Utah State UniversityUtah State UniversityDan Peterson & Jenn PutnamDan Peterson & Jenn Putnam

Positioning for SelectivityPositioning for Selectivity

September 28September 28thth , 2005 , 2005

Utah State UniversityUtah State University

• Today’s Objectives:– Define Branding and Positioning– Present a case study on “Selectivity”– Introduce a typology for positioning HE– Introduce a 6 step process to identify your

position

Utah State UniversityUtah State University

• Type of institution– Carnegie I Research, Land Grant– Undergrad, 17,000; Grad 6,000

• Enrollment– Approximately 23,000; 1/3 Cont. Ed.

• History– Est. 1888, Agricultural College, A&M

• Geography– Beautiful Valley, 100,000+, Small Town 45,000, 100

Miles away from SLC

Branding DefinedBranding Defined

• A process-driven, long-term proposition

• A promise. Resides in the heart and mind

• Pre-emptive ownership of benefits

• Measurable value of trust with customers

• The customer experience-cluster of exp.

• Stories about company, culture, customers

BrandingBranding

• Built on four key principles (Koestenbaum, P, )– Powerful Vision– High levels of integrity– Principled; Meaning vs. Profit– Courageous

• Example– Wal-Mart “Give ordinary folk the chance to buy

the same things as rich people”– Disney “Make People Happy”– Mc Donald’s “Service and Consistency”

What can Branding do for you?What can Branding do for you?

• Great branding will….– Help weather crises– Slow market erosion– Rally employees– Give opportunity to raise prices– Move users to a new product line-brand

extension

Three C’s of BrandingThree C’s of Branding

1. Clarity – simple, memorable

2. Consistency – Use in creative, ads, etc

3. Constancy - $$ to ensure a long campaign

MappingMapping

• Automobile

Value

Reliable Dependable

Engineering

Luxury

Style

MappingMapping

• Higher Education

Value

Price

Branding vs. PositioningBranding vs. Positioning

• “Branding is about the process of building a brand. Positioning is about putting that brand in the mind” (Trout, 2005)

– Coke is the #1 recognized brand. Therefore, positioning is every effort used to get people to think “Coke” when choosing a cola beverage. “The real thing”

What is positioning?What is positioning?

• “Concentrating on an idea - or even a word –that defines the company/product in the minds of the consumer” (Trout and Rivken, 1995)

• Literature review of branding or positioning

Positioning applied

Coke “The Real Thing”

BMW “The ultimate driving machine”

Crest “Cavity prevention”

Typologies of PositioningTypologies of PositioningFactor analysis of over 60 attributesFactor analysis of over 60 attributes

Blankson and Kalafatis identify 8 categories1. Top of Range: Prestige, Upper Class2. Service: Personal, Friendly3. Value: Affordable, Reasonable4. Reliability: Durable, Safe, Consistent5. Attractive: Aesthetically-elegant, cool6. Country of Origin: Patriotic7. Brand Name: name of offering “Coke”8. Selectivity: Discriminatory, High

Principles

USU chose SELECTIVITYUSU chose SELECTIVITY

• High enrollment levels

• Open entry – 98% of students admitted

• Economic cutbacks = < $$ from Legislature– Little or no additional funding for new students

• Ill prepared freshman students– Bottle neck courses– Large student to faculty ratio = not good– Teaching to the LCD

Admission IndexAdmission Index

Goals from AdministrationGoals from Administration• Increase enrollment from 23,000 (2001) to 25,000 over five years

Enrollments2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 23,000 22,318 23,000 23,500 24,000 24,500 25,000

Actuals23,001      22,848     23,474        23,908

• Increase the average ACT to 24 by 2004 and 25 by 2007ACT2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 200722.3 22.9 23.8 24 24.3 24.6

25

Actuals22.3 22.9 23.5 24.1

Goals from AdministrationGoals from Administration

• Increase denials to 500 in five yearsDenials2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007141 227 350 400 425 475 500

Actuals141 250       358       395Accept Rate97% 90% 93% 91%

• Decrease student-faculty ratio to 20 to 1 by 2006S/F ratio2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 200625/1 22/1 23/1 22/1 21/1 20/1Actuals25/1 22/1 21/1 19/1 19/1

Freshmen AveragesFreshmen Averages

GPA ACT # Enrolled

2000 3.38 22 2414

2001 3.37 22.3 2459

2002 3.46 22.9 2308

2003 3.56 23.5 2358

2004 3.57 24.1 2028

Freshmen NumbersFreshmen Numbers

Denials Retention St/F Ratio2000 98 68% 25/12001 141 72% 22/12002 250 70% 21/12003 358 75% 19/12004 395 73% 19/1*1991-1999 eight-year retention average = 66.1%(met goal of 75% retention 4 years early)**Retention = % of new freshmen who returned from previous fall

Freshmen NumbersFreshmen Numbers

Leads % App Acc Rate

2001 15,301 36% (5573) 97%

2002 17,100 33% (5689) 90%

2003 20,620 24% (5112) 93%

2004 18,740 25% (4810) 91%

*Estimates were used for 2001-03 leads.

Positioning Strategy Positioning Strategy (Trout and Ries, 1972)(Trout and Ries, 1972)

1. What position do you already own?

2. What position would you like to own?

3. Whom must you outgun?

4. Do you have the budget to sustain?

5. Are you prepared to stick with 1 position?

6. Does creative/mktg match strategy?

Mission StatementMission Statement

• The mission of Utah State University is to be one of the nation’s premier student-centered land-grant and space-grant universities by fostering the principle that academics come first, by cultivating diversity of thought and culture, and by serving the public through learning, discovery, and engagement.

Mission Statement DSCMission Statement DSC

• The mission of Dixie College is to provide a diverse population of students the opportunity to achieve their post-secondary educational goals. Dixie College is an open-admission, comprehensive community college with four main elements:

•  Academic Education •  Applied Technology Education •  Community Education and Services•  Student Life

Mission StatementMission Statement

• USU Continuing Education, administered as part of University Extension, is considered a national model of outreach education. It is by far the largest program of its kind in Utah and is the foremost user of educational technology to deliver courses and degree programs throughout Utah . Continuing Education also delivers degree programs to three other states and four international locations.

•The Continuing Education system is dedicated to delivering high quality courses and degree programs throughout Utah and the world. Its goal is to make it possible for time and place-bound students throughout the world to pursue a higher quality of life through higher education.

Implications for CEImplications for CE

• CE ACT not 22, rather 18…..how?

• Second IPEDS– “A branch campus is defined as a location

that is not temporary; is geographically apart from the main campus; offers organized programs of study, not just courses; has its own faculty; has its own budgetary and hiring authority; and has its own systems/administrative organizations.”

IPEDSIPEDS

• Allowed CE to continue to grow

• Gave separate accounting of CE students ability to persist, kept out of bottle neck courses and eliminated LCD teaching

• Better retention for Main Campus as non-traditionals “stop out” vs “drop out”

Implication for other InstitutionsImplication for other Institutions

• Selectivity costs vs. benefits– Less students, better retention, credibility

• Complete communication and support from faculty, staff and especially upper administration

• Increased resources to maintain strategy and importance of continuity both internal and external– More effort involved to recruit higher ACT students

Utah State UniversityUtah State UniversityDan Peterson & Jenn PutnamDan Peterson & Jenn Putnam

• Q & A

Common Data Set for EnrollmentsCommon Data Set for Enrollments

ACT Comp

30-36 24-29 18-23 12-17 6-11 Below 6

2000 6% 32% 51% 11% 0% 0%

2001 6% 30% 52% 12% 0% 0%

2002 8% 33% 51% 8% 0% 0%

2003 8% 42% 45% 5% 0% 0%

2004 8% 46% 45% 1% 0% 0%

Common Data Set for EnrollmentsCommon Data Set for Enrollments

HS Class

Top 10%

Top 25%

Top 50%

Bottom 50%

Bottom 25%

2001 19% 41% 73% 27% 6%

2002 22% 46% 80% 20% 3%

2003 25% 53% 83% 17% 2%

2004 27% 55% 84% 16% 2%

• Comma Data Set Info for 2000 EnrollmentApplied Admitted Enrolled

Freshmen Males 2135 2073 1005

Freshm. Females 2942 2901 1409

Average GPA 3.38

Percent with 3.0 GPA or higher 81%

Percent with GPA between 2.0-2.99 17%

Percent with GPA between 1.0-1.99 2%

• Comma Data Set Info for 2000 Enrollment

Percent submitting SAT scores (206 total) 8%

Percent submitting ACT scores (2540 total) 96%

ACT Comp ACT English ACT Math

30-36 6% 7% 8%

24-29 32% 32% 29%

18-23 51% 44% 43%

12-17 11% 2% 0%

6-11 0% 2% 0%

Below 6 0% 0% 0%

• Comma Data Set Info for 2000 Enrollment Cont.

First-time Degree-seeking

Degree-seeking Undergraduates

Total Undergraduates

NR Aliens 118 434 436

Black 13 67 83

Am. Ind./Alas. 16 95 128

Asian/Pac. Isl. 30 184 215

Hispanic 55 252 325

White 2536 14010 16182

Eth. Unknown 72 295 534

Total 2840 15337 17903

Why selectivityWhy selectivity

• Define benefits for selectivity, i.e. reputation, rankings, better prepared students, all ships rise….,

• Caveat’s for land-grant, public institution.– Local issues– Out of state issues– Alumni issues

ResultsResults

• Number of enrollments by year again (2000-2004), but emphasize better prepared freshman…rankings etc…..by year…..

• Quote…video clip of Pres. Hall or ??? Explaining the well prepared frosh…..

• Impact on budgets???• Impact on CE

– Enrollment trend by year– Separate IPEDS