Project Graduate - The Response

The Response

In May 2007, CPE staff convened a marketing work group to target the 11,000 adults with 90 or more credit hours to return to college to finish their degree. The workgroup was composed of public relations officers, enrollment managers, continuing education staff and/or student affairs representatives from each partner institution.

The highly targeted outreach effort, a part of the Council’s college access outreach campaign, was named Project Graduate. Participating universities developed campus action plans to provide a high-touch experience for their returning adult students. Each plan details the incentives and special services offered by the institution and identifies a campus response team to ensure those who respond and qualify can take advantage of incentives and quickly navigate the admissions process.

The CPE developed a strong brand identity for Project Graduate, a customizable direct-mail campaign (postcards and a letter signed by the president) and a Project Graduate Web site that identified participating institutions, their incentives and their contact person. The Council publicly launched Project Graduate in November 2007 as a collaborative outreach effort with the institutions. Each institution initiated its own outreach efforts in spring 2008 using the customizable marketing products.

As of October 2008, Project Graduate teams at Kentucky’s public universities have helped at least 49 adults earn their bachelor’s degrees and 460 have returned to college and enrolled in classes. The Council is continuing to work with the Project Graduate team to support their efforts. A marketing communications plan is under development to step up outreach to this target audience and to identify strategies to reach out to the larger adult learner market in Kentucky.