In some corners of higher education, marketing still has a bad name. “Unfortunately, there’s a stigma that we’re shady people who cause bad things to happen,” says Rob Westervelt, executive vice president for enrollment and marketing at George Fox University, in Oregon.
When he came to the institution eight years ago, he recalls, a professor singled him out during a meeting, and said: “You’re a marketer, I can’t trust you.” So Mr. Westervelt asked him a question: “What happens if I say your program is awesome, and we should tell everyone on the planet about it?” The professor wanted to hear more.
Over the years, Mr. Westervelt says, many faculty and staff members have come to understand — and embrace — the idea that effective marketing is a necessity for the small Christian institution, which is heavily dependent on tuition. Since 2010 the university’s “Be Known” branding campaign, which promises personal attention to each and every student, has helped the campus frame its goals. “It’s a prescriptive vision,” he says. “It’s helped us tell our story.”
The university’s administrative structure affirms the importance of marketing. Previously, George Fox had one vice president for enrollment and another for marketing. The two divisions, which had different objectives, weren’t always on the same page.
Following a budget shortfall a few years back, George Fox combined the positions. Marrying those functions has helped the university define the terms of its success. “Everything is now measured by what the incoming class looks like — students and dollars,” he says. “Now, our customer isn’t the university — it’s the student. We think of our admissions people as marketers, and they think of themselves that way.”
Mr. Westervelt predicts that many more colleges will merge enrollment and marketing departments in hopes of enhancing recruitment. So, too, does Robert A. Sevier, senior vice president for strategy at Stamats Inc., a consulting firm, who’s seen the profile of senior-level marketing officials rise. More of them are part of presidential cabinets; more are overseeing enrollment and advancement. And more are working closely with the academic side of the house. “If your curriculum is your most important academic asset,” Mr. Sevier says, “then your chief curriculum officer is really your chief marketing officer.”
The notion that an admissions office is also a marketing office doesn’t sit well everywhere. At highly selective colleges especially, you’re likely to hear admissions officers shun the M-word, insisting that they’re “counselors” and not marketers.
That might not be a useful way for many colleges to think of recruitment, however. “If your admissions people are saying that,” says Bob Johnson, a Michigan-based marketing consultant who works with colleges, “your campus is really in trouble.”
Eric Hoover writes about admissions trends, enrollment-management challenges, and the meaning of Animal House, among other issues. He’s on Twitter @erichoov, and his email address is eric.hoover@chronicle.com.
