Enrollment management is a major component within the organizational structure of most four-year universities today. However, this is not necessarily the case with community colleges. With the continual decrease in public funding and increased competition with private colleges and universities, public community colleges are now being forced to…

The six-stage diffusion process, with choice of the right media, makes a vital strategy for public relations because it goes beyond informing to stimulating action. (MSE)

It is not effective to focus on the process of public relations, student recruitment, or fund-raising. In the 1990s, public relations must use rigorous research to achieve measurable results, not just more paperwork. (Author/MSE)

College and university public relations professionals are encouraged to follow the example of business in managing their publications programs. Planning, marketing those plans to the campus community, involving administration, and assuming accountability are seen as key elements in publications program success. (MSE)

Five veteran college alumni directors share strategies for creating an effective association: deciding what program aspects must be measured; assessing the program realistically; listening to customers; stretching program resources to hold down cost and work more efficiently; and remembering the value of the human touch in program design and…

Planning can help college public relations officials make the most of their time and energy. One approach includes reviewing institutional mission and strategic plan; setting department goals; identifying and targeting audiences; establishing interdepartmental links; and setting out action, crisis, budget, and evaluation plans in writing. (MSE)

An informal survey of 27 Kansas public and private 4-year institutions of higher education revealed most did not have aid information packets designed for marketing; the quality of materials and response time was unrelated to institution size; many did not respond satisfactorily; and financial aid offices did not take a team approach in…

Setting objectives and knowing how to evaluate results are important in public relations, to prevent counting news releases rather than assessing whether the target audience is reached. Suggestions include setting goals and priorities, researching audiences, focusing on communicating with key audiences, developing strategies, selecting…

Research on university marketing structures suggests environments without unique market segments result in circular, multi-layered structures; marketing autonomy is directly related to resource control; communication and cooperation among organizational layers is inversely related to resource control; number of autonomous organizational layers is…

A study investigated the attitudes of 111 college deans toward marketing in higher education, especially as they relate to the deans' academic fields (pure vs. applied). Results indicated no significant differences between the groups' perceptions and that, in general, deans support marketing but not that marketing improves educational quality.…

A guide to planning college and university anniversary celebrations that attract the attention of both friends and strangers recommends creating substantive programs related to current public interest; faculty involvement; broad-based and varied programing; media participation; attention to both past and future; and adequate budget. (MSE)

Pepperdine University's (California) 1980s fund-raising campaign was designed to raise overall institutional visibility, establish an image of quality education, improve institutional image in the business community, increase fund-raising momentum, and raise significant money for immediate capital needs. Theme, staffing, and advertising were key…

Suggested strategies for running a more effective college alumni program include effective calendar organization; careful staff utilization; administrator visibility; increased efficiency; effective use of alumni volunteers and student workers; good office communication; broad information dissemination across campus; consistent use of priorities;…

Five case studies illustrate the value of strategic communications in school and college public relations (PR). Central issues include public scrutiny of a controversial faculty hiring policy; internal communication during retrenchment; a local education/job fair; animal rights activism; and winning public approval for a long-range campus plan.…

At Mills College (California), faculty, administrators, and trustees collaborated on development of a tuition freeze. The move was found to be not only effective in stabilizing student costs, but also in improving the institution's overall financial condition. The context of the decision, decision-making process, information dissemination methods,…