Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle

March 29, 2010

Why Branding Is Important For Community Colleges

Filed under: FKCC,Landesberg-Boyle — Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle @ 10:19 pm
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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.

March 17, 2010

New Brand Identity for FKCC

Filed under: FKCC,Landesberg-Boyle — Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle @ 1:10 am
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Last week I wrote about how we “set the stage” for establishing a “brand identity” for Florida Keys Community College (FKCC).  We did so by soliciting feedback and determining how our constituents (and potential constituent groups) perceived the college and its accompanying logo’s (letters quite literally in boxes of primary colors), taglines (Start here, go anywhere), and services.  We then set about determining consensus on a shared vision and mission statement.  Those statements were defined as follows:

MISSION:

Enriched by its unique island location, Florida Keys Community College provides student-centered post-secondary degrees, life-long learning opportunities, and workforce development initiatives which enhance the educational, recreational, economic, and cultural environment of the Florida Keys .

VISION:

The college will be the premier educational and cultural center of the Florida Keys.

With this focus on the islands, the tagline was clear: Island Living, Island Learning.  Unlike the former tagline, this statement elicited a unique concept that fit the college’s program mix, which follows and contributes to the island economy.

The island concept lent itself naturally to new colors – we moved away from the primary red, blue, yellow, and green blocks to vivid aqua blue and bright, tropical green.

FROM

Original FKCC Branding

TO
Island Living / Island Learning

Island Living / Island Learning

The new branding image was received from Students, Faculty and Administrators alike and our enrollment numbers soared.

March 5, 2010

Preparing for a Branding Initiative

Filed under: FKCC,Landesberg-Boyle — Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle @ 12:44 am
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Before we could undertake a full and effective branding process at FKCC, we first had to step back, take a long hard look at how we were perceived and who we wanted to be.

To do this necessitated numerous focus groups, facilitated by objective third-party consultants.  In all cases representatives of the college participated although they remained in the role of observant listener rather than actively engaging in the dialogue.  This allowed our consultants - everyone from business leaders to students, to potential friends of the college, to freely communicate.  As for the representatives, by listening with an open mind they were able to learn much of which they were previously unaware.

A primary, recurring themes was the lack of awareness of opportunity at the college.  Indeed, one person commented he had never been to the campus and wouldn’t have come expect for the that the president had followed up each invitation with a personal phone call.

Many people, especially students and prospective students felt the exiting primary colors (red, yellow, blue, and green) appeared to be more representative of a preschool than a college.

After hearing all this, we ran a session to define our mission, vision, values, and strategic plan.  leveraging our unique island locale, we appropriately entitled the plan – Island living / Island Learning.  The branding began….

Stay tuned next week for more on how we move a college from a 10 year enrollment decline to the fastest growing school in the Florida State College System. Branding was a critical component. which I will describe in more detail next week.

December 17, 2009

Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle and Team $2.24mil to FKCC

Filed under: Dive Program,FKCC,Landesberg-Boyle — Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle @ 6:33 pm
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After a small college (us!) began discussions with the federal government about bringing a large and very important special appropriation to the Florida Keys, working diligently and with full energy with all our partners, Director of the John E. Lockwood, Jr. School of Diving and Underwater Technology Bill Chalfant, Dr. Patrick Rice and Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle (me) were notified by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen that the funding they had proposed to receive with Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen’s full forward charge was approved!!

As the college’s director of the James E. Lockwood Jr. School of Diving and Underwater Technology, Chalfant will be one of those in charge of developing a training program the Navy could adopt for its scuba divers, port security and other defense or Homeland Security personnel who perform military and civilian security on the water. “It involves three-dimensional underwater imaging, inertial guidance systems, and developing training procedures for the Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and other government agencies,” he said.

According to a project summary, the college will take part in:

  • Modeling and simulation of natural subsurface environments;
  • Diver training with simulated real-world scenarios; and
  • Creating a training quality-control process in which new technologies, training methods and simulated environments are continuously upgraded and improved.

Never mind all that. It’s simply unheard of that a small community college should get such a big piece of the defense pie, especially on its first request to the U.S. Govenment Chalfant said.

“It’s an unprecedented amount for a small community college.

The college will share the $2.24 million. The Defense Department and the Navy receive part of the funding which is partnered with the college, as well as Stanford Research Institute and other partners.

Stanford Research Institute was part of Stanford University but is now independent of the school.

“We are especially grateful to Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen for her continued support of the college and the Florida Keys.”

December 10, 2009

Students Students Students

Filed under: FKCC,Landesberg-Boyle — Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle @ 1:49 am
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Quote from Sharon E. Farrell, Department Head of Social Sciences and Fine Arts, FKCC

Most importantly, our students have responded very positively to the transformation of the college into an institution that they are proud to atend.  President Landesberg-Boyle has an open-door policy for students.  She works tirelessly for them and the community, and they know it.  She promoted the establishment of a Student Government and other clubs.  As a result, our students have become quite active in the life of the college.  They no longer attend class and leave campus.  She has also established more scholarships, another great benefit to our students.

November 25, 2009

John Andola Columnist for the Key West Citizen had this to say…

Filed under: FKCC,Landesberg-Boyle — Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle @ 9:06 pm

In the Key West Citizen as the Key West news man accompanied the President, Faculty and some staffers from the Florida Keys Community College for a celebratory cruise in the beautiful waters off the Keys aboard Capt. Kevin Murphy’s schooner “Hindu” .  The celebration was for the newly minted partnership between the college and Miami based “Shake-a-Leg”  program that will help physically challenged Shake – a – Leg participants take advantage of the diving and other sea related coursed at FKCC.  In John Andola’s article he outlines a frank and open conversation he had with the trans formative president of an emerging and changing institution.

November 23, 2009

Positive Changes for FKCC

Filed under: FKCC,Landesberg-Boyle — Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle @ 2:37 am
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In my first year as president, I recognized our faculty salaries were the lowest in the state. We eliminated a system of supplements, retained a salary consultant, and increased faculty salaries, on average, an unbelievable 17%. This year, in addition to giving out equity adjustments, we provided 4% across the board raises to all employees— one of only a tiny number of community colleges that were able to give raises.

Our faculty salaries are now in the top half of the range of compensation for the state system, which means we have the resources to retain and attract professors and quality staff from all over the country. In fact, we have two national experts teaching in our marine sciences program. Our newest marine tech faculty member received his training at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

With the help of our Congresswoman Ileana Ros- Lehtinen, 2.8 million dollars has been approved by Congress for Department of Defense work that will be done at FKCC’s Lockwood School of Diving Technologies. In addition to this federal appropriation, we have earned our first federal grant— a grant of over $100,000 from NOAA.

We have a new Marine Technology Building in its design phase that promises to be the gem of the campus, new benefactors who have given approximately two million dollars over the last two years, and corporate partnerships with entities such as Raytheon Technical Services and Hollis Corporation.

Enrollment is through the roof! We have record numbers of new students and have earned ourselves the distinction of being the fastest growing community college in the state—and no longer the smallest! All this, in just two years!

Jill Landesberg-Boyle

November 21, 2009

THE STUDENTS PRESIDENT

Filed under: Dive Program,FKCC,Landesberg-Boyle — Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle @ 9:29 pm
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Key West, FL, —  At a time where cut-backs are the norm, Florida Keys Community College under the direct supervision of college president Dr. Jill Landesberg-Boyle is able to announce monumental expansions and improvements to its diving program, thanks to an unprecedented $1 million bequest. The Florida Keys Educational Foundation, a direct-support organization of FKCC, will recognize the generosity of scuba diving forefather James E. Lockwood, Jr. during a ceremony on Friday, May 15, 2009 at 4:00pm at the Dive Lagoon on the Key West campus. The college’s school of diving will be named the James E. Lockwood, Jr. School of Diving and Underwater Technology for its historic benefactor.

The gift will enable FKCC to expand its already stellar diving program into a nationally recognized curriculum that will integrate marine science and diving to further support the needs of local, regional, national and global constituents. FKCC will offer workforce education and re-education in areas such as underwater welding, hyperbaric medicine, port security, aquaculture, coral reef mapping and restoration.

“This gift is going to allow us to pursue a wealth of exciting new initiatives to modernize our program,” says Marine Sciences Director Dr. Patrick Rice. “We’re going to purchase new, high-tech equipment, modernize our existing gear, and develop new curricula. We’ll also be able to extend our support to our Middle and Upper Keys Centers with the purchase of mobile training equipment.”

The dedication ceremony will include remarks from local, state, and national dignitaries. There will be presentations on the history and the future of college’s dive program, as well as diving demonstrations by students in the lagoon, also referred to as the underwater classroom.
Representatives from two organizations that were also funded by Lockwood’s estate will be in attendance: DiveHeart and Shake-A-Leg Miami. Both organizations help children, adults, and veterans with physical, developmental, and economic challenges through diving. FKCC plans to partner with both groups to set up new programs to certify and train individuals with disabilities.

The Florida Keys Educational Foundation will pay tribute to the life of Mr. Lockwood and the legacy he has left to the field of diving and underwater film.

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