College Marketing Needs a Reality Check

Several years ago, when I headed marketing at a major public university, a colleague suggested we needed our own “moonshot” to stem the tide of declining enrollment. I took the question seriously, given the catastrophic demographic “cliff” American higher education will soon endure, and then offered up the kind of moonshot I’m sure he didn’t expect. Namely, a national campaign funded by the higher education industry to encourage the growth of families and reverse the baby dearth that has left the U.S. procreating below replacement levels. This was no doubt a long-term strategy, and quite an expensive one at that,...