A Value Greater than Cost Communicating the Unique Worth of Your Institution Kate Amburn, Senior Admissions Counselor, Carson-Newman University

What is… COST  Synonym: Price  In Enrollment Management: the price of tuition, room & board, fees, books, meal plan, et cet. (Cost of attendance) VALUE  Synonym: Worth  In Enrollment Management: the post-enrollment worth of the education and college experience. (Outcomes)

What is the difference?

Current Cost Barriers (For 4 Year Institutions)  Regional – TN Promise  National – Bi-Partisan Political Agendas

TN Legislature and Education Initiatives  TN Promise as a part of the “Drive to 55” initiative

Perspectives by National Leadership  President Obama and Vice President Biden attended PSCC in January 2015 to unveil their proposal, America’s College Promise, similar to TN Promise  2 Years of Community College FREE If…  In a program designed for transfer to a four-year university or career training  Maintain a 2.5 GPA  Attend classes at least half time  Make steady progress toward completing coursework  Federal funding would pay three- quarters of the average cost of a community college, while states would be expected to provide for the remaining costs

Continued Perspectives by National Leadership  GOP and Democratic Candidates are now highlighting their educational plans in debates and press opportunities  Post-Graduation Work for Debt Relief proposals  Debt-Free College – through scholarship programs OR student work requirements  Making Cuts in/to the US Department of Education

What’s the Common Denominator?  “Community College”  How can we compete? What about Public and Private Four-Year Institutions? Offer Associates Degrees at Your Four-Year School? Offer More Scholarships?

We Can’t Win on Cost & That’s Okay

The Focus on Price  Beyond Selling Value, 2002 – Mark Shonka and Dan Kosch  Buyers are focused on one issue – price, which leads salespeople to either lose a deal or abandon the idea of selling value  Escape the “Vendor Trap” – stop selling on price alone, and start selling on the values that you can provide  Sell to those who are empowered to buy on value

What’s the worth of a degree from your institution?

What is a value proposition?  “A value proposition is a positioning statement that explains what benefit you provide for who and how you do it uniquely well.” – Michael Skok, Forbes, June  Value Proposition: What is your college’s non-monetary worth to a prospective student?

Notes About Value Propositions  This is not a “big-wig only” topic.  Recruiting is the job of every institutional employee. So is establishing and maintaining your value propositions.

Create Your Value Proposition! 1. Core Value of Institution 2. Unique Ability of Institution 3. Your Messaging

Step 1: Core Value of Institution  What is your institutional mission?  What ideals stand out amongst your competitors?  Which is the most unique to your school?

Step 2: Unique Ability of Institution  How does your institution uniquely achieve their mission?  How is this unique ideal upheld by the administration, faculty, staff, and students?

Step 3: Your Messaging  The most important aspect of recruitment communication is understanding your audience.  How can you share this value proposition in a concise way? Put it in 1-3 sentences.  What are examples that you can think of that support your value proposition?

Practice Makes Perfect

Now What? You’ve got your value proposition, but how do you use it?

What is communication? Berlo’s Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver (SMCR) Model

What does SMCR Model have to do with recruitment and value propositions?  How do you encode (or frame) your message to share it appropriately and in an easily-understood way?  What channel(s) will you use? Private campus visit conversation, phone call, text message, , letter?  How will your audience (prospective students) decode your message to find meaning? What is left open to sloppy interpretation?

We won’t win the cost battle… But we can win the war, if we sell on value.

Works Cited  Berlo, David K. The Process of Communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Print.  “Drive to 55.” Drive to 55 Tennessee Web.  Fain, Paul. “Republican Roundup.” Inside Higher Ed. 10 September Web.  “Presidential Visit: President, Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden Visit Pellissippi State.” Pellissippi State Community College. January Web.  Shonka, Mark, and Dan Kosch. Beyond Selling Value. New York: Kaplan, Print.  Skok, Michael. “4 Steps to Building a Compelling Value Proposition.” Forbes. 14 June Web.  Stratford, Michael. “Working for Free College.” Inside Higher Ed. 13 October Web.  “Students: Tennessee Promise.” TN Promise Web.