I worry sometimes that as marketers and recruiters we have spent so much time lamenting the fact that our academic offerings are old, tired, stale, and exactly what everyone else is offering that we are not ready when the skies finally open and our institutions FINALLY develop a new program.

For those of us who sit in the marketing and recruitment chairs getting the new program approved by the powers that be is simply the starting point of our heavy lifting – and trust me it will be HEAVY lifting. Getting a new program off the ground routinely takes longer than anticipated and the timeframe to recruit the first class is always abbreviated. This is life in higher education – this blog can’t fix that. But we CAN be prepared to hit the ground running in both marketing and recruitment.

1. Get trained up on this new program (even before it has been approved by the accreditation folks). Find the on-campus champion of this new program and get him or her to spend an hour with your marketing and recruitment team. Be prepared to pepper this person with the types of questions our adult students need answers to. Things like – how long will it take to complete the program, what are some of the “WOW” courses that will be included in the major, what will be the background of the typical adult interested in this offering, and what kind of jobs will these graduates get will launch you into a discussion with faculty that will be hugely beneficial to your work.
2. Develop (and agree upon) the key points that will be messaged. I urge you to reach consensus between your marketing and recruitment teams because I have seen all too often these two teams not speaking the same language when it comes to communicating with students. Consistency in message (although arguably far greater detail will be provided by a recruiter engaged in a conversation with a prospective student) is hugely important in helping our adult students to understand the benefits of the program.
3. Prepare the talking points (using data) regarding outcomes.– What jobs will these adult students be eligible for when they graduate with this major?
   – What does the employment forecast look like in your area?
   – How much money can they expect if they land one of these jobs?These are the pieces of information that are critical for both marketing and recruitment to have at the ready to ensure that prospective students are well informed in making their decision about returning to school, and more specifically to this program.
4. Manage expectations. There is an interesting phenomenon that happens around the rolling out of any new academic program that I like to describe with an analogy of racehorses. On occasion I have been known to urge schools to “put out to pasture” the race horses (academic programs) that have historically done well for the school but just aren’t making the leader board any more. Managing expectations with any new academic program is – in part – keeping people aware of the fact that you rarely are able to just go buy a winning horse (unless of course you have unlimited resources). Most often, winning racehorses are “raised up” over time and take a few years to really prove their worth. In those early days of your new academic program urge leadership to set reasonable enrollment goals for a new program that will need a bit of time to get into the marketplace.
5. Let people know of your new offering. While this sounds ridiculous to mention I can’t tell you how often I have seen a new program that is almost kept under wraps from past inquiries and current students. Having something new is a huge opportunity to reach out to every inquiry that you have had in the last half-decade. Let those past inquiries know that you have a new offering – and that you would like to connect with them to discuss it. We know that many adult students actually elect to “do nothing” (or not return to school” when they inquired – those folks are still your prospect pool and this new program may be just the thing to get them engaged with you again. Additionally promote your new program internally. While it is true you already have these students in your classes you have no idea who they know, manage, or are married to and this offering may be something that is just perfect for one of their friends.  New offerings also give current students the sense that exciting things are happening at your institution.
6. Be prepared to shift budget. Most schools never think of providing additional marketing dollars to support the rolling out of a new offering. This leaves the marketing department with the task of making difficult decisions about how to pull resources from other areas to be sure to have the funds to market this option. Invest these limited resources wisely in the mediums we know adults most frequent when they are considering a return to college – the web.

(photo credit)