There’s Life Beyond the Four-Year University

There’s Life Beyond
the Four-Year University

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/katsmykphotography/7900794370/

#mpd6 #heweb12 Aaron Rester and Tonya Oaks Smith
Tuesday, October 9, 12

AARON

Some problems = same, same

#mpd6 #heweb12 Shari Erwin, Aaron Rester, and Tonya Oaks Smith
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jdhancock/6216677689/


AARON
Attracting quality students
Funding cuts
Achieving recognition and rankings in an ever expanding market

Some problems =/= same, same

#mpd6 #heweb12 Shari Erwin, Aaron Rester, and Tonya Oaks Smith http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/hollytroschuk/8017121254/


i TONYA
ntegrating our particular communications needs and goals with those of a parent institution
a student-base that is perhaps more skeptical about traditional marketing techniques
our prospective students are already familiar with many higher ed processes
we can generally spend less time worrying about marketing to parents

What it do?

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/danielpﬂeming/6296485331/


• TONYA
• Who are we?
• Who are you?
• How did this come to be?
• Why is this important?
• Intrastructural conflict
• Interstructural conflict
• Audience conflict

@aaronrester
the inFour-Year University
• Worked higher ed web
since graduating from
Oberlin College in 1999
• Worked for central
communications, small
research center, and
professional school
• Career highlight: Put
together "The Man in
#000000" band at #heweb11

Photo by @onthelevel


AARON

@UChicagoLaw
• No. 5 ranked law school in
USNWR (not that we care,
officially)
• 600 students, about 50 full-time
faculty (one of smallest among
peer institutions)
• Staff of four provides print, web, and consultation
support for: Alumni Relations & Development,
Admissions, Career Services, Clinical Programs, Dean's
Office, Events & Conferences, Individual Faculty Projects,
Institute for Law & Economics, Student Services


AARON

@marleysmom
• Communications director at
the UALR William H. Bowen
School of Law
• Worked as a reporter,
internal comm for private
company, for central
communications, and
professional school
• Ambition: Become a true
conquistador in fabulous
shoes

Photo by @radiofreegeorgy
#mpd6 #heweb12
@marleysmom by @radiofreegeorgy

TONYA

@bowenlaw
• No. 9 ranked legal writing WILLIAM H. BOWEN
program, Top 50 PT program SCHOOL OF LAW
(we DO care, officially)
• 500 students, about 30 full-time
faculty
• Staff of one (me!) provides print, web, and consultation
support for: Alumni Relations & Development,
Admissions, Career Services, Clinical Programs, Dean's
Office, Events & Conferences, Student Services, three
journals, and whatever else pops up


TONYA

Who are you?

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/highedweb/2922852848/in/photostream
#mpd6 #heweb12

TONYA
Technical or marketing/communication? Both?
Main campus or specialty school?
Community colleges or special schools?

How did this come to be?

#mpd6 #heweb12

AARON
- years of attending conference sessions that only marginally addressed our audiences
- recognition that our mission overlaps (but is not identical) with central comm. offices
- wondering if we and those like us are missing out on valuable information sharing opportunities
Specialized conferences for those like us are often missing granular approaches or specialized technical approaches - frequently it’s only the 30K feet view

Why does it matter?

•Help main campus folks
understand why these
things are important to
us

•Create system of
support and
understanding

•Perhaps create another
track within the
HighEdWeb world
#mpd6 #heweb12

AARON

Problem 1
Intrastructural conflict
• Small units tend to have smaller budgets/
staffs than central communication teams
but often asked to do similar tasks
• Often set up on client services model
(no charge-back)
• Increased demand from other
departments not usually accompanied by
additional resources

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/buehlerphoto/491135197/in/photostream
#mpd6 #heweb12

AARON
(what happens "within the building")
-

Problem 1

At Chicago...

• Creation of new Institute
for Law & Economics
• Projects increase, staff does
not

#mpd6 #heweb12

AARON

Problem 1

At Bowen...
• One communication person
reports directly to the dean
• Internal and external
communication in all media
and for six assistant deans

#mpd6 #heweb12

TONYA
Because we don’t have a charge-back system in place, folks are not aware of the toll their missing deadlines and
constant changes on production items takes on my ability to deliver good customer service.
Enter - education on how the process works in the real world - when you have to pay someone for every little
change order. Also, I deﬁned a process that people must follow in order to get work done.

Talk back time

• What are your battles over
resources?
• How do you help others
understand how to use
your office better?

#mpd6 #heweb12

TONYA

Problem 2

Interstructural conflict
• Separate but entwined brands
• Too much - or too little - guidance
from main campus level
• Demands of stakeholder groups to
separate from main brand

http://mdivah.blogspot.com/2012/04/venn-diagram-communities.html
#mpd6 #heweb12

TONYA

Problem 2

At Bowen...
• Alumni base doesn’t want to be
associated with the University of
Arkansas at Little Rock,
preferring to call themselves
“Bowen grads”

#mpd6 #heweb12

TONYA
TRuth be told, the integration of Bowen with UALR hurts us with USNWR voters and our alumni base. Solution -
promote the “Bowen brand” to those folks who need to remember we’re different from UA. And help our current
students understand the importance of staying within the University brand for their student org things. Teaching
appreciation early will help us later on with branding and alumni.

Problem 2

At Chicago...
• University revamped identity
guidelines (typefaces, logo)
• Campus-wide campaign
questions re: imaging, messaging

#mpd6 #heweb12

AARON

Talk back time

• Do your audiences agree on
branding from main
campus?
• Is there confusion about
branding of institutes,
programs, symposia?

#mpd6 #heweb12

AARON

Problem 3
Audience conflict
• Super-specific audiences
• Multiple audiences
• Peer institutions and reputation

http://www.connectioncafe.com/posts/2011/08-august/my-audience-is-my-community.html
#mpd6 #heweb12

AARON

Problem 3

At Chicago...
• Admissions/development audiences very different
• Using communications intended for one audience
to speak to another

#mpd6 #heweb12

AARON
- ﬁghting “where fun comes to die” with prospectives vs. nurturing with alums
- turning alumni magazine into “law porn”

Problem 3

At Bowen...
• Professors not used to communication
that is not academic-style
• Community as a whole not used to
marketing and promotion of the school

#mpd6 #heweb12

TONYA

Talk back time

• How do you explain to one audience the
importance of communicating with other audiences?
• How can you justify the use of new media, which
many academics can be wary of?

#mpd6 #heweb12

TONYA

Wrap it up

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jeremy_dennis/4217349446/
#mpd6 #heweb12

Duo

Get with us

Aaron Rester
arester@uchicago.edu
@aaronrester
773.702.4782

Tonya Oaks Smith
tosmith@ualr.edu
@marleysmom
501.324.9896


DUO

There’s Life Beyond the Four-Year University

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