(The State Journal, March 2012 - by
Scott D. Miller)
Recently released U.S. Census Bureau
figures revealing that just 17.5 percent of West Virginians have at least a
bachelor’s degree—the lowest rate of college completion in the country—is
another wake-up call for the Mountain State.
That kind of statistic is also a call to
action for educators who find it increasingly challenging to market what we do
better than anyone: prepare young adults
for lives of enrichment in a world of astonishing social, technological,
economic and political change. I suspect a lot of us in higher education have
been spending our spring breaks this year wondering, nevertheless, how to convince
student and parent consumers of the value of such an education.
Investing in a four-year college
education is among the most personal and financially sensitive decisions a
family can make. To be sure, cost is a critical factor in choosing a college.
That’s why when I meet prospective students and their families, I encourage
them to think value, not just advertised cost. Bethany College’s tuition is
competitive, and over $9 million in institutionally funded student financial
aid awarded each year helps to close the deal for our incoming freshmen. The
fact that we graduate the majority of our students in four years, as opposed to
the nearly five-year national average for baccalaureate completion, is also a
positive factor.
Still, we hear the wake-up calls:
Fifty-seven percent of Americans
perceive insufficient value for the cost of higher education, according to the
Pew Research Center, with three-fourths believing that a college education is
unaffordable to most individuals. Students
today also often assume that a baccalaureate degree entitles them to a job—and
a well-paying one, at that. After all, they ask, aren’t lucrative careers the
purpose of having achieved their degrees?
Adding to the pressure on college
admissions offices is the fact that students are making their enrollment
decisions much earlier than in the past, many by the end of their junior years.
Some begin the search process as early as their freshman year in high school,
which means that colleges have to tailor their marketing to multiple ages
(including the growing ranks of over-21, non-traditional learners). Blend in
the lingering effects of a still-uncertain economy and budgetary challenges to
federal Pell Grants, and the pressure is on educators at institutions large and
small, public and private, to recruit, retain and reward their students.
Faced with familiar realities about
declining numbers of available high school graduates to enroll in college, but
armed with technological tools like social media and branding techniques
unknown just a decade ago, colleges and universities have to be at the top of
their marketing game. The good news is that today, almost every qualified
student of any adult age who wishes to enter college can gain instant
information about academic, co-curricular, financial-aid and career-preparation
opportunities. First-generation
students, among others, receive specialized orientation and advising, and
colleges are working harder than ever to make experiential learning, such as
internships and international travel, a central component of their curricula. Donors to college scholarships, building
funds, endowments, labs, libraries and other purposes still step up in record
numbers at institutions throughout the nation, contributing to the
affordability and desirability of a four-year educational commitment.
Higher education also benefits from the
endorsements of an army of thousands—committed alumni and friends. Time after
time, our graduates and current students say they chose Bethany because of the
personal recommendation of a neighbor, teacher, relative or family friend who
attended our college. No website, flash video or e-blast can trump the referral
of alumni who speak from the heart about their alma mater.
Finally, reflecting the fascinating
diversity of students’ ages, interests, cultural, social and economic
backgrounds, American higher education offers more opportunities and options than
ever—from the small, classical liberal arts colleges like Bethany and West
Virginia Wesleyan to the virtual classroom of distance learning.
That spells more competition than ever
for America’s colleges and universities. Most, however, are up to the marketing
challenge, and have a sound, affordable and user-friendly product to offer. Regardless
of why a student chooses a certain college or whether he or she decides to
enroll in the first place, a college diploma will always represent a highly
prized achievement.
Confronted as we are with the reality of
low college graduation in West Virginia and some other states, we need to do
all we can as leaders in education to encourage college attendance and degree
completion. Statistics illustrating rates of higher education achievement
represent more than the sum of their numbers; they speak clearly and
unmistakably about what we value as an informed and influential nation in a
turbulent world.
# # #
Dr. Scott D. Miller is President and M.M.
Cochran Professor of Leadership Studies at Bethany College. A graduate of West
Virginia Wesleyan College, he has served as president of three private liberal
arts colleges during the past 21 years.
