Some have asked, “why did we take the actions we took in order to brand the school?” The answer boils down to establishing a unique niche leading to a competitive corner amongst the hundreds of choices potential students have when considering higher education. It used to be that a community college could count on its local residents to attend the local institution. Those citizens who needed retraining or were planning on spending their first two years of a baccalaureate program at a community college naturally found themselves gravitating towards the local community college, primarily because of cost and accessibility.
Today, however, all that has changed. While some students will attend the local institution due to ease and price, no longer does any one institution has a market niche based on these two variables. With distance learning and niche programs sprouting up all over the country, students today have more choices than ever and it is no longer feasible to sit back and count on local students to register at their local community college simply because it is in the same region or, even the same town. This is especially true if the college itself has not established its image as a premier institution where one’s cost equals the value one will derive from the educational experience offered.
To believe that an institution can depend upon its local citizenry to be its lifeblood, regardless of its image, is to be foolhardy, at best, and negligent at worse.
