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Evolution of a University Communications Office
1. +
The Evolution of a University
Communications Office
A Case Study
University of La Verne
Vice President Dr. Homa Shabahang, Consultant Judy Asbury
2. +
Purpose
■ How can the communications
office most effectively partner
with faculty, deans, provost,
president, board to achieve the
strategic goals of the university?
■ What is the “right” structure for
the communications function for
your institution?
■ How can you work toward that
structure and help people deal
with the change?
3. +
Goals/Functions for U Communications
■ Enrollment/Retention
■ Reputation
■ Support Advancement efforts
■ Internal Communications
■ Community Communications
■ Government Affairs
■ Others?
4. +
Communications – Then and Now
■ Source of Information – Old Model
■ Advertising
■ Editorial - Traditional Media –
Gatekeepers
■ Communications was responsibility
of handful of people
■ Source of Information – Now
■ Internet, Social Media
■ Smart phone video, pics transmitted
instantly
■ 24/7 News
■ Trending, Influencers
■ Content management across
channels
■ Communications is responsibility of
all; managed by handful
5. +
Managing U Communications
■ Where is communications housed?
■ Advancement
■ Enrollment
■ President’s office
■ Individual Colleges, Departments
■ What is the OPTIMAL house?
■ What is your desired
outcome?
■ Benefits/costs of centralized
vs. decentralized
6. +
University of La Verne – Case Study
■ In 2005:
■ Website managed by IT
■ Colleges doing their own communications/marketing
■ No unified look, message
■ 2012:
■ PR (Editorial) under Advancement VP
■ Marketing (Ads, collateral, website) centralized under
Enrollment Management VP
■ Some consistency in look, messaging
■ 2013:
■ Confusion internally on who to call (PR or Marketing?)
■ Unmet expectations, disappointment
■ Still inconsistent communications, message, brand,
quality
9. +
2012 - 152
C of
Arts/Scie
nce
C of
Business
C of
Law
C of
Educa-
tion
Sports
ALUMS DONOR
Website Administered by Marketing; Social Media mostly PR
VP of ENROLLMENT
Office of Strategic Communications
Strategic
Comm
Council
10. +
Moving Toward a Central Unit
University of La Verne– Case Study
■ Process of discovery with President, Provost, VPs:
■ What is the current situation costing us?
■ Yes, we need a central communications unit
■ Why? Keep brand integrity, keep quality high, keep
message consistent, clear direction
■ Process of alignment and co-creating:
■ What is the structure?
■ Where is central unit housed?
■ Who is in charge?
■ How do we create one unified team?
11. +
Creating Office of Strategic Comm
University of La Verne– Case Study
■ PR and Marketing leaders to co-lead
■ Housed under Enrollment for number of reasons
■ Advancement VP new, many challenges to bring
best practices to her area
■ Enrollment is top priority for university
■ Created Strategic Communications Council of
President, Provost, Vice Presidents to discuss major
communications issues, guidance for VP Enrollment
Management.
12. +
3 years later….
University of La Verne– Case Study
■ The good:
■ Design is winning awards
■ Communications for Advancement, PR at higher level
■ The bad:
■ Office of Strategic Comm (OSC) still has silos
■ Dissatisfaction from many team members
■ Expectations from university are too high, often unmet
■ Combined PR/Mktg-OSC responsible for new vision, with no additional $$
■ A need for:
■ Overall Strategy for University Communications
■ Leadership with University partners (Deans, VPs, Directors)
■ Empowerment of OSC team members
■ Clear understanding of goals, priorities of OSC
■ Additional $$$ to match expectations
13. +
Reorganizing the OSC
University of La Verne– Case Study
■ From hierarchy to integrated teams
■ Teams of Digital, PR, Advertising, Design
■ Team leaders meet weekly; whole team
monthly
■ Members of OSC team learn to co-create –
identify roles/accountabilities
■ AVP serves as leader, meets with external
university partners, president often
■ Team leaders meet with University partners
on projects, develop trust for their expertise.
15. +
Shifting Understanding of the Office of
Strategic Communication
■ OSC: Marketing +PR
Faculty/Deans Dictate
PR or Marketing Direct
Implemented by OSC
■ OSC: Strategic
Communications
OSC leader and OSC team leaders +
Faculty/Deans
Discuss and Decide
Implemented by OSC
16. +
Results
■ Major awards for
design/publications
■ Deans, VP expectations
managed (more often)
■ Clear priorities for team
■ Empowered team members
■ Enjoy the team/choosing the
basement
17. +
Learned: A Successful Central
Communications Office Has:
■ Clear understanding of the main
communication goals – assists with university
wide understanding
■ Strategy for prioritization, what we can do, what
we can’t
■ Alternative creative resources for university
partners to use (keeping brand oversight)
■ Respect for expertise of team members
■ Manage university content: One message,
many mediums, coordinate distribution
18. +
Learned: Creating a Unified Team
■ Generate Alignment – key steps
■ Create safe space
■ Ability to see/listen to each other
■ Hear different perspectives as “their/my” truth, not “the” truth
■ Understand commonalities and differences
■ Tune into collective sense, group as a whole
■ Co-create vision and mission of the team
■ Co-create roles, responsibilities for various projects – matrix organization
■ Accepting change is a process
■ Seeing the situation as “data” not as a judgment of right or wrong
■ Pay attention to language, phrases used that remind all of the past
19. +
What Does This Mean
for Advancement?
■ Understand the role advancement plays in
overall university goals
■ With Enrollment, Reputation Mgmt
■ Agendas are likely different, although ultimate
goal of success for University is same
■ Advancement writing is a style
■ Conflicts arise; welcome them as
opportunities to discover how to meet needs
more efficiently
10:30 – 10:35
Welcome
Introductions of speakers
Questions to find out who is in the room:
Who has an majority advancement responsibility?
Who has a majority communications responsibility?
10:35 – 10:37
Judy: names our purpose;
We hope you will leave today with some insight in the nuances of finding the right structure for your institution, and how to help facilitate that.
We’ll look at the current communications environment, how that has changed and what that means for advancement.
Then we’ll describe our own experience at the University of La Verne and what we learned from that, so that you can take these lessons learned and apply it to your own situation.
Finally at the end, we’ll have time for questions.
10:40 – 10:45
Judy presents, asks for additional goals
10:37 – 10:40
Judy presents
10:45 – 10:50
Judy presents; asks for a few to describe where their communications are housed?
10: 50 – 10:53
Judy presents outline – this is the situation as we began to look at creating a central communications office.
10: 53 – 10: 58
Judy presents outline
Homa describes how she felt as VP, how difficult it was to bring the two units together. How the group reached agreement/alignment on need for a central unit.
10:58 – 11:03
Judy presents; Homa describes process, why the Strategic Communications Council was important; difficulties in hard feelings from advancement VP
11:03 – 11:08
Judy presents;
Homa describes how PR/Marketing teams worked and did not work together for one unit;
11:08 – 11:13
Judy presents; Homa describes how team felt; dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty; learned to embrace and be empowered by more horizontal structure; more interaction with Deans, hired AVP to set strategy to prioritize work, and use OSC wisely
11:13 – 11:15
Judy presents this shift. Homa says why it was so critical to success