Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

Community colleges are low cost options for the first few years, and at least here in California, are not as badly hit by the budget issues of the State Universities. And community colleges are probably more likely to be the place for 1st generation college students to go to (due to their convenience of being local, having classes that can work around work schedules, etc.). So perhaps something that talks about how it the community college is preparing students of all walks for the future (whether that be transferring to a 4 year, meeting specific education requirements, or getting a degree from the CC)?

Preparing (geograophy's) future

:Geograohy" could be Danville, or the name of a county, or the name of a region - is there some name that the area is know as?

Thanks for your response, Peter. The region is known as Southside, but there is another cc that serves part of that region, Southside CC. So I really don't want to use that. Our service region includes Pittsylania Co., City of Danville and Halifax Co. so I'm really not sure how I would do that without using Southside. It's a good thought, though.

Yes, I see that on my browser as well. Are you using Safari? Other pc users assure me that it's correct on theirs.

Thanks so much, Karen, for your comments. I will consider that possibility.

Think Globally. Learn Locally.
The Smarter Choice For Self-Improvement

Ok, I'll tell the web master. Thanks!

Jay is really good. I think his suggestions hit the nail on the head.

You want to give your target audience (prospective students) the sense that they are not settling for a second-best education ... just providing an excellent foundation for their lives/careers at a realistic/affordable price, while they live at home and can juggle the other aspects of their lives.

So go with either:

Think Globally. Learn Locally.
The Smarter Choice For Self-Improvement

With appropriate and due respect for Randall's opinion, I don't agree with him. I think the "Place to Be" approach is vacuous. It doesn't say/mean anything, and that misses a real opportunity to remind your prospective students of the real and significant value of continuing their education.

Even if it were memorable, I think it suggests a social thing -- like a club or popular meeting place -- not a serious and professional institution of higher learning. It evokes more of the "Place to see your friends and be seen" idea than it does of a place to make yourself a more educated individual and a more valuable employee in the workplace.

What about using the word "become" instead of just "be". Or inspired, simple or simply? Should one use negatives in a tagline? Like:

Do not be, become.

Don't just be, become.

Become something (someone) extraordinary.

Become someone exceptional.

Be inspired, become.

Thanks so much Karen and Jay.

I can't thank you ALL enough for your comments and insights. I have absolutely no one to bounce ideas around with here. The boss is still back in the 70's and is a journalist. The combination is.....less than creative. You have helped tremendously.

Just to be clear, I’m assuming that the perception among prospective students is that a community college is less good/less prestigious than a “real” 4-year college.

What I think the CC needs to do (strategically) is give them the sense that the education they’ll get at the CC is every bit as valuable to them as what they’d get elsewhere AND it is local, convenient, and much more affordable.

The "“place to be/see” could be for any school anywhere. It’s about getting an education and improving your future. Great missionary work if you're selling education.

But what the CC should do is position itself as providing a unique benefit BECAUSE it is a COMMUNITY COLLEGE … it’s local/nearby, it’s affordable, it’s a convenient way to continue your education when you have other obligations at home, etc.

The “Think Globally. Learn Locally” approach says this is a way to play in the “big world,” but that you can start right at home to “learn locally.” That’s something Harvard or Yale or Stanford can’t say (unless you’re a townie in Boston, New Haven or Palo Alto ... and have a lot of money to spend on college).

Similarly, the line “The Smarter Choice for Self-Improvement” suggests that going to a CC is actually a “smarter choice” for someone who wants to improve him/herself through education – a reference to the lower cost and nearby convenience.

I hope this helps.

"Be"