Bob Johnson's Blog on Higher Education Marketing

Marketing online programs: areas of interest, "gainful employment," careers in marketing

Today we wrap up our interview with Nancy Prater, director of marketing and communications at the School of Extended Education at Ball State University.

We'll have a second interview in this new series sometime in April.

The first part of the interview, including social media in recruitment, mobile marketing and more, was posted last week. 

To follow-up directly with Nancy on anything here, contact her by email

Do you see a significant difference between interest in bachelor's and master's level programs? Do you expect the current interest level to change in the next few years.

• At Ball State, we have had a much larger percentage of graduate students than undergraduates in our online classes.
• However, due to many factors coming together at the same time--most especially the Great Recession and the increased acceptance of online education as a quality option--our undergraduate population is starting to rise. We are starting to see a significant increase of adult learners in our bachelor's degree completion program. Plus, we have added some new undergraduate certificates---such as in emerging media journalism and apartment management--that seem to be attracting working or unemployed adults who are seeking to improve their professional skills and marketability.
• Our adult learners are very practical in their approaches to their education. They want to see how this will benefit them today, as well as tomorrow.

The "for-profit" sector is under scrutiny from the federal government right now. Would the "gainful employment" rule have an impact on schools like Ball State if it is adopted?

• I think the intense scrutiny that the for-profit education sector is undergoing is going to be a challenge to all of us for awhile. There are a lot of knee-jerk reactions going on right now as government officials are realizing that some high-profile, for-profit universities have benefitted from students' financial aid, while some students are strapped with an unmarketable degree and, often, a large student debt.
• It's probably too early to say how the gainful employment rule might impact public institutions like Ball State until the final version has been released. However, I think it is part of an overall trend of the federal government getting more involved in higher education. And I think that trend will continue no matter which party is in power, because higher education is such a key factor in the United States' ability to influence and compete in a global marketplace.

Any special advice for people thinking about a career in higher education marketing?

• "Run. Run like the wind!" 
• Seriously, anyone who knows me will tell you how much I love this work. I have always said--and still believe--that promoting higher learning to improve people's lives is a noble profession. And, for the other marketing professionals I work with at Ball State or am acquainted with from other institutions, I know there is a lot of personal satisfaction in what we do. While it is true that you may not make as much money and the politics can be maddening, higher education marketing is a terrific field to enter. It's especially good if you like constant change and constant challenge.

Nancy, thanks for sharing your time and insights.

University of Phoenix, John Sperling, and the For-Profit Sector

John Sperling, founder of University of Phoenix and Apollo Group, is concerned for his legacy. That was noted in a December 29 Bloomberg News article that's being discussed on LinkedIn by people in the Inside Higher Ed group. Earlier today I added a comment that, with a little editing, I'm adding here as well.

Sperling's concern is fueled in no small part by Sen. Tom Harkin's Senate hearings that suggest that the for-profit sector has placed profits over student success to an unusual and detrimental extent. But scrutiny of practices at Phoenix didn't start with Senator Harkin. Wikipedia outlines a series of lawsuites and financial settlements from 2000 to 2010.

John Sperling's Legacy 

Excuse me, but I'm not crying just yet for any damage done to Sperling's legacy.

The University of Phoenix in the mid-1990s did higher education and many adult students a service when it arrived on the national higher education scene and began offering degree programs for adults at times and in locations that most non-profit colleges and universities were not doing. There were exceptions. National University was already doing this throughout California. Here in Michigan, Central Michigan University was an earlier pioneer in paying attention to the needs of working adults.

I remember when Phoenix first received regional accreditation. The academic VP I worked for then was shocked. Phoenix, after all, had no library and few, if any, full-time faculty. He couldn't imagine that anyone would enroll for a degree at a place like that. Meantime, I kept a list from the Registrar's office of students asking to transfer for some combination of lower tuition and more convenient locations. 

Competition from Phoenix was strong enough that more schools started giving classes in locations that were more convenient to potential students. Employed adults, especially those with families, were pleased. Phoenix had made an important contribution to shaking up a system that needed reinvention.

University of Phoenix in the 1990s 

Remember the early days of admission to the University of Phoenix? You had to be employed (employer reimbursement was key to tuition payment then) and you had to be at least 23 years old.

One element in the financial model was key: almost all courses were staffed the way most institutions staffed summer sessions, with part-time faculty. With part-time faculty pay, the path to making money in higher education is not difficult if you can fill the classes with any reasonable enrollment level.

Sperling founded the Apollo Group in 1973 and University of Phoenix in 1976. By 1996, Phoenix enrolled about 38,000 students throughout the United States. Life was good. It was about to get better. 

University of Phoenix by 2007

Phoenix had been a publicly-traded company since the early 1990s. Sometime after that 20th anniversary in 1996, in the period of go-go economic growth that crashed in 2008, came strong pressure to maintain a rapid pace of enrollment increase to sustain continued increase in the value of the stock. Online degree programs provided a far easier path to that growth than expansion of in-class programs. The gold rush was underway. Online enrollment zoomed past the in-class sector.

For several years, attention to whether or not people admitted were actually finishing their degrees was, to be charitable, lax. Wall Street was more interested in growth than profitability from a stable or modestly growing enrollment. The for-profit sector, it appears, bowed to that pressure. I still remember my conversation with an investment firm in 2007 that asked if the rate of enrollment growth over the past 5 years could be sustained. (It seemed unlikely by any reasonable measure.) Profitability was not nearly as interesting as the growth rate.

Enrollment Growth to Maintain Stock Price Growth

Executive leadership at Apollo Group made the decisions to generate the highest possible enrollment growth to fuel the highest possible stock prices. My opinion, of course, without access to any insider information. In the climate that prevailed until 2008, they could do that with little fear of serious oversight from either the Department of Education or an accrediting agency.

A correction was long overdue. The present hearings by Senantor Harkin's Senate committee have contributed to the changes taking place now in the for-profit sector. Better admission screening, different compensation plans for recruiters, and more attention to retention are three elements that might restore the for-profit sector.

John Sperling: A Revolutionary

Weep not for John Sperling. He revolutionized attention to working adults in higher education when a revolution was needed. He isn't as wealthy now as he was before Apollo Group stock prices fell. But he'll get along. And, I suspect, University of Phoenix will  thrive in coming years even if the stock price itself is slow to return to earlier high levels.

Marketing Online Programs: Top of Mind notes from Washington, D.C.

What stands out most from last week's Education Dynamics first "boot camp" conference with Carol Aslanian and friends in D.C.? Here are 10 points still floating on the top of my brain, in no special order:

• Mixed acceptance of social media was not surprising. Still people/institutions reluctant to expose themselves to possible public criticism of their educational programs. Ball State University, on the other hand, has a Facebook site just for online and distance learning. University of Phoenix has an active Facebook site where they allow critical discussions that extend to faculty quality, financial aid service, and value of a UPhoenix degree.
• Great tweeting of the sessions extended the impact of the program. Thanks to @spicymeatball and @cwech and @ann_tschirhrt. Review their tweets and more at #aslanian for lots of data on the growing popularity of online degree programs.
• Panel participant from Bethel College reported turning around a FAFSA in 24 to 48 hours after completion. Rather fine customer service. Hodges University is also rapid.
• Northeastern University's website for online learning is especially impressive. Unusual elements include pages on faculty quality control and competitive tution prices. And don't miss the quite short online inquiry form. Remember, the longer the form, the fewer the people who will complete it.
• Overall, the online program site with highest marketing impact is at Walden University. Almost every page passes the 5-second scan rule for quick engagement and easier task completion.
• Google Ad Words: good recommendation from Canisius College to allow about 8 months to evaluation results. Same applies to other online adversising well. Nobody at this meeting had used Facebook or LinkedIn ads but both are worth a try. A budget of $20K might be a good starting investment. If you're new to this, check the Beginner's Guide.
• 62 percent of leads prefer email follow-up, 34 percent prefer phone.
• Graduate students will pay more to graduate faster. Cost is not always the primary factor in picking a program. Regis University includes time to degree in online MBA Tuition Cost Comparision tables.
• In the not-for-profit sector, 75 percent of students are part-time and prefer 8 week courses. Deadly marketing element: 16 week courses.
• Most popular online graduate degrees: business (33 percent), health professions (22 percent) and education (20 percent.) Some report stagnation in business enrollment; some attibute this to increased programs available.

My Boot Camp Presentations are Online

Visit SlideShare to review my first presentation on best website marketing features for online degree programs and my second, an overview of social media and mobile marketing.

That's all for now 

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