1. EXCEPTIONAL UND – REALIZING THE VISION: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
The University of North Dakota (UND) prepared for three years to take a three-day “reaccreditation exam”
administered by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), an organization that accredits more than 1,000 higher
learning institutions. The entire campus community needed to be ready for the HLC exam, which would include a
site visit from HLC delegates who could ask anyone anything at any time.
To prepare, UND wrote a 300-page self-study report describing its ability to meet HLC assessment criteria. But how
would UND get the campus community to care about reaccreditation and the HLC site visit? After all, UND has
been accredited for 100 years, but at the last reaccreditation (2003-04), the HLC noted areas for improvement,
including UND’s outdated mission statement and the need to maintain an appropriate campus climate to achieve
strategic goals. UND had made great strides in both areas, and the HLC needed to notice. More importantly, UND
was determined to use the reaccreditation process as an opportunity to strengthen its commitment to Exceptional
UND — UND’s vision for the future. UND couldn’t cram for this assessment: it needed to truly learn and embrace
the material. A Publicity Campaign Team (PCT) was formed to tackle this challenge.
RESEARCH
PCT conducted initial interviews with UND administrators and concluded that the new Exceptional UND vision and
five strategic priorities weren’t well understood among faculty, staff and especially students. Exceptional UND was
originally perceived as too complicated to comprehend, so PCT created five distinct icons, colors and keywords to
bring the strategic priorities to life for the campus community. PCT used scholarly research on color symbolism and
visual memory to inform the design and tested drafts in target audience focus groups.
Once the messaging was set, PCT relied on research to select internal communication strategies by reviewing past
publicity plans of HLC peer institutions and conducting a review of effective tactics used to reach target audiences.
PLANNING
UND’s goal was to demonstrate how it had addressed the areas for improvement noted in the previous HLC
reaccreditation report by accomplishing the following objectives:
1. Create awareness and engagement in the 2013-14 HLC reaccreditation process.
2. Demonstrate how Exceptional UND is connected to the HLC reaccreditation process and UND’s mission.
Strategies:
1. Give Exceptional UND a memorable, concise and attractive identity for all campaign materials.
2. Gather feedback on the draft self-study report and its connection to Exceptional UND by hosting five open
forums. Goal: 250 total attendees; 50 comments
3. Showcase the final self-study report and its usefulness in achieving Exceptional UND at a launch event.
Goal: 300 attendees; 5,000 unique HLC website pageviews
4. Generate excitement for the HLC campus visit and welcome the HLC delegation through an Exceptional
UND photo contest. Goal: 100 submissions; 1,000 Facebook likes
5. Announce HLC assessment report findings and celebrate the continued commitment to Exceptional UND.
Primary Audience: UND students, faculty and staff | Secondary Audience: Public at large | Budget: $18,650
EXECUTION
Strategy 1 (Sept 2012 – Sept 2013): To effectively use its budget, PCT created brochures, pull-up banners, T-shirts,
coasters, yard signs, shuttle bus signs, and PowerPoint templates for use throughout the campaign. For example,
as an ongoing reminder of Exceptional UND, PCT placed Exceptional UND coasters in 80 campus meeting rooms.

2. Strategy 2 (Feb – April 2013): PCT held five open forums for faculty, staff and students to gather feedback on
UND’s draft self-study report. Their feedback would be incorporated into UND’s final self-study report submitted
to the HLC prior to the site visit. To promote attendance, PCT produced a video interview with UND’s provost and
accreditation director describing the three years of work that went into preparing the draft self-study report. PCT
also stressed the importance of the open forums at key leadership meetings. To tie the complex process to
Exceptional UND, PCT created handouts that summarized major findings and requested feedback.
Strategy 3 (Sept 2013): At a launch event, entitled “Exceptional UND: Realizing the Vision,” UND leadership spoke to
more than 400 faculty, staff and students, sharing how the reaccreditation process revealed a clearer path to
fulfilling the Exceptional UND vision. The President’s support was evident. He wore the Exceptional UND T-shirt in all
promotions, including personal invitations inserted into Exceptional UND brochures mailed to all faculty and staff.
Every attendee received cards highlighting what they could do to prepare for the HLC campus visit. The event was
streamed live on the UND TV channel and was covered by local media.
Strategy 4 (Sept – Oct 2013): To create interest and awareness (especially among students), PCT launched a
Facebook photo contest to show the HLC what makes UND exceptional. The campus community was asked to
submit photos in categories that aligned with the five Exceptional UND strategic priorities. PCT partnered with the
University Bookstore, the student newspaper and local media to provide prizes and publicity, and the submitted
photos were used in “Welcome to UND” signage during the HLC site visit.
It should be noted that a few days before the site visit, the HLC made an unexpected and urgent request to hold
four separate meetings with students, faculty, staff, and the general public. The attendance exceeded all
expectations, due in part to PCT’s communication strategies and tactics leading up to the site visit.
Strategy 5 (March – April 2014): On March 27, 2014, UND received news that it had successfully passed the HLC
exam. To celebrate, PCT held a surprise ice cream social for faculty and staff. As part of a personalized
communication strategy, members of the President’s Executive Cabinet shared the reaccreditation news with their
respective departments, allowing them to personally thank those involved and explain how they would remain
committed to Exceptional UND. PCT also used local media and internal communications (including an employee
e-newsletter, the Things to Know UND blog, and the UND website homepage) to share highlights of HLC’s report.
EVALUATION
The final evaluation received from the HLC noted that PCT had clearly achieved its campaign objectives:
“Conversations and meetings with administrators, staff, faculty, and students…confirmed that the mission of the
University of North Dakota is widely understood…[UND] is actively engaged in an ongoing process of systematic
and integrated planning that permeates the campus community. The institution has identified a strategic vision
titled Exceptional UND that brings a wide range of institutional stakeholders together toward a common outcome.”
Other quantifiable measurements of campaign tactics also demonstrate that UND aced this exam:
• 233 attendees participated in the open forums, with 24 comments (Goal: 250 attendees; 50 comments)
• 400+ attendees at the launch event (Goal: 300 attendees)
• 2,676 YouTube views of the Exceptional UND video (Goal: 1,500 views)
• 79 photo contest submissions and 3,265 Facebook likes (Goal: 100 submissions, 1,000 Facebook likes)
• 250+ attendees showed unanimous support for Exceptional UND at the four last-minute HLC site visit
meetings (Goal: 200 attendees)
• 28 mentions in local and regional newspaper and television media (Goal: 15 mentions)
• 9,663 HLC website unique pageviews through May 31, 2014 (Goal: 5,000 unique pageviews)