Public Relations Roles in Colleges and Universities - CDG 318

A broad area of public relations work, and the source of many jobs, is found in non-profit organizations, which are often called charities. […] The range of nonprofit institutions is astounding, from membership organizations, advocacy groups, social service organizations, and educational organizations to hospitals and health agencies and small city historical societies to global foundations that disperse million-dollar grants (Cameron et al 2008).

Nonprofit, or not-for-profit, organizations can be defined as organizations whose main purpose is to serve the public interest and are noncommercial. Non-profit organizations do not distribute monies to shareholders or owners, as do traditional businesses.

Most educational institutions operate as nonprofit organizations. Educational institutions focus on current and prospective students, faculty, teachers, and staff, though government and community relations are important aspects of the public relations functions in educational institutions (p. 408). Educational institutions employ public relations specialists to promote their services, assist with fund-raising, spread news of their successes or crises, assist with smooth daily operations or crisis management, implement campaigns that address social issues, and help develop long-range plans and visions (Cameron et al, 2008) (p. 408).

What is the role of the public relations professional in colleges and universities?

The role of the public relations professional is to help his or her client develop and sustain relationships with key publics by presenting the most favorable, but still completely truthful, information (p. 42). The role of the press is to report what is going on to help keep the public informed (Lordan, Summer 2005).  Higher education is a big business in the United States. It is also a business that has millions of customers—students. In large universities, the vice president for development and university relations […] who supervises the office of development, which may include a division for alumni relations, and an office of public relations, these departments are often combined in smaller institutions (Cameron et al, 2008). The primary role of the public relations professional in educational institutions is to seek to enhance the prestige and financial support of the institution. Their primary responsibilities are to build alumni loyalty and generate funding from private sources (Cameron et al, 2008).

The public relations director, generally aided by one or more chief assistants, supervises the information news service, publications, and special events. Depending on the size of the institution, perhaps a dozen or more employees will carry out these functions, including writing, photography, graphic design, broadcasting, and computer networking (Cameron et al, 2008).

Why do we need public relations staff in colleges and universities?

The most prominent aspect of a university relations program is its news bureau. […] An active bureau produces hundreds of news releases, photographs, and special columns and articles for the print media. The department prepares programs of news and features about students’ achievements, faculty activities, and campus personalities for stations. It provides assistance and information for reporters, editors, and broadcasters affiliated with the state, regional, and national media. The staff responds to telephone calls from members of the news media and the public seeking information (p. 431).

Who are the public relations publics in colleges and universities?

The key publics for colleges and universities are faculty and staff, current and prospective students, alumni and other donors, government, and the community. It is important that the president and other administrators allow the public relations staff to attend top-level meetings (p. 432). The public relations program staff members must have an understanding of the institutions decision making processes, be able to counsel, and develop action plans that respond to the publics’ questions to various programs of concern in order to be effective (Cameron et al, 2008).

The faculty and staff should be the biggest proponents of positive public relations. They have the most contact with so many people. Good morale may be jeopardized if a student or alumni has negative communication with a staff or faculty member.

Before selecting Ashford University, I was fully enrolled at the local state college in my area. On my first day of class, and, my first time back to college in years, I walked into the classroom. Actually, I had to go through the lab to get to the classroom. The lab assistant was polite upon my entrance but as I proceeded to the classroom she yelled, “ARE YOU WEARING COLONGE!?” I stated, “A little, why?” She continued to yell, “The instructor is highly allergic to cologne and you need to sit at the back of the classroom!”

I was embarrassed, offended, and angered by her tone, to say the least. I mean, there is a way to speak without embarrassing or yelling at someone. Even though I did not think my perfume smelled offensive I decided to sit in the back of the classroom. I work in the medical industry and know that some people are highly allergic to the lightest of scents.

Long story short, upon the instructor’s arrival to the classroom she proceeded to make nasty remarks about people who wear cologne and how someone in the classroom was trying to kill her intentionally. I expected her to say; welcome to the class, my name is Ms. McMannus, bah, bah, bah, and by the way, I am highly allergic to perfumes and colognes so please refrain from putting any on when you come to my class in the future, thank you.

After several additional rude remarks, I packed up my portfolio and I left the classroom immediately. I called my academic advisor and left her a detailed message regarding what had just transpired. My stance is, if there had been signs posted on the door, around the classroom [or] if it had been posted on the syllabus at enrollment [maybe] I would have understood the outright hostility. The next day I emailed the vice president of the college explaining what happened and that I wanted a formal apology either in writing or face-to-face.

The vice president replied that he was out of town and would handle it as soon as he returned. After receiving such a quick reply, I felt good will abound. A few days later he sent an email that said he had spoken to the instructor’s supervisor and she would relay the message from him that the school would accommodate any handicap but would not accommodate her being rude to students.  I responded by thanking him and I respectfully requested again that the instructor apologize to me.

I have not heard back from the vice president since my last email. Needless to say, I never returned to that class and withdrew from the school entirely. It was a very bad experience for me and in my opinion was not handled properly. In many respects though, I am grateful because I would not be attending Ashford University had it not been for that incident. Unfortunately, I am still bitter towards the school but I hope that the bitterness will subside one day soon.

Students are the largest public relations arm at a college or university; therefore, it is vital that they have an overall good experience in order to win their allegiance. Like other nonprofit organizations, educational institutions are often supported to a greater or lesser degree by government agencies, but also usually depend on donations from alumni or other donors for supplemental support (Cameron et al, 2008) (p. 431). In respect to alumni and donors, loyalty and financial support are critical to the ongoing operations of a college or university (p. 432). Money is raised at colleges and universities for various purposes. This may include such projects as recruiting new faculty, buying equipment, building student residence halls, providing scholarships, remodeling classrooms, and upgrading campus computer networks (Cameron et al, 2008).

In June 2006, Karen Richardson wrote in the Wall Street Journal about one of the most generous donors in history to date as follows:

IN A DRAMATIC SHIFT in his philanthropic plans that will create a colossus in the world of giving, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest man, plans to give away the bulk of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, run by the world's richest man. The gift, valued today at more than $30 billion, will create a philanthropic organization with potential to significantly shape social issues including child mortality, disease control and education. The Gates Foundation, headed by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, already has assets valued at $30 billion, meaning it is on course to double in size. (Karen Richardson (2006, June 26). Warren Buffett Gives $30 Billion to Gates Foundation; Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Donates 85% of His Stock Holdings To Five Charitable Organizations. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. B.1.  Retrieved December 5, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1066293191)).

Donations of this magnitude do not come along everyday so universities must rely heavily on government.

Governments are a key factor in whether universities receive sufficient monies to maintain facilities, faculty, and programs (p. 432). There are several reasons why large universities use lobbyist to monitor legislation on appropriations and issues ranging from laboratory experiments on animals to standardized tests and taxes. Lobbyist duties include, competing with other state institutions for money, defending proposed increases in higher education budgets and arguing against cuts, establishing an institutions identity in the minds of legislators, and responding to lawmakers’ requests for information (Cameron et al, 2008).

Concluding the list of publics is community and prospective students. An educational institution must maintain a good relationship with the members of the community in which it is situated (p. 433). The greatest supporters that an institution may have are the people within its immediate geographic area (p. 433). We have a state college and university in the area I live in. The company that I work for has memberships to various civic and other organizations in the community at which I see members of both entities on a regular basis. It is amazing and encouraging to see what can be achieved through community visibility.

Prospective students to educational institutions are akin to new business or new customers in traditional business. Without new students or new customers a business or institution will not survive. Due to low enrollment among other causes, colleges and universities are coming up with creative ways to recruit students, such as, extensive advertising in print and broadcast media, and on billboards (p. 433). Seok Kang and Hanna E. Norton preformed a study on “Nonprofit Organizations’ Use of the World Wide Web: Are They Sufficiently Fulfilling Organizational Goals?” and the review is as follows:

This study explores college and university Web sites to determine the extent institutions utilize the Web to accomplish public relations goals. A sample of the 129 best national universities in the United States compiled by the US News and World Report was used for analysis. Results show that schools with a small-medium level of student recruitment and alumni giving are more likely to actively utilize the Web. (Kang, Seok & Norton, Hanna E. (2006, November). Colleges and universities' use of the World Wide Web: A public relations tool for the digital age*. Public Relations Review, 32(4), 426.  Retrieved December 5, 2010, from ProQuest Central. (Document ID: 1169411481)).

In this light, schools behind in school excellence strive to use the Web as an important public relations tool to overcome their inferiority to superior schools. It is the public relations staff’s responsibility to promote and invent highly competitive recruiting methods. As a matter of fact, in the last year, I have seen more advertisements on television about online colleges and universities then ever before. Certainly, recruitment adds an extra level of intensity to the public relations professionals’ already hectic workload of managing image, competition, and conflict.

How does the PR professional manage conflict in colleges and universities?

The true value and the highest professionalism necessitates that students today embrace their roles as managers of competition and conflict. Outstanding and successful public relations professionals must serve as more than communication technicians carrying out the tactics of organizing events, writing news releases, handling news conferences, and pitching stories to journalists. They must also take on the responsibility within the organization for managing conflict and weathering inevitable crisis situations faced by all organizations at one time or another (Cameron et al, 2008).

In the case of the Duke University Defends Reputation in Lacrosse Scandal in April 2006, it is evident from the PR Casebook study in our text, that Duke’s image may have been tarnished by this single incident. Restoring an institution’s image requires tenacity, delicacy, and grace (p. 434). Duke hired Burson-Marsteller to coach administrators, faculty, staff, and students on how to speak to the media. Later in the year they retained Edelman Worldwide for ongoing counseling work (Cameron et al, 2008). (p. 434).

Mr. [William G. Bowen], one of two people named by Duke to investigate how the university had responded to the accusations against the lacrosse team said,

''If you recruit aggressively, as Duke does in lacrosse, then you are going to end up with a group of students who are there primarily to play their sport,'' ''That's their focus. That is why they were recruited, why they were admitted. Then if you allow them to hang out together, to live together, you get a group of people largely cut off from the values of campus.''

Despite the damage to Duke’s reputation as an elite university, a record number of more than 19,000 high school seniors vied for 3, 800 spots in 2007.  To that end, on April 11, 2007, all charges were dropped against the Lacrosse players by the attorney general of North Carolina after finding that the local district attorney acted unethically in the case (Cameron et al, 2008). 

Conclusion

Indeed, public relations at colleges and universities, involves both development, or fund-raising, and enhancing the prestige of the institution. As stated earlier, educational institutions employ public relations specialists to promote their services, assist with fund-raising, spread news of their successes or crises, assist with smooth daily operations or crisis management, implement campaigns that address social issues, and help develop long-range plans and visions (Cameron et al, 2008) (p. 408). At the core of all effective public relations are four essential steps: (1) research, (2) planning, (3) communications, and (4) evaluation. Research is a form of listening. It provides the information required to understand the needs of publics and to develop powerful messages. Planning has been called the central function of management. The public relations professional must have a process to set goals and objectives and determine how to meet them. Before any public relations activity can be implemented, it is essential that considerable thought be given to what should be done and in what sequence steps should be taken to accomplish an organization’s objectives (p. 129). Communication, this step also called execution is the most visible part of public relations work (p. 142). It is related to message strategy. How do we make the message appeal and persuade the publics that we need to reach? Evaluation is very important to the credibility of the public relations professional. It is the measurement of results against established objectives set during the planning process (p. 155). Evaluation provides a means for demonstrating to management that we achieved our objectives and contributed in a meaningful way to the organization (Cameron et al, 2008). Public relations are an important and powerful tool for any organization small or large when applied appropriately.

References

Arenson, Karen W. (2006, April 7). Duke Grappling With Impact Of Scandal on Its Reputation. New York Times  (Late Edition (east Coast)),  p. A.16.  Retrieved December 5, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1016861521).

Cameron, G.T., Wilcox, D.L., Reber, B.H., & Shin, J. (2008). Public relations today: managing competition and conflict. Pearson Education, Inc.

Kang, Seok & Norton, Hanna E. (2006, November). Colleges and universities' use of the World Wide Web: A public relations tool for the digital age*. Public Relations Review, 32(4), 426.  Retrieved December 5, 2010, from ProQuest Central. (Document ID: 1169411481).

Lordan, Edward J.  (2005). Defining Public Relations and Press Roles In the Twenty-First Century. Public Relations Quarterly, 50(2), 41-43.  Retrieved December 5, 2010, from ProQuest Central. (Document ID: 898489751).

Richardson, Karen. (2006, June 26). Warren Buffett Gives $30 Billion to Gates Foundation; Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Donates 85% of His Stock Holdings To Five Charitable Organizations. Wall Street Journal  (Eastern Edition), p. B.1.  Retrieved December 5, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1066293191).