Question

Topic: Taglines/Names

Adult Education And Community Engagement

Posted by dawn.lingo on 12/14/2012 at 2:07 PM ET 250 Points
The Center for Community Partnerships is a division within a small public university. We are reinventing ourselves to serve the extended learning needs of adults by providing workforce relevant programs. Our mission also includes matching the needs of the community with the resources of the university. We have been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for our ability to do engagement well. We have an identity problem on campus - most don't understand what we do - and historically our changing focus has added to the confusion. Off-campus - most members of the community think we only serve traditional students. They don't think of coming to us for certifications that may help advance their careers.

Our name needs to help us communicate what we do clearly to the internal audience. And from what I've learned about marketing, it needs to answer the "WIIFM" question for potential students.

We would LOVE to have your ideas!!!
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by lingo on 12/14/2012 at 4:57 PM Accepted
    Thanks Phil - for the ideas about how to access help from the community! We are in the slow process of hiring a communications specialist and I hope that person will be able to help us have a single, cohesive voice. Until then, it's good to keep in mind other resources. I think we are all looking forward to working with someone who can help us develop and implement a comprehensive plan. So just looking for expertise on how to do a name change that will speak to the audience.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 12/14/2012 at 8:44 PM Accepted
    Are you stuck with the name "Center for Community Partnerships" or is this the name you're trying to replace? What % of your clients are (or, planning on being) off-campus? Why would on-campus students need your services (why wouldn't they use the placement office)?
  • Posted by Moriarty on 12/15/2012 at 3:56 AM Accepted
    I would like to bring something from the other side of the equation. I come from an academic family and my ex was a craftsman. Two very different worlds, and my ex was an intelligent man too. The point I want to make is that many people who just left school when they came of age, do not think it appropriate to go to university. Whilst this is an attitude that is changing, it is still powerful. I will add that in my time as a math teacher, I had some fine minds in my remedial set - the problem for me was that they found school unfulfilling. They saw even the modest academic aims of a school as not being in accord with their own views of life. Because "What's In It For Me" simply won't work: because they don't see anything in it for them, never have and (in their mind) never will.

    As to helping them change their careers, their management or potential employers would be as big a problem here. Just because an intelligent imaginative railroad engineer gets himself qualified does not mean that he will get a managerial job in a bank. The other side of the coin is that he is then "overqualified" to return to his former job that bored him. I am all too well aware of trying to get a job as a furniture maker when I had letters after my name. They very quickly disappeared.

    I want to add as an aside that having to find some academic quotation for their imaginative ideas is something they may not appreciate. I know I didn't - so began writing my essays in blank verse. With one tutor it went down very well, the other told me to re-write it in the "proper" form. You don't need telling which one I got on with better ...

    I have no problem with the name of your Center. You do need to communicate the core value of your service to people who simply cannot imagine any connection to you whatsoever. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it means that you have a really difficult task. I think you know that.

    So my question to you is this: what can you do for my imaginary railroad engineer who wants to get out of his job and yet still have the possibility to return to his work should things not turn out as imagined.

    Moriarty
  • Posted by lingo on 12/17/2012 at 9:40 AM Member
    Jay Hamilton-Roth - Yes, we are replacing the current name which is Center for Community Partnerships. 99% of our external clients will be from off-campus, however, administrators, faculty and staff are an important audience since we need to make them aware of what we do. On campus students would use our traditional support services.
  • Posted by lingo on 12/17/2012 at 9:51 AM Member
    Moriarty - How we get people to consider entering academia - this is the million dollar question we as a public have to figure out if we're going to meet 21st century workforce demands and compete in the global economy. Thanks for reminding me to look at it from this point of view. We're going to need to innovate to make education attractive to more people. One way we're beginning to do that is by giving credit for prior learning - in or outside the classroom. If individuals can prove they've developed a set of competencies, they can earn credit for them to apply toward certificates and degrees. They don't have to sit through a class. Another way is to design learning experiences that minimize direct instruction and maximize opportunities to bring adults' existing knowledge and skills into the classroom in an interactive way, to apply learning to real world problems they are or have encountered in their work. Makes me think of naming our place something like center for career re-invention.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 12/17/2012 at 10:40 AM Member
    Aside: Based on your response to Moriarty - it sounds like you're offering certificates & degrees for advancement. But from my research, such traditional education is being reinvented (for example, using open courseware) and the movement is growing. How will you keep up with 21st Century learning styles/needs?

    If most of your clientele are from off-campus, the name needs to focus on their needs. If you've been recognized as being great in engagement, what do your students say about the program after graduating? How much easier is it for them to find a job? Change careers? Increase their earning power? Find increased professional satisfaction?

    That's where I'd start the naming process - with words & benefits that have resonated in your community.
  • Posted by Moriarty on 12/17/2012 at 10:54 AM Member
    One issue: I have been outside academia for a long time, and I am certainly not as up to date as Jay seems to be.

    I would like to know what approach you would take to someone like my ex, who is an extremely intelligent man. He hasn't any qualifications as such - his skills as a furniture maker and carpenter are unparalleled. What is more, he can tell the quality of a craftsman just by the way he puts his bag down - that is to say within the first minute or so! No certificates, no higher authorities. He acted on his own authority - he was hiring after all ;-) Oh, and took full responsibility too, should anything go wrong. With him it rarely did.

    What can you offer the naturally intelligent person who doesn't have much interest in reading???

    How would you approach him and interest him in something that he left behind at school? Because many like him "left it behind them".

    I come from an academic family (my father taught at university level including Cambridge) and I find the outlook of the academic rather ... dry? I would be interested in your response.

    I hope this helps.

    Moriarty.

  • Posted by lingo on 12/17/2012 at 11:08 AM Member
    Jay Hamilton-Roth You are correct in that higher education is reinventing itself. One way is decoupling instruction from assessment. Instruction is being broken down into competencies that can be combined in unlimited ways. So the competencies are like blocks that can be stacked to create certificates and degrees. The competencies needed to earn a specific certificate or degree are already defined. Our challenge now is to develop reliable ways of assessing whether an individual has attained a specific competency. Once we can do that for all areas of learning, adults will have enormous flexibility to learn from open courseware and their experience. It's helping to talk this through. There will always be people who prefer classroom learning - so part of our program will always include "learning modules" that will focus on helping those students develop specific competencies. You are correct that we have to venture far beyond traditional classroom approaches to close the skills gap. With the rate of change, it is predicted that those entering the workforce will change CAREERS 7-10 times in their lifetime. As I think about your questions, it is evident that we have been much more focused on our community engagement efforts in the past - which may be good for the community overall, but has not focused serving adult learners. One idea that comes to mind given your advice is Career Management Center. Not exactly comprehensive enough to reach every audience, but it does begin to answer the question, "What do I get out of it?" A tagline could be something like, "Tools to help you reach your goals." Keep the ideas coming. And thanks!
  • Posted by lingo on 12/17/2012 at 11:20 AM Member
    Great question, Moriarty. There is a lot here to consider. Sounds like your husband is someone who is gifted in at least a couple of ways - intuition and craftsmanship. The goal would be for him to find a place to maximize his skills and earning power. I'm betting he loves what he does since he seems to be operating out of some natural abilities. Someone in his situation may become frustrated if his options were limited because he "doesn't have the piece of paper" needed to advance. In that case, the programs we're developing that allow adults to demonstrate competency through some type of assessment, which can be a test, but more importantly in his case, it could be through a portfolio, could appeal. If gaps are identified in learning, he can become aware of them through the assessment process and choose how to attain those competencies. It's still a system where higher ed establishes the criteria by which one can be recognized - but that's probably the strength of faculty as long as they work with employers to make sure the competencies are relevant!!
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Taglines/Names)