’s accessible via www.lipmanhearne.com.
  

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