Standard 10
Public Disclosure
Team Members:
Donna
Lefevre, lead, Executive Assistant to the President
Delia Berlin, Director of the Willimantic
Center
Margaret
Huoppi, Public Information Assistant
Michael
Lynch, Library Media Systems Specialist
Joan
Macneil, Director of Outreach & Employment Services
Mary
Romney, Coordinator of Academic Support
Sandra Sadler, Office Assistant
David Stifel, Building Maintenance Supervisor
Dianne
Williams, President
Description
The Public
Information office at QVCC, located in the Center for Community and
Professional Learning, produces all College publications, including course
schedules, program brochures, and the catalog. The office, staffed by one
part-time professional, is also responsible for media relations, press releases,
and advertising.
The position of
public information assistant began in 1993 as a contract position specifically
to write press releases. This expanded to a part-time position that also
included publications and advertising for credit-free programming. In the fall
of 1997, when the College reorganized, all College publications and advertising
were consolidated into a Public Information office. As part of the
consolidation, the advertising budget has gradually expanded to include all
credit advertising, paper stock for the production of brochures and College
publications, and the cost of other promotional activities.
In 1998 the Public
Information office created an improved credit course schedule in an attempt to
make it more aesthetically pleasing and easier to use. In 1999, a newsletter
section called Dateline QVCC was added to both the credit and credit-free
schedules. This was designed to disseminate more information about the College
to the public and to replace a twice-yearly newsletter, over which the College
had little control, that appeared in the local newspaper. As part of the course
schedules, the Dateline feature appears five times a year and is distributed to
approximately 55,000 households in the College’s service area.
The QVCC catalog
was redesigned in 1995 by a graphic design firm that the College continues to
use. The content and order of the information were revised in order to make the
information easy to find and easy to understand. Each year when the catalog is
revised, appropriate departments are responsible for ensuring that their
information is current and up to date. The 2000-2001 catalog has added
designations [fall (F), spring (S), or occasional (O)] to the course
descriptions to indicate when a particular course is offered. The catalog is
proofed by representatives of the Public Information office, the Learning and
Student Development Division, and the President’s office.
The other major
print publications are the Credit Course Schedule (twice a year), the Summer
Course Schedule, the Academic Planner, and the Learning for
Life schedule (three times a year). The course brochures contain the
information necessary for students to make decisions about registering for a
particular semester. The Learning for Life schedule outlines the credit-free
programs available through the Center for Community and Professional Learning.
The Academic Planner, distributed to new students and available to others by
request, contains information for current students. Examples include
facilities, learning and student development, student activities and
organizations, academic information, policies and regulations, student rights
and discipline, sexual harassment, and drugs and alcohol. The full text version
can be found on the College’s web site.
With the advent of
computer technology and the World Wide Web, the College developed and now
maintains its own web site: www.qvcc.commnet.edu. The web site includes much of
the information that appears in the catalog and course schedules, as well as
job openings, coming events, varied academic information, and relevant links.
In addition, in 1999 an e-mail newsletter called QV Newsline was developed
and is sent monthly by the Public Information office to anyone who wishes to
subscribe.
Also in 1998, the
development of radio and print ads was revised. An attempt was made to provide
a theme (“A QVCC Education Leads to Success” for credit programs and Learning
for Life for credit-free courses) and all print ads are now produced in house.
The emphasis has been on consistency while providing a variety of useful and
interesting information supported by testimony from QVCC graduates. Advertising
dollars have also been invested in TV commercials that have run on local cable
stations.
The College makes
readily available to the public all of its publications, including the catalog,
course schedules, and program brochures. The five major course
schedules are direct mailed to over 55,000 households in the College’s service
region. Requests for academic information are handled through the Learning and
Student Development office, while the public information assistant handles
requests from the news media.
Upon request, the
most recent Auditor’s Reports of College finances, which are public
documents, are available in the office of the Dean of Administrative Services,
the President’s office, and the State Office of Public Accounts. The Affirmative
Action Plan for the College is available to staff, students, and the
public through the College library. To comply with Federal and State
requirements, Campus Crime Reports are also available in the library.
Appraisal
Quinebaug
Valley Community College strives to provide information to the public that is
complete, accurate, and clear.
QVCC is continually
engaged in process improvement. In 1997 the Marketing Committee made several
recommendations to the College based on self-assessment:
·
Consolidate and centralize
advertising functions and dollars
·
Create a yearly advertising
strategy
·
Reinforce guidelines for printed
materials
·
Produce brochures for all degree
and certificate programs
·
Refine the process of updating
brochures
With the changes
brought about by the 1997 College reorganization, the Public Information office
has accomplished many of these recommendations. The marketing program has been
an ongoing endeavor, growing proportionately as increased funds become
available.
The public information assistant’s
hours have increased from fourteen hours per week in 1994 to nineteen per week
in 1996. Interns and writing assistants have been hired to assist with writing
feature stories and news releases and to help with design. Since increases in
College enrollment and therefore funding are highly dependent on effective
promotion, there is strong support for increasing the hours of the public information
assistant, eventually to full-time status.
Because the College catalog has been
the main marketing tool for QVCC, special consideration has been given to its
photography and particularly its cover. The College has worked to increase the
inventory of photo images to use in the catalog and other promotional
materials, thus greatly improving the quality of these materials. A talented
professional photographer has been hired to capture the variety of the
College’s programs, facilities, students, and staff.
The credit and
non-credit course schedules are constantly refined and improved to make them
more marketing tools and not simply lists of course information.
The Application
for Enrollment was redesigned two years ago to improve its
appearance and to collect more information from students. One of the sections
asks how students have heard about the College and whether they see or hear
QVCC’s print, radio, and TV ads. This information is tabulated on a regular
basis. Based on that data, cable television advertising was discontinued. More
recently, focus groups have been held in order to gather feedback and input
from students regarding the content of College publications.
The College has
maintained a home page on the World Wide Web since 1995, and in 1999 the
College formally acknowledged the position of webmaster. With access to the
Internet increasing at a remarkable rate, this site has become a key tool for
the College to publish important information about itself. Since at least 1998,
the QVCC web site has made available a complete copy of the College catalog,
the course schedules, directories of all staff with e-mail links (where
available), directions to the school, and important contact information. In
addition, the QVCC web site hosts pages to support individual classes
(including syllabi) and resources and subject pages from the library. Because
of the time it takes to prepare and print a new catalog, the College’s web
catalog often offers more current information than the printed catalog.
In June 2000, the
Connecticut Community-Technical College system initiated an online link to
information available from the system’s Banner information system. This link
contains a searchable index to all twelve of the community College’s course
schedules, a login for students to check personal status, and a link to
financial aid information. These resources are available from QVCC’s home page.
The Public
Information office coordinates its activities with the Enrollment and Research
office and the Outreach and Employment office to ensure consistency and provide
the materials needed for successful student recruitment. The unique promotional
needs of the Willimantic Center are also considered, and special publications
and ads are developed for its use. An overall marketing strategy is developed
each year that indicates the monthly activities undertaken. The coordination
between different areas of the College has been greatly improved.
The College collects
information regarding student, faculty, and staff achievements that may be used
in College publications. Examples include surveys of graduating classes
conducted by both the system and the College, as well as specific program
surveys. The sources for data used regarding job opportunities and occupational
wages are cited. Faculty and staff achievement and recognition are often
publicized and the documentation maintained in the individual’s professional
file.
Projection
·
Focusing on consistent
improvement in the area of public information will continue to be an integral
part of the College’s future. Although significant strides have been made in
recent years, the entire College must remain dedicated to providing its
students and the local community with the most complete and accurate
information possible. While some progress has been made in increasing funding
for marketing, resources will be needed to keep up with the costs of
advertising, paper, printing, and staffing.
·
In an increasingly competitive
market for education, the College must ensure that it presents the most
professional face possible to prospective students. To achieve this end,
College publications will strive to have a more unified and sophisticated look.
This may mean increased use of the services of outside graphic designers and
printers, which would require increased funding for the advertising/marketing
budget.
·
The College’s use of targeted
advertising and informational brochures has proven to be very successful. To
build on this success, QVCC will develop two search pieces, one targeting high
school students and one targeting older, non-traditional students. This is the
first time the College will have these marketing materials available.
·
QVCC’s catalog continues to be a
highly polished, attractive guide to all facets of the College. Beginning in
2002, a two-year catalog will be produced, with more current updates being made
available on the College’s web site. The goal is to have enough funds available
for a catalog and search pieces, permitting a new catalog and new search pieces
every alternate year.
·
The College’s web site will
continue to grow in importance as a vehicle for disseminating the most current
information. In the future, current students, potential students, and the
public will expect the College’s web site to be a central repository for most
if not all information about QVCC. The present College web site will be
reviewed using an ad hoc committee that is in place to review web site related
issues, with recommendations made for what should happen in the future.
Increased reliance on the web site may require additional staffing.
Documents
Affirmative Action Plan
Application for Enrollment
Campus Crime Reports
Credit Course Schedule (twice per year)
Learning for Life schedule (three times per
year)
Program brochures:
Accounting
Allied Health Programs
Bilingual Educational
Paraprofessional
Business Office Technology
Computer Degrees and
Certificates
Educational Paraprofessional
Fine Arts
Health Information Management
Technician
Human Services
Management
Medical Assisting
Phlebotomy
QVCC catalogs, 1991-2001
Student Handbook
Student service brochures:
General College Information
Adult Learners
Basic Skills Assessment
Career Services
Center for Community and
Professional Learning programs
(various
brochures)
Credit for Prior Learning
Financial Aid and Veterans
Benefits
Learning Disabilities and
College
Scholarships
Steppingstones Child Care
Transfer Compact with ECSU
Willimantic Center
Summer Course Schedule
Summer Kids Academy brochure