The Advancement Office manages the marketing and public relations activities for the college. The office works to maintain and increase enrollment, improve retention, and promote the college's programs, faculty, students, and alumni.
The Office of Institutional Advancement area has administrative unit outcomes shown below for enrollment and public relations objectives. Institutional Advancement assists the college to recruit, register, and retain students to meet the college’s enrollment management objectives and to support student success.
- Assessment Mechanism: The primary assessment mechanism is whether or not the college meets its term-to-term FTES goals.
- Assessment Cycle: Measured by the Enrollment Management Committee by term.
- Analysis of Results: This indicator is monitored closely by the Enrollment Management Committee on a regular basis. During the last few years the college went from an a period of having more students than it could financially support to recruiting students to meet challenging enrollment targets. The college cut $100,000 from the PR and marketing budget five years ago. Today, the college enrollment management committee has funded roughly $58,000 for our office to conduct a number of initiatives to increase enrollments. These have included postcards, TV, print, and radio advertising and, for the first time, a heavy dose of social media marketing with Facebook and YouTube, and also a search engine marketing campaign. Over the past year the enrollment management committee has been supportive of a search engine marketing campaign and social media campaign. The committee also wanted our office to increase its presence on YouTube. The enrollment management committee committed resources for three months for a search engine marketing campaign and the results were very positive, generating over 2000 hits to our website, 450 calls, 69 online applications, and 42 emails.
The Enrollment Management Committee evaluates the success of these initiatives on a continuous basis.
2. The public sees Butte College as a highly effective institution that is focused on its mission and is seen as a key resource for the community.
- Assessment Mechanism: The college tracks the percentage of positive local media clips and gross impressions that are positive. Our office also produces an annual report to the community.
- Assessment Cycle: This occurs monthly as part of the media report that goes to the Board.
- Analysis of Results: During 2014-2015 the college had 1,207 media clips. These are evaluated to determine the percentage that are positive and this information is reported monthly to the Board. These monthly positive rates are always in excess of 98%.
The Office of Institutional Advancement assists PROD with key Administrative Unit Outcomes.
"The college leadership, faculty, and staff have the planning processes, data resources, and collaborative mechanisms to effectively align institutional effort to accomplish the mission, support student learning, implement the strategic initiatives/strategic direction, and support continuous quality improvement."
The Office of Institutional Advancement works closely with the Enrollment Management Committee to increase enrollment through marketing and advertising. Our advertising and marketing campaigns are assessed. Based on feedback from the committee, we implemented a new social media advertising campaign and also a search engine marketing campaign. The Enrollment Management Committee meets monthly to assess enrollment and discuss new initiatives.
The Director of Institutional Advancement works closely with the VP of PROD and Co-Chairs of the Enrollment Management Committee to establish the college's targets for student enrollment which ultimately helps increase the course success rates for degree and certificate programs. Since 2013, the Advancement Office has worked to develop strategic advertising and marketing campaigns to reach targeted markets in an effort to attract more students.
The Office of Institutional Advancement supports the implementation of the college's Strategic Direction. Areas of particular alignment include:
1.a.2. Collaborating with K-12 to set appropriate student expectations, align curriculum, and prepare students for college success. STATUS: The Office of Institutional Advancement manages several key events targeted to K-12 students to support their transition to college.
2.a.3. Providing effective electronically mediated communication (e.g. website, social media, marketing materials, wi-fi access). STATUS: The Office of Institutional Advancement manages marketing, advertising, and branding activities for the college. We have effectively launched campaigns on the college website, social media and develop marketing materials such as the “Annual Report to the Community.”
The Office of Institutional Advancement does not conduct a Program Review.
The Office of Institutional Advancement supports enrollment initiatives for the college and works to develop advertising and marketing campaigns to assist with recruitment efforts. The Institutional Advancement Office will produce a minimum of two advertising campaigns annually with postcards, TV and print ads. We will embark on a new search engine marketing campaign and work to utilize social media in more effective ways. Another goal is to fill a vacant position by adding a public relations and marketing specialist to assist in these endeavors in March 2016. The office will also be assisting in a website redesign effort in 2016-2017.
Strategy 1 - Enhanced Search Engine Marketing Campaign
Address declining enrollment of 300 FTE.
An ongoing, annual search engine marketing campaign is needed to ensure a presence on major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Our office would receive a monthly tracking report which will provide detailed information such as how many calls were received and it will record calls, how many applied to CCC Apply, how many clicked on the Butte.edu page, and how many emailed the college.
Costs will be:
Search Engine Marketing Campaign/GoCom: $24,000 ongoing
The college must do all it can to increase enrollment and retain its current students. With enrollment down by 300 FTE, that amounts to a loss of $1.8 million to the college.
Strategy 2 - New Social Media Campaigns
Coordinate an annual social media campaign promoting the college and its programs. This strategy includes the following elements:
1) Conducting a weekly Facebook presence and purchasing advertising on Facebook for select enrollment managment messages.
2) Coordinate a YouTube presence with videos about Butte College and its programs along with an apply now message.
Costs:
- $12,000 (on going) for Facebook advertising
- $24,000 (ongoing) for developing video clips and posting to YouTube and Facebook. We could also include student testimonials in the video clips.
Total: $36,000
This strategy directly supports student success and outcomes.
Strategy 3 - Upgrade Career Brochure
This strategy includes the following components:
Upgrade the college's career brochure formally funded by Perkins Grant. Staff is available to update all career programs in the program brochure which is printed and posted electronically.
Cost to print: $30,000
This strategy directly supports communication efforts and student success. The recruiter uses this communication piece when visiting local high schools and attending local events.
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| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Institutional Advancement Office | Operating Expenses | 110001101671000 | 55820 | $24,000.00 | $24,000.00 |
| Search Engine Marketing Campaign Ongoing | A reduction in our enrollment of 300 FTE amounts to a loss of $1.8 million. This proposal funds a search engine marketing campaign that gives Butte College a presence on major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Our office will receive a monthly tracking report to evaluate its effectiveness and results. |
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| 2 | Institutional Advancement | Operating Expenses | 110001140671000 | 55820 | $36,000.00 | $36,000.00 |
| Alumni Campaign | Provides resources to integrate an ongoing presence for Butte College on Facebook and YouTube, two of the largest social media applications among our targeted demographic, 18-54 years old. |
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| 3 | Institutional Advancement | Operating Expenses | 110001101671000 | 55820 | $30,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Provide funds for a new career brochure for recruiters and online | Update the career brochure previously produced and make it available for recruiters and also online |
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