Marketing Education in a Tough Economy

As our country staggers through the economic downturn, Floridians seem to have been hit the hardest. According to the Tampa department of growth management and development services, Hillsborough county employment fell 5.6% between July 2008 and July 2009. From there, estimates The Florida Agency for Workforce, unemployment jumped from 11.9 to now 13.1; an all time high for the Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater area.



What are these 13.1% of jobless people to do? Well, statistics tell us that more are choosing to attend college. Adam Labonte, a University of Tampa Admissions Director, said that while the economy is likely to improve, “in the interim, as jobs are in very short supply, one is likely to use the time to further their education.” Many others, it appears nowadays, are sweet talked by sales-pitching recruiters or ensnared by those education commercials; the ones that feature stylish actors who boast about how secure their future has become.



In this cut throat, free-market society, where only the fittest businesses survive, and where businesses everywhere, including post-secondary schools, are under economic pressure, have educational institutions become less mission-oriented and more market-oriented?



For years Florida’s 11-university system has taken a toll due to the lack of state revenue. According to The Florida Board of Governors, public education funds have fallen 18% since 2005-06. From 2007-09, as Chancellor Mark Rosenberg predicted, university budget cuts amassed $285 million, causing universities to reduce spending by anywhere between $2-7 million. Enrollments have been frozen, positions left vacant, and classes enlarged.



The National Center for Education (NCES) holds that Florida is home to the third largest number of private, for-profit institutes in the nation, behind Pennsylvania and California. These private universities and community colleges have suffered from the economic situation as well. Ironically, though, enrollment at these fund-raiser schools has been on a constant rise. According to an Oct. 2009 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, the number of 18-24 year olds enrolled in for-profit universities, institutes, two-year, and even four-year colleges has been at its highest ever. This spike takes place almost entirely at two-year colleges and for-profit universities. In 2007 10.9% of 18-24 year olds were enrolled in a community college. That number has since risen well over 11.8% and is expected to continue growing as long as 2018, said NCES.



Community college and for-profit university enrollments tend to rise as the economy worsens, reported the Pew Research Center. One reason is that community colleges are less expensive than four-year institutions. “For-profits certainly have the convenience,” said Labonte, “they don’t have the affordability.”



To say that this increase in college enrollment is due to crafty marketing strategies is an overstatement. “Recruitment has changed drastically and tactics can be misleading, ” said Labonte, “at the end of the day every college is offering the same thing: a degree. What we’re really selling is an experience. Resort-like dorms, high-tech classrooms, etc.”

-Tillman