College buildings, interiors, furniture, spaces, landscaping, and equipment express what the college stands for, what it cares most about, and how it views the intellectual and aesthetic enterprise. Well-designed and well-built physical facilities, especially those that are distinctive, should be a more recognized force in any college's enrollment…

To market their institutions effectively, college advancement professionals need to understand that marketing encompasses several specific activities and begins with the customer's needs, not the institution's. The administrator must know the institution thoroughly before developing a marketing plan and be able to develop and adapt marketing…

This paper reviews the issues facing trustees of liberal arts colleges, including such external challenges as ideological criticism, college costs, national economic trends, and competition from other types of institutions. Trustees are urged to address such issues as external criticism of the institution, concerns of students and parents about…

Strategies used at Oberlin College to justify a budgetary increase for alumni programs are outlined, along with suggestions for budgetary planning. Alumni program coordination with other important programs--such as recruitment, career exploration, and attracting experts to campus--is suggested. (MSE)

Higher education institutions have increasingly adopted marketing principles to achieve institutional objectives. However, direct application of the traditional marketing mix as characterized by four P's (product, price, place, promotion) can be problematic. A reconceptualization of the marketing mix applies four C's: concept (mix of goods and…

A study compared enrollment patterns at 140 colleges and universities five years before and five years after they changed their names, predicting that the strategy of changing the institution's name would positively influence enrollment. Results indicate that on average, the strategic name change did not affect enrollment, and only 7% of…

Examines how research universities are responding to the complex challenge of revenue generation and budgeted expenditures in a market-driven age, and concludes that institutions adapt by incorporating market-like behavior into their business plans. The study found differences between institutions experiencing and not experiencing enrollment…

A survey of 1,967 alumni of a college school of business was designed to enhance strategic institutional planning. It had four objectives: (1) to identify skills developed or enhanced by the program; (2) to identify program strengths and weaknesses; (3) to determine levels of expectation and student satisfaction; and (4) to identify issues for…

Higher education differs from other service enterprises in its social responsibility and the context for decision making. An integrated marketing strategy based on the identified positioning of the institution plays a crucial role in successful enrollment and long-term institutional development. Marketing can make a significant contribution to…

Competition for students will increase in the next decade. Some factors indicating an institution's vulnerability to declining enrollment can be assessed, and may also be the key to initiatives by campus leaders to help offset the decline. (Author/MSE)

This article describes Washington State University's efforts to plan for and accommodate diversity on campus. It covers goals for institutional climate; administrative structure; recruitment and retention of minority students, faculty, and staff; and policy and programs concerning cultural diversity in all campus relationships, equal opportunity,…

College administrators faced with declining enrollments must take a realistic approach and recognize the effect of any planned actions. Some financial warning signals are listed, and guidelines are offered to adjust management practices and philosophies to the enrollment trends. (Author)

A study to provide some measurable benchmarks of the advancement process at small colleges is described. Data are presented on budgets, spending per function, professional staff, chief advancement officer, support staff, recruitment costs, fund-raising revenues and costs, and developing institutions. (MLW)

Simply stated, enrollment management is the process of defining enrollment goals and establishing procedures to reach these goals. The approach consists of a variety of interdependent activities, which can include the clarification of institutional mission, long-range planning, academic program planning, marketing and recruitment, retention, and…

A discussion of focus groups in college marketing planning looks at the applicability of the approach, describes important considerations in focus group research, and provides step-by-step guidelines for conducting such groups. The technique's advantages are illustrated in an actual case in which the approach saved valuable institutional…