We interviewed racially/ethnically diverse, early career public relations practitioners. By asking participants to reflect on their collegiate social and educational development, we unearth contributing factors to these individuals' success both in college and in their professions to date. Respondents desired much more in-school training and…

The importance of communication during a school crisis has not changed in the 21st century. What has changed--and quite dramatically since 1999--is the way people communicate. Social media tools are now used in some form by 100 percent of all four-year universities in the United States as a way to reach students, according to a 2011 University of…

Educational institutions understand the importance of having a positive image among their target audiences, but the process of creating, enhancing, and managing that image remains challenging to many. Confusion over what branding is only adds to the challenge. Consultants define "brand" as promising an experience and delivering on that…

This descriptive study surveyed current, lapsed, and major gift donors to explore the impact of college communications on donors' decisions to contribute to the college, the likelihood of donor financial support for various college projects, and the philanthropic motivation profiles of the donors of a midsized, multicampus community college in…

At the end of 2010, for the first time ever, smartphones outsold PCs. Mobile device adoption rates continue to rise rapidly around the world. A recent forecast by Cisco found that global mobile data traffic more than doubled last year, and by the end of 2012, the number of mobile devices in use will outnumber the world's population. In the United…

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

Realists recognize reorganizations for what they are: opportunities to do things better--to change business as usual to reflect best practices, new tools and technologies, and current challenges in the marketplace. At educational institutions, perhaps no area is as sensitive to those shifts as communications and marketing offices. The advances in…

The television trucks and newspaper reporters, like locusts, swarmed last week into Blacksburg, Virginia, where Virginia Tech is located. The university's administrators and especially its public-relations staff members are steeling themselves for what will be a long and intense feeding frenzy. For the men and women who speak for colleges, being…

Colleges and universities represent one of the most utilized sources of need-based financial aid information for students and families, and yet most research in access marketing is focused at the national and state levels. There is sparse published information about the effects of financial aid marketing observed through quantitative analysis, in…

Beginning in 1995, the University Libraries of Virginia Tech embarked on a major shelf-load reduction/storage project. Every effort was made to communicate the scope of the project to the teaching/research faculty of the university. This article presents an overview of the project, with emphasis on ways in which sensible criteria, advance…

The document is the final report of a project designed to make the public and students aware of the possibilities available in vocational education in the Wise County Schools in Virginia. The objectives of the program were as follows: (1) to provide materials to be used for career guidance, (2) to make the public aware of the total vocational…

Virginia information project builds public understanding and acceptance of the Virginia Employment Commission. (Editor)

This article describes the unfavorable conditions and the innovative tactics used in a well-planned, successful referendum campaign for one school district's capital improvement bond issue. (MJL)

This report describes a study that examined the characteristics of school public relations (PR) programs in Virginia in terms of their organization and administration. Specifically, the study sought to determine the number of school districts with established PR programs, to determine the number of school districts employing full-time or part-time…

Brief descriptions are provided of 101 "good ideas" that worked in the Virginia community college system. A total of 101 tips, programs, teaching techniques, administrative strategies, and gimmicks are presented, as submitted by members of the faculty and staff of 16 community colleges. The ideas are categorized as: (1) community…