EDUCATION

Valerie O’BarComm 233011 Nov. 2010

Higher education is a business with many customers, which are students.

United States: 16 million students are enrolled at more than 4000 colleges and universities

Colleges and Universities

President: the chief public relations officer of a college or university.◦ Sets policy◦ Responsible for all operations

Larger Universities Development and alumni personnel:◦ Enhance the prestige of financial support◦ Conduct meetings and seminars◦ Publish newspapers and magazines◦ Arrange tours

Primary responsibility is to build alumni loyalty and generate funding

Development and Public Relations Offices

Public relations director:◦ Supervises the information news service, publications,

and special events

Employees will do such things as:◦ Writing◦ Photography◦ Graphic design◦ Broadcasting◦ Computer networking

The news bureau: the most visible aspect of a university public relations program.

Active bureaus produce:◦ Press releases◦ Photographs◦ Special columns and articles for print media

They also provide assistance and information to:◦ Reporters◦ Editors◦ Broadcasters affiliated with state, regional, and national media

News Bureau

Top development and public relations specialists: must be part of the management

team Attending meetings is a must

Faculty and Staff:o Success of a public relations program starts with

pleasing the internal constituency.o Involve in decisions

Faculty serve as major public relations representatives because of how many people they come in contact with.

Serving the Publics

Students make up the largest public relations arm

Quality of teaching: greatest determinant of their allegiance to the institution.

o Involving students in decisions that affect their campus lives is extremely important as well.

Pleasing the students leads to future support.

Students

Loyalty and financial support from alumni and donors is crucial to ongoing operations at a college or university.

Fund-raising has increased in recent yearso Total nongovernmental financial support: $31.6 billion in

2002 according to Giving U.S.A. Colleges and universities raise money for :

o Recruiting new facultyo Buying equipmento Building student residence hallso Providing scholarshipso Upgrading campus computer networkso Remodeling classrooms

Alumni and Other Donors

State and federal government hold the key to funding Large institutions hire individuals to monitor the state

legislature, and do such things as:o Compete with other institutions for moneyo Defend proposed increases in budgets o Protect against cutso Establish an institution’s identity in the minds of legislatureso Respond to lawmakers’ requests for favors

Government

Community Institutions must maintain a good relationship with the

community in which it is located. Faculty and staff members are encouraged to work with civic and

other organizations in order to achieve community visibility

Prospective Students Highly competitive recruiting methods

Some institutions use print and broadcast media on billboards to advertise to prospective students.

o More colorful brochures and graphicso Use of the Web

Mailing lists to reach future students

The Community and Prospective Students

To attract students to certain institutions, methods might be used that include:◦ Offering scholarships or free tuition for four years◦ Offering a private dorm room◦ Guaranteeing priority registration

Recruiting Tactics

Education has become one of the crucial planks in political platforms for candidates.

Some of the issues the education system has dealt with include:◦ Integration and busing◦ Accountability◦ Book censorship◦ Sex education◦ Discipline ◦ Crime and school violence◦ Drugs

Response to Contemporary Issues

Primary publics of a school system: Teachers Children Parents Staff The community

Steps in reaching these publics include:Research Planning ActionEvaluation

Reaching the Publics

Students with low test scores and reading levels motivate schools and communities to get involved and make a

difference.

Some businesses and organizations provide free advertising

Building Community Support

A crisis communication plan should be in place to handle:◦ Natural disasters◦ Hazardous material spills◦ Fires◦ School shootings◦ Bomb threats

When public relations teams are in the spotlight : Ex. Columbine High School shootings in Colorado. They had to do such things as: Managing rumor Helping the community deal with

the experience and images Restore calm and confidence in the

school system and community

Crisis Communication

William J. Banach’s “90-7-3 concept of school communication”

90% is: who we are and what we do 24 hours a dayo How people think, act, and appear are key factors in marketing

7% of the marketing effort is: listeningo Trying to find out what people like, want, and don’t want

3% of marketing is: outbound communicationo Publications, posters, news releases, other visible and tangible items

Marketing of Public Schools

Information found in: Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics

Eighth Edition by Dennis L. Wilcox and Glen T. Cameron