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First Report

Communications and Marketing Team

by: Vice President of Student Affairs (Chair): Art Costantino

Vice President for College Advancement: Frank McGovern

Dean of Part-Time Studies: Susan Fiksdal

Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management: Steve Hunter

Interim Director of College Relations, Kate Lykins Brown

Senior Admissions Officer: Christine Licht

Director of Government Relations: Edie Harding

Faculty members: Duke Kuehn and Sandy Nisbet

Administrative Secretary to the President: John Carmichael

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Background......

2. Context......

3. Research Questions......

4. Scope and Objectives......

5. Methods......

6. Findings......

a.What are the current perceptions of Evergreen held by various groups?......

Perceptions of High School Students......

Perceptions of Community College Transfers......

Perceptions of Donors (all alumni in this case)......

Perceptions of Community Leaders......

b.Themes, Implications and Strategies......

c.How will the strategies identified be implemented?......

7. Next Steps......

Appendix 1 - Staff and students consulted by Stamats......

Appendix 2 - Story Board Focus Group Consultations......

1. Background

In August 2000, President Les Purce convened a Communications and Marketing (C&M) team to coordinate efforts to promote The Evergreen State College through a common set of positive messages that accurately reflect Evergreen’s mission and who we are as a public college. This type of coordinated effort is typically referred to as Integrated Communications and Marketing. The President formed the Communications and Marketing Team comprised of representatives from offices actively involved in institutional image-building including the development office, student affairs, college relations, government relations, the admissions office, alumni affairs, and academics. The group was asked to assess the effectiveness of present efforts to communicate the College’s message through a review of the Strategic Plan, Student Recruitment Plan and the Reaccreditation Self-Study as well as through its own research.

The work of the C&M group is divided into two initial phases: Phase I, completed with this report, provides findings and draft recommendations in three key areas: 1) perceptions of Evergreen by various groups, 2) common themes identified through research and data gathering, and 3) communication strategies. Phase II will be completed in June 2002. It will review implementation of the recommendations made in this report and focus on ways to strengthen communications with donors, the community, and legislators.


2. Context

While Evergreen's enrollments have grown steadily over the past 10 years, in recent years, we have seen the rate of our applications decline. Enrollment growth has been achieved through expansion of part-time offerings, by extending our application deadlines and by increasing yield (the percentage of students who attend after applying). The College has never been successful in attracting substantial numbers of students graduating from Washington State high schools.

Fall Quarter Undergraduate Degree-seeking Entering Class: Head Count
Fall 1996 / Fall 1997 / Fall 1998 / Fall 1999 / Fall 2000
WA High School-Directs[1] / 212 / 198 / 184 / 192 / 216
WA High School-Lagged[2] / 52 / 62 / 38 / 59 / 67
Out-of-State High School-Directs / 206 / 200 / 204 / 166 / 153
Out-of-State High School-Lagged / 51 / 45 / 54 / 45 / 46
WA 2-Yr. College Transfers[3] / 366 / 497 / 530 / 487 / 590
Out-of-State 2-Yr. College Transfers / 61 / 72 / 79 / 82 / 88
WA 4-Yr Transfers[4] / 133 / 174 / 151 / 143 / 168
Out-of-State 4-Yr Transfers / 122 / 136 / 128 / 123 / 137
Former TESC Students Returning[5] / 25 / 39 / 24 / 45 / 65
Total Undergraduate Entering Class / 1228 / 1423 / 1392 / 1342 / 1530

Evergreen has an immediate challenge to address the decreasing rate of applications. Evergreen’s long term challenge is to increase the number of qualified students enrolled over the next 10 years from 4,000 to 5,000 students (Evergreen’s 1998 Self Study, Strategic Plan 2000, the Higher Education Coordinating Board Master Plan 2000). Competition for prospective students has increased substantially among the public baccalaureate institutions in the state, especially the branch campuses and among the independent colleges, out-of-state institutions, and non traditional higher education providers such as virtual universities.

The Strategic Plan 2000 also identifies the need to strengthen community partnerships as well as to diversify the College’s funding base. Currently, the College depends upon state funds (62%) and tuition (38%). A concerted effort is being made to reach out to donors, foundations, and other sources to expand the College’s funding base in new ways. The need to attract new students and raise private funds requires clear and effective communications about what Evergreen has to offer.



3. Research Questions

In discussing the challenges of communicating and marketing the College, four critical questions were examined:

  1. What current perceptions of Evergreen are held by a variety of groups?
  2. Are there common themes which can be derived from these perceptions? What are their implications?
  3. Based on these themes, what strategies can be used to promote the college?
  4. How will these strategies be implemented?

4. Scope and Objectives

The C&M team intends to develop a comprehensive, institution-wide effort to communicate mission-critical values and messages in ways that targeted audiences notice, understand and respond to in a manner advantageous to the College. To be effective, integrated marketing and communications must incorporate three aspects. First, the effort must be driven by good research. How do key audiences perceive Evergreen, and what interests are important to them? Secondly, an effective communications and marketing effort must be segmented so that differences among audiences are addressed. The characteristics and needs of high school students, community college students, donors, Olympia community leaders, and legislators vary, and our messages to these groups should vary accordingly. Finally, to be effective, a communications and marketing effort requires listening to our target audiences. To understand the concerns of Evergreen’s audiences, many of whom have been subjected to a barrage of pitches, there is a need to establish on-going relationships based on two-way communication.

Early on, the C& M team realized that it could not expect to develop plans to reach all target audiences during the first year of work and, therefore, had to identify which audiences needed the most immediate attention in the shortest time frame. We chose to focus on the following audiences:

  1. Students who attend Evergreen directly from state high schools
  2. Students who attend Evergreen directly from out of state high schools
  3. Community College transfers
  4. Donors
  5. Community leaders.

The C&M team chose these audiences because of the importance of ensuring adequate student enrollments and of securing private funding at a time of modest increases in state funding. While giving increased attention to these audiences, it was assumed that the college would continue its work with other audiences, such as legislators, alumni and potential employees.

5. Methods

The C&M team began its work by reading reports of research on recruitment at Evergreen and articles about communications and marketing. In addition to relying on research already conducted, the study group collected its own information through the use of two processes (situational analysis, story boarding) as well as information provided by STAMATS through focus group discussions that are described below. The team also distilled ideas about key messages and potential vivid descriptors into a short list for future consideration. Given the urgency of some of the work involved in enhancing the College's Web site, the team also initiated a plan to redesign it. The sources of information used by the C&M team were the following:

  1. The Lawlor Report. In 1998, at the urging of the Vice President for Student Affairs, a consulting firm (the Lawlor Group) was contracted to assess the perceptions of Washington high school students about Evergreen. Members of the Lawlor Group met with Evergreen faculty, staff and students, interviewed high school opinion leaders (counselors and teachers), and sent a mailed survey to Washington high school students. The Lawlor Report of January 1999 summarizes key findings and offered a number of recommendations for improving the recruitment of high school students.
  1. STAMATS Web site review, and communications and marketing audit. In May 2001, the College contracted with STAMATS to assist the College in the redesign of its Web site and to undertake an evaluation of our current communications and marketing work, with an emphasis on student recruitment. The STAMATS group is well known for its extensive database on the needs and interests of prospective high school students. STAMATS consultants met with faculty, staff and students during four days in May 2001. Although the final written report is not due until the end of August, consultants shared some of their preliminary thinking during a debriefing with the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Interim Dean of Enrollment Services. Appendix 1 includes a list of individuals who spoke to staff from STAMATS.
  1. Institutional Research Office studies. For a number of years, the Office of Institutional Research has conducted surveys about the characteristics of currently enrolled students, about the involvement of currently enrolled students, and about retention. This data was helpful to the C&M team in understanding the values and expectations of those students.
  1. Enrollment Services and Part-Time Studies data. Evergreen offices that recruit students have collected data to assist them in their recruitment work. This information identifies those colleges with which we compete for students, some of the reasons students who are admitted to Evergreen choose to attend other institutions, the major high schools and community colleges from which we draw students, and the needs and interests of potential part-time students.
  1. Situational Analysis. Based on research and the experiences of staff, the C&M team undertook a situational analysis for each of the target audiences. This served to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in our abilities to communicate successfully with our targeted audiences. Strengths are comparative advantages that Evergreen has over other schools or aspects of Evergreen upon which we can capitalize. Weaknesses are problems or shortcomings that detract from Evergreen's ability to maintain a desirable position with respect to other institutions. Opportunities are attractive occurrences or trends that provide new advantages to Evergreen in communicating its message. Threats are those events that could lead to a decline in Evergreen's ability to communicate its messages successfully.
  1. Story boards. The C&M team developed a story board format for each of the external audiences. The story boards combined brainstorming and strategizing in cooperation with target audiences selected. The C&M team conducted story board sessions with students who attend Evergreen directly from in state high schools, students who attend Evergreen directly from out of state high schools, Community colleges transfers (students and counselor), donors, and community leaders. Staff who work with these external groups also participated in the story boards.

The C&M team asked the representatives of each of these groups, "What vivid descriptors would be most effective in communicating to your group?" and "What activities might best attract students/donors/or community leaders to Evergreen?" (See Appendix 2 for a listing of individuals who participated in story boards.)

6. Findings

a. What are the current perceptions of Evergreen held by various groups?

The team summarized the perceptions (positive and negative/neutral) obtained during the story board exercises from the different audiences and from previous research:

Perceptions of High School Students

Approximately 40% of Evergreen students enter from high schools. Research on these students indicates that their political and social activities tend to be more liberal than their peers at other small liberal arts colleges. For the past 10 years, our freshman retention rate for new students has fluctuated between 73% and 60%. Since students are influenced by what they hear from their peers who attend colleges, our retention rates do not help us in recruiting students. By way of comparison, fall-to-fall retention of freshmen at Central Washington University and EWU runs in the high 70s, in the mid 80s at WWU and in the low 90s and the UW. Our major competitors for high school students are spending more money and using increasingly sophisticated approaches to attract high school students. The major perceptions of high school students from in state and out of state are listed below. Perceptions for in state students were gleaned from story boards, the Lawlor report and the STAMATS report. Perceptions for out of state students were gleaned primarily from the story boards and work of the STAMATS group.

Perceptions of in state high school students

Positive Perceptions / Negative/Neutral Perceptions
From Lawlor report:
  • Students that are more familiar with Evergreen tend to rate the college slightly higher on all attributes
  • Evergreen has data supporting the presence of academic quality and rigor in the curriculum (National Survey of Student Engagement)
/ From Lawlor report:
  • The major factors influencing a favorable rating of a college were: Reputation of the college; Academic Ability of students; and Academic Rigor of classes and programs. Of the respondents who provided a rating for Evergreen, we tended to receive our lowest ratings in these areas.
  • 2/3rds of high schools students are unfamiliar with Evergreen
  • Virtually all respondents indicated that they would attend college to “prepare for getting good jobs”.
  • Compared with “competitor” institutions (UW, WWU, WSU, UPS, U of Oregon, Lewis & Clark, Reed):
- “Evergreen is positioned as a college with which students are not familiar, and among those students who are familiar with the college, they have neutral to negative overall impressions of the college.”
- “Only two schools have higher unfavorable ratings (as opposed to higher favorable ratings): Evergreen and Reed College.”

Perceptions of in state high school students (continued)

Positive Perceptions / Negative/Neutral Perceptions
From Story Boarding
  • Good college for self directed learners
  • Student centered
  • Small class sizes
  • Good place for older/mature students
  • Great place for creativity
  • Natural beautiful campus
  • Queer-friendly
  • Political consciousness
/ From Story Boarding
  • Evergreen is a place you can do anything you want
  • Unclear how college works without grades
  • Catalog is hard to follow
  • It takes a while to figure out what Evergreen is all about even after being enrolled
  • Evergreen is a slacker school
  • Students tend to see Evergreen as place for hippies and misfits

Perceptions of out of state high school students
Positive Perceptions / Negative/Neutral Perceptions
  • Evergreen is a good value for non residents
  • The physical environs of the Pacific Northwest are attractive
  • The College is known for its activism
  • Evergreen’s environmental studies program is a draw.
  • College is small
  • Well known in higher ed community nationally – attract faculty children
  • Word of mouth about College is often how prospective students learn about Evergreen
  • College is left of center
/
  • Not as diverse in terms of race as the College promotes in its publications
  • Inability to major in something specific to further career development (e.g. music or art)

Perceptions of Community College Transfers

Approximately 60% of Evergreen students attend as transfers, and Evergreen has a generous policy of accepting credit from other accredited institutions. Competition for transfers has grown dramatically in recent years with the opening of branch campuses in the South Sound and increased spending on transfer recruitment from our competitors. Perceptions of community college transfers are identified below. Most of these perceptions were attained from story boarding sessions conducted with staff from the community colleges, with enrollment services staff who visit community colleges, and with transfer students currently enrolled at Evergreen.

Positive Perceptions / Negative/Neutral Perceptions
  • Easy to transfer credits
  • Admissions deadlines flexible
  • Flexible curriculum (contracts, internships)
  • Acceptance of prior learning experiences
  • Unique programs
  • Convenient in terms of location
  • Good price
  • Attractive to those who are dissatisfied with traditional universities
  • Good availability of classes
/
  • No readily identified majors
  • Ever changing curriculum makes it hard to plan for transfer student who has only a few years left of school.
  • Student body is leftist and too politically correct
  • Different learning environment
  • Worried about getting a job after graduation from liberal arts college
  • People do not understand what "interdisciplinary" means

Perceptions of Donors (all alumni in this case)

Evergreen ranks ninth in the size of its endowment as compared to 12 of its peer institutions (Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges data). In recent years, College Advancement has enhanced programs to solicit major donors and provide deferred-giving opportunities. We have no research data on the characteristics or perceptions of our donors. The perceptions identified below were made in a story board session attended by donors who are also alumni.

Positive Perceptions / Negative/Neutral Perceptions
  • Evergreen transforms lives
  • Gift matters
/
  • No culture of philanthropy on west coast
  • Public colleges don’t need philanthropy
  • Alumni donors tend to identify with individual faculty and academic programs rather than with the “college” as a whole
  • Donors indicate that they give to support social services agencies in the community and elsewhere

Perceptions of Community Leaders

The political activism of Greeners is viewed positively by some community members and alienates others. Most community activists are identified with Evergreen even when they have no ties to the College. The College has been making more regular contacts with the Olympian and seeking increased representation by Evergreen staff on community boards and in voluntary organizations. The perceptions listed below were primarily gleaned from story boarding with a small group of community leaders.