Community Colleges Turn to Advertising to Boost Enrollment

Ray Giles isn’t sure how many people sitting in the movie theaters saw the advertisement and acted on it.

But he’s nonetheless convinced that Rancho Santiago Community College’s movie ads this summer helped keep enrollment at the college from decreasing this fall.

“This was a way for us to reach out to the diverse group of people that our community college serves,” said Giles, assistant to the chancellor.

The eight community colleges in Orange County have advertised jointly in newspapers, on radio and cable TV, on the sides of buses and in theaters. They’re hoping that when fall classes start this week and next, the marketing will have worked.

Enrollment Down Statewide

Results are hard to pinpoint, but most officials agree that the advertising has helped the local campuses buck a statewide trend of enrollment losses. Based on early figures, none of the county’s eight community colleges expect to lose students this fall. Some expect slight gains but official totals won’t be available until September.

“Our applications are up this year, and we expect a gain in enrollment,” said Irma Rodriguez, assistant dean of admissions at Fullerton College. “We think we’re using marketing more effectively.”

Statewide, community colleges have been on a downward slide since 1982. Total enrollment has dropped almost half a million in the past four years, and some large districts, such as Los Angeles Community College District, have had severe budget shortages and teacher layoffs.

Late ‘70s Were Heady Days

Orange County’s community colleges also have lost enrollment since the heady days of the late 1970s. Coastline Community College, based in Fountain Valley, is the biggest loser. It has shrunk from about 29,000 students in 1981 to 15,325 last fall. Another big loser was Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, which fell from about 33,000 students in the early 1980s to about 25,000 last fall.

State education analysts don’t agree on the reasons.

Some community college officials initially blamed the new state tuition, called “mandatory fees,” which went into effect in the fall of 1984. They also blamed what they said was a shrinking pool of high school graduates.

But a 1985 study by the California Postsecondary Education Commission found that the number of high school graduates had declined only 2% in the early 1980s. The enrollment drop at community colleges statewide was more than three times that.

Tuition also seems an unlikely explanation, according to national educators. California charges a maximum of $50 a semester, the lowest fee for community colleges in the United States.

Also, every state that charges tuition has experienced enrollment growth, except California.

In 1984, the county’s community colleges decided to work together to do something.

“We’ve always had spirited competition among the colleges,” said Donna Hatchett, community relations director for Saddleback Community College District in south Orange County. “But two years ago we decided to work together, to advertise jointly, just to promote the concept of attending community colleges--not a specific community college.”

Hatchett said the advertising appears to be one reason the county’s community colleges are doing better than others.

“Coca-Cola advertises,” she said. “Everyone knows about Coca-Cola, but it keeps advertising. I think the community colleges also need to get across their message. What we’re saying in our ads is that a person can get a good education at a community college.”

All eight colleges in the county pay for the ads.

One ad profiles Mark Cresse, who attended a community college and became bullpen coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. “You, too,” the script says, “can become an Orange County community college success story. . . .”

Some colleges, like Orange Coast, also have advertised individually. Still, recent registration has caused some anxious moments. Enrollment so far is 10% below last fall, said Wayne Wolfe, associate dean of admissions.

But Wolfe said he expects registrations for late-starting classes to make up for it.

Cypress and Fullerton colleges, both in North Orange County Community College District, appear headed for a 3% increase, officials said this week.

Golden West College in Huntington Beach appears to have a 5% increase, President Fred Garcia said.

Coastline, Saddleback in Mission Viejo, Irvine Valley and Rancho Santiago colleges all reported last week that enrollment appears to be about the same as last fall.