4 Ways Promote Your Community College in the Next Issue of CareerFocus
The summer is coming, and that means it’s time to start thinking about fall enrollment. If you’re using CareerFocus magazine to broaden your marketing outreach, you should begin assembling content for your next issue now, so you can have everything ready for the printer in good order.
Of course, our content catalog has wide range of articles for you to choose from, but not all of them will be relevant to the programs offered by your institution. And even once you find a selection to use, you’ll want to find ways to customize them to authentically reflect your school. However, knowing which content pieces are the best choice to attract students and raise enrollment is another matter. That’s why we’ve assembled these top four content ideas to help you choose.
1. What programs offer the best local job prospects?
Economies change quickly. They always have, and they always will. Perhaps the number one reason many students come to community college is because they want the education that will help them adapt to new economic circumstances.
However, choosing the right program requires up-to-date information about career prospects. Certain careers are on the rise while others are on the decline, and all are subject to local conditions. A new manufacturing plant may need workers with a specific skill set, while many hospitals nation-wide are in constant need of more nurses.
To those working within the community college environment, these ideas may seem like common knowledge. But this information may be less well-known to students who haven’t been in school for several years, or who didn’t have strong incentives to find a career when they were.
For many potential students, the discovery that a specific degree or certification can lead to quantifiable gains in employment prospects and income can be a powerful motivator. Highlighting these benefits in CareerFocus helps that information reach the students who need it most, and can be just the incentive someone needs to enroll.
2. Do you have special student services programs to promote?
Many students—both those who currently attend a community college and those who are considering it—fail to take full advantage of all the student service programs available to them for one simple reason: they don’t know they exist. This is bad for students, but it’s also bad for community colleges.
For instance, if you have a Career Services program that your students don’t know about, they could be missing out on an excellent job opportunity. When that happens, your graduates not only have a harder job search ahead, but your graduate employment statistics go down.
Similarly, many community colleges provide special assistance for disabled students, including special auxiliary aids or computer software. Students who aren’t aware of these programs may avoid enrolling under the assumption that there won’t be any accommodations for their needs.
Publicizing a student service program through CareerFocus helps you spread the word about all the ways your community college supports students. Help students make the most of the resources available, and avoid the risk of low enrollment due to bad information.
3. Is there a department you can highlight?
Showcasing the program offerings of your faculty and staff provides a morale boost and by recognizing your departments for their hard work. You can even work with that department early in the year to let them know you plan to run a piece about them. With planning, you can collect more pictures for your piece and gather more information about the department to tell a captivating story about their current initiatives.
For instance, if the culinary program at your student restaurant hosts a holiday-themed meal, early notice can help you capture the best pictures. Or, if your Computer Science department is running a programming competition, you can take the opportunity to cover it in your piece.
Articles about your faculty help prospective students learn more about their teachers and can make them seem more approachable. Furthermore, they are a great way to customize your CareerFocus content so that it shines a light on the people who make your community college an exciting choice for future learners.
4. Can you share a student success story?
Put the word out to your faculty asking if they have any stand-out students that they would like to nominate for a short profile piece. Many teachers can quickly identify a student who has not only excelled in their course, but has an interesting background as well. These stories are not only an encouragement to the students, but can be a point of pride for their teachers as well.
More importantly, for many prospective students, seeing a profile piece is one of the best encouragements for them to try a course themselves. Hearing that someone with a background similar to theirs has succeeded gives them the sense that, if that person can do it, so can they.
A student success story is also a relatively simple piece for your staff to write. Once you’ve identified a student who is wiling to be profiled, it’s only a matter of setting up time for a brief interview and taking a head shot. Student profiles can be as long or short as you like, and are excellent to showcase alongside one of your programs or departments.
The information you share about your college, your students, and your services has a direct impact on student enrollment.
These days, many community colleges are noticing a declining enrollment rate as the economy improves. Even though many would-be students are choosing to return to the workforce, there are still compelling reasons why school might be a better choice.
By taking a proactive approach to informing students about programs, services, and successes, community colleges can help students find long-term success in their chosen career paths. CareerFocus is here to help you highlight the many benefits of your community college, whether through print, social media, or other digital marketing methods. Contact us to learn more.