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COMMUNITY COLLEGE AT A CROSSROADS Staying True While Serving New Audiences 1

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Founded 1965 Rooted in its technical school heritage Technical Certificates, GEDs, Associate Degrees From Diesel Mechanics to Nursing to pre-Education Dominates its trading area 13,000 students 2 CHATTANOOGA STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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COMMUNITY COLLEGE MEANS... Open admissions Serving diverse audiences High School grads Adults Business community Affordable Convenient Accredited State funded 3

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THE SITUATION 4

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TREMENDOUS GROWTH 5

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GROWTH DRIVEN BY... Weak economy Adults retooling, seeking new skills Families looking for more affordable path to college degree Strong programs and new partnerships Volkswagen Academy Nursing and Allied Health Two Plus Two E-learning 6 BA degree

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STATE CHANGES FUNDING FORMULA Pre-2010: Funding based on number enrolled Strategy: Attract more students Open front door 7

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STATE CHANGES FUNDING FORMULA 2010 and beyond: Funding based on number who graduate Strategy: Attract, retain, and graduate more students 8

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CHATT STATE AT A CROSSROADS: GROWTH MUST BE TARGETED Growth must be targeted to specific segments, not just overall. Dr. Jim Catanzaro, President, October, 2010. 9

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CROSSROADS NEED ANSWERS BEFORE MOVING ON 10 Tremendous growth Some programs at capacity Nursing, health-related New programs working New funding formula: retention Who? How? What? Why? The strategic challenges defined the questions

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THE RESEARCH APPROACH 11

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OBJECTIVES Assess overall awareness, attitudes and perceptions among constituent groups about Chattanooga State Explore the decision-making process Explore the strengths and weaknesses of its communications Advertising Website Learn about the e-learning program Dig into the root causes of retention 12

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Graduates Online Prospects High School Counselors Current Students Online Current Online Drop-outs Prospects: HS Adults WE IDENTIFIED ALL CONSTITUENCIES 13

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Graduates Online Prospects High School Counselors Current Students Online Drop-outs Current Online Prospects: HS Adults WE ORGANIZED THEM INTO RELATED GROUPS 14

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Graduates Online Prospects High School Counselors Current Students Online Drop-outs Current Online Prospects: HS Adults WE SELECTED A METHODOLOGY TO MATCH THE GROUPS 15 Focus Groups Online Bulletin Board 1-on-1s

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THE QUALITATIVE INFORMED THE QUANTITATIVE 16 QUAL QUANT D-Guide Questionnaire

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KEY FINDINGS 17

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PERSONIFICATION EXERCISE If Chatt State were a retail chain, i t would be most like _________ 18

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CHATT STATE DELIVERS ON WHAT MATTERS 19 AffordableVariety of programsConvenient locationSmall classesEasy admissionsAccreditedTransferable credits

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CHATT STATE HAS MANY POSITIVE BRAND EQUITIES Jobs and careers Hands-on learning Faculty: Cares Real world experience Mentors Good reputation in the community Networking 20

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BRAND CHATT STATE HAS SOME LIABILITIES The 13 th Grade Crowded Parking Lenient admissions Too easy classes Faculty Registration, Financial Aid not working Low status Advisor program 21

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Low Awareness Growth Potential Health (Nursing) Health (Nursing) Business; Sciences Business; Sciences AWARENESS OF PROGRAMS WITH GROWTH POTENTIAL WAS LOW 22 High

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THE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN WAS APPROACHING WEAROUT High awareness Cheesy, not real Confusion around the Ask Joe phrase Ads with call-to-action work 23

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THE WEBSITE SCORED HIGH MARKS Well-received Prospective students want the facts - quickly Challenge: lots of info Opportunities to improve e-mail functionality Some helpful features had low awareness 24

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RESEARCH CONFIRMS BARRIERS TO RETENTION: Life gets in the way. Work Family Financial issues Course work overload 25

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THERE ARE MANY RESOURCES TO HELP RETAIN STUDENTS... Caring, helpful, engaged professors Study resources: Reading lab Math lab Tutoring Advisors 26... BUT THEY HAVE LOW UTILIZATION

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E-LEARNING DRIVEN BY CONVENIENCE AND FLEXIBILITY Convenience and flexibility drive online enrollment Organized self-starters more likely to succeed Certain subjects better-suited for online E-learning would benefit from a stand alone, consumer-focused website 27

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E-LEARNINGS GROWTH POTENTIAL IS AMONG CURRENT STUDENTS Current students highly satisfied with online classes Non-Chatt State online students not really interested in Chatt State 28

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WHATS NEXT? 29

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INSIGHTS DRIVING A NEW PLANNING PROCESS 30 InsightsStrategic PlanMarketing Plan $ Budget $

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INSIGHTS DRIVING A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN Promote programs with low awareness, capacity, and potential for growth Engineering Technology Sciences 2 Plus 2 program: Center for Education & Human Services 31

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THE ASK JOE CAMPAIGN GETS NEW MESSAGES Ask Joe messages to communicate many positive brand equities, such as: Real life success stories of graduates Affordability Distinguished faculty Hands-on learning, small classes Accreditation 32

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ASK JOE MESSAGES TAILORED TO SPECIFIC AUDIENCES 33 High School 2 Yrs. and get a job High School Prepare for Bachelors Degree High School 2 Yrs. and get a job

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COMMUNICATIONS WILL UTILIZE MORE DIVERSE MEDIA Explore new media Social media Public relations: free media 34

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STUDENT RETENTION REQUIRES NEW APPROACHES New strategies: Increase awareness of resources Improve effectiveness of resources Blue sky: Identify at-risk students early on Develop new resources for at-risk students 35

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THROUGH THE CROSSROADS WITH A NEW APPROACH 36 Little data Broad target and messages Enrollment Nursing, Health Related Data Targeted messages Retention Sciences, Engineering

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THANK YOU 37