Making the Case

Key Messages and Data • Making the Case Resources • Media Activity • Speeches and Addresses • Books and Reports •

October 2000
Vol. 2, No. 1

PRESIDENTS EDITION

Welcome to the fifth issue of Communications Resources, CIC’s periodic kit of tools and ideas to help you tell your institution’s story. This edition, our first for 2000-2001, includes a thoughtful article, several links to data, and a reference to some material on marketing. Here’s the rundown:

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Technology. “I believe that those of us who work at small colleges are going to find ourselves increasingly engaged in, and even building, much more comprehensive regional and national consortia, for the fundamental strategic purposes of comprehending, managing, and affording the next generation of IT infrastructure and services.” So writes Diane Balestri, vice president for computing and information services at Vassar College, in a recent edition of EDUCAUSE Review. With the permission of both the author and EDUCAUSE, the full text of her thought- provoking, highly insightful article, “Collaborations Great and Small,” is enclosed.

DATA

Fact book. Eastern College Provost Harold Howard has compiled “Just the Facts,” a fascinating compendium of facts and data across the scope of higher education and beyond. Moreover, he was kind enough to provide enough copies so we could mail them to presidents and vice presidents for academic administration. President’s copy enclosed.

Parental attitudes about paying for college. How do parents expect to pay for college—and are they prepared to do so? UPromise, a dot-com, has posted to its Web site results of a survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research on those and related questions. http://www.upromise.com/pressroom/virtualpresskit/collfinancefacts.php

Teenager attitudes. The Horatio Alger Foundation recently published results of a survey of some 1,300 teenagers. Among other finds, the data suggest that fewer teenagers plan to attend college than when a similar poll was taken three years ago. The full report, “State of Nation’s Youth 2000-2001,” is available online at http://www.horatioalger.com/pubmat/surpro.htm

MARKETING

Branding. Stamats VP Robert Sevier, a well-received speaker at last year’s Presidents Institute, has published a new white paper, “Brand as Relevance,” that speaks to the importance of branding in higher education and outlines a seven-step branding strategy. That paper and eight others on such issues as image, marketing, and strategy are available for download on the Stamats Web site, http://www.stamats.com/whitepapers/index.html.

FAREWELL

CIC intends to continue Communications Resources, but I need to tell you that it will be under another editor’s pen. By the time you read this, I will have moved on to a new position as Senior Director, Publications with NAFSA: Association of International Educators, another Washington higher association. CIC Senior Advisor Keith Moore will take charge of Communications Resources until a new person is found to direct CIC’s communications efforts full time. I know that I will carry much about CIC with me as I move on….my thanks to all of you who have enriched my experienced here.
—Steve Pelletier
Vice President for Communications

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK….

What do you think about Communications Resources? How can we improve it to best serve your needs? Let us know. Contact interim editor Keith Moore, CIC’s senior advisor for public relations, at (202) 466-7230; e-mail kmoore@cic.nche.edu; fax (202) 466-7238.

WANT TO SHARE SOME OF YOUR WRITING?

Since our first edition, we’ve heard from many presidents and campus PR directors. Several have suggested future articles for Communications Resources, and several presidents have asked us to consider some of their writing for future issues. If you have a short speech, op-ed, report or other article that you think would be of interest to your colleague presidents in CIC, send them to Keith Moore at CIC. We’re especially looking for articles about values, the return on investment that CIC colleges provide to students, and the meaning of “independent” in independent higher education.

CIC PRESIDENTS LISTSERV

If you’re not on CIC’s “listserv” discussion group for presidents and would like to join, send your e-mail address to Maxine Morris at mmorris@cic.nche.edu, and we’ll add you. There’s no charge for this service. Participation is restricted to sitting presidents of CIC member institutions. CIC also sponsors listservs for chief academic officers, business officers, and lead staff in student affairs, advancement, public relations, and IT. See CIC’s Web site or newsletter for details.

October 2000
Vol. 2, No. 1

PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTORS EDITION

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

DATA

Parental attitudes about paying for college. How do parents expect to pay for college—and are they prepared to do so? UPromise, a dot-com, has posted to its Web site results of a survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research on those and related questions http://www.upromise.com/pressroom/virtualpresskit/collfinancefacts.php

Teenager attitudes. The Horatio Alger Foundation recently published results of a survey of some 1,300 teenagers. Among other finds, the data suggest that fewer teenagers plan to attend college than when a similar poll was taken three years ago. The full report, “State of Nation’s Youth 2000-2001,” is available online at http://www.horatioalger.com/pubmat/surpro.htm

WEB SITES

For a list of “Web sites worth watching and why,” compiled by Roland King, VP for Public Affairs at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, send an e-mail to roland@naicu.edu.

MARKETING

Branding. Stamats VP Robert Sevier, a well-received speaker at last year’s Presidents Institute, has published a new white paper, “Brand as Relevance,” that speaks to the importance of branding in higher education and outlines a seven-step branding strategy. That paper and eight others on such issues as image, marketing, and strategy are available for download on the Stamats Web site http://www.stamats.com/whitepapers/index.html.

FAREWELL

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK….