Continuing to Facilitate Change
We noted this message last year in our October Focus, and in many ways it’s still the same today: The need to facilitate change continues.
All colleges and universities have changed over the past decades, but the process for dealing with these changes and responding accordingly has endured. In fact, back in April 2001 Admissions Marketing Report did a feature story about us and noted that Lawlor positioned itself as a Change Agent. It was noted that if the firm was to be successful helping a client institution achieve its marketing and branding challenges, then one of the firm’s biggest responsibilities is to help facilitate change. Of course, back then many schools and individuals were supposedly constrained by institutional traditions that were based on the premise that making any changes would get in the way of getting things done efficiently (and often, it did). People were more content then with the status quo. But with today’s higher education industry and marketplace experiencing numerous changes for better or worse, change is a variable impacting not only enrollment but, for many institutions, survival.
Thus, successfully facilitating change is the key. Discuss and discern before deciding how to respond to change or how to proactively implement change. Being the agent of its own change can help the institution not only increase the number of students considering and selecting it, but also provide a fiscal catalyst to help it last longer and continue its legacy.
Lawlor Recommends
As many more colleges and universities are either closing or experiencing enrollment and fundraising shortages, the number of potential prospects is also declining. This is having a direct impact on so many institutions, and yet several colleges and universities are seeing increases in attendance and overall enrollments. Much of this is related to the geographic location and proximity to where many prospective students live, given the perceived inherent investment values associated with attending a specific college near home and/or where there are internships and opportunities to cultivate work after college.
In addition, many colleges and universities are now experiencing very generous gifts from alumni and friends who recognize the inherent value of attending a specific college. So while higher education leaders are dealing with lots of “tricks” in the marketplace, supportive “treats” are definitely welcomed. Happy Halloween!
