Blog Recap:
Future Proofing Higher Ed: Making College Applications a Breeze
Hey there, fellow education enthusiasts! Welcome to another episode recap of Higher Ed Demand Gen, where we dive into all things related to improving the higher education experience. In today’s episode, we’re chatting with the amazing Blair Lee about future-proofing colleges and making the application process smoother than ever. Trust us, you won’t want to miss this one!
So here’s the scoop. Blair shared some super cool insights about a massive website overhaul that took place in 2023. Essentially, they trimmed down a whopping 5,000 pages to just over 200. Sounds radical, right? But the goal was spot-on: create intentional, streamlined content to boost enrollment and keep students engaged.
One of the standout moves was tailoring the website for Hispanic and minority students, focusing on accessibility for non-English speakers and ADA needs. They even set up a fully immersive Spanish website and chatbot to ensure after-hours help. No more waiting for office hours to get your questions answered!
But here’s where it gets really interesting. Blair highlighted the importance of a seamless digital experience for students. However, they were also quick to point out the challenge for underprivileged students who may lack internet access. It’s a delicate balance, but crucial for inclusivity.
Blair, who’s had roles at Colorado State University and the Community College of Aurora, is all about understanding the diverse needs of today’s student population. They emphasize that colleges need to be adaptable, combining both digital and paper application processes. It’s all about meeting students where they are.
Paul Shantz from California State University Northridge also chimed in, underscoring the importance of enhancing messaging on higher ed websites. The language needs to be approachable and resonate with a diverse audience. Consistency and accessibility are key.
Virtual tours were another hot topic. They’re a game-changer for prospective students and their families, offering a sneak peek into campus life. Plus, with a slew of options out there, standing out is critical!
Finally, Blair called on higher ed leaders to get social. Yep, you heard it right. Sharing your institution’s story on social media can help future-proof it, ensuring long-term relevance and sustainability.
So, that’s the lowdown from Ep. 98! Catch you next time for more insights on making higher education better for everyone. Stay tuned and stay curious! 🎓📱
Read the transcription
Shiro:
Hey, everyone, and welcome to the Higher Ed Demand Gen Podcast hosted by Concept 3 d. If you like our content, please follow and subscribe to us on Spotify, Apple, and Google. My name is Shiro, and I will be your host today. And I’m excited to have a fellow Coloradan joining us on our conversation, from Colorado State University. So we’ll be talking today about future proofing an institution, plus we’ll get into how you can improve the student UX during the application process. And to discuss the topic today, we have Blair Lee joining us. Blair serves, in the higher ed space as a higher ed creative strategist, university and college administrator, and a professor. Blair, welcome to the show.
Blair Lee:
Sure. Well, thanks so much for having me, brother. Thanks so much. I know, we’ve been in conversations to make this happen for a while, so thank you so much for the opportunity to come on here and and share it with the people.
Shiro:
Awesome. And I know you have a pretty diverse background. You told me, you know, you worked in, on the sorry, in in politics before this. Now you’re in the higher ed space. But I do ask an icebreaker to all my guests, which is please tell me what you love about higher ed.
Blair Lee:
Man, I love everything that higher ed offers, the possibilities. Right? Like, I went to college. I was the first one really in my immediate family to to go away to college, and the opportunities that it afforded for me. Right? I I I’m from the southeast side of San Antonio, Texas. I went to school in the Washington DC metro area, and it’s opened up so many doors for me. Loved it so much that I I ended up launching and beginning a career in in higher ed comms work. So, just the possibilities that exist when someone pursues a higher education.
Shiro:
Thanks so much for sharing that. And I I didn’t actually outline your role, but can you tell us a little bit more about the, the your actual roles that you serve in today and about your career as well?
Blair Lee:
Absolutely. So, like you said in the introduction, I’m a higher ed creative strategist, college and university administrator, and a professor. Right? So, currently, I have the awesome, awesome, awesome pleasure of serving as the director of marketing and communications at Colorado State University. For those unfamiliar with this great institution, we serve a little over 30,000 students. We have a little over 95 100 employees. That’s including faculty, staff, instructors, researchers, and we are the only land grant institution in the state of Colorado, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Prior to this appointment, I served as the executive director of strategic communications and alumni engagement at the Community College of Aurora in Aurora, Colorado. For those unfamiliar, CCA is one of the most diverse, colleges in the state of Colorado, where more than 50% of the students there are 1st gen, 2 thirds are Pell Grant eligible, over 30 native languages spoken, so one of the most diverse, institutions in Colorado.
Blair Lee:
And then, in a part time capacity, I do have the opportunity of serving as a special assistant to the president for brand advancement at CCA. But like I said, I’m a I’m a creative at heart. Where my passion really lies is coming alongside university and college leaders and making the brand come alive at their respective institutions. So that’s just a little bit about me in a nutshell.
Shiro:
Thank you. I’ve I’ve got a few questions, actually. As you serve as the special assistant to the president, at CCA, what does that actually entail? Does that mean, like, working with the president to improve his our communication and his personal brand?
Blair Lee:
No. Not necessarily. What that means is, so it’s on a special project basis. Right? So as I mentioned, I was the executive director of comms there before I transitioned in a full time capacity to Colorado State University. So if there are any, projects that the institution needs help with or kinda just wanna pick my brain as a sounding board. That’s kind of what I am. I’m there as a resource, help the institution, to help the creative team there, and just to really come alongside and partner with the institution on a number of projects. CCA is led by a phenomenal leader, doctor Mordecai Brownlee, who has a great, great, presence, not only online, but throughout the higher ed space.
Blair Lee:
So I just always anytime I’m given the opportunity, just thank him for the opportunity to to serve and to bring me into this space in Colorado.
Shiro:
Got it. Thanks for explaining that to me. And I know, you’re also quite new to your role at Colorado State University, which we’ll be probably referring to as CSU during this conversation as well. Absolutely.
Blair Lee:
Tell us
Shiro:
a little bit more about that.
Blair Lee:
Yeah. So at CSU, I serve as the director of marketing and comms, which, I know we’re gonna talk a little bit more about in the in the show today. But, really, my role here is really about future proofing the institution. Right? So if we’ve got 35,000 students, how do we make sure that when the institution gets to 50,000 students, right, that there are sustainable, infrastructures and foundations in place. The bulk of my job is centered around strategy, comms, PR work. So how do we package up messaging for our, institutional leaders and and really help with stakeholder engagement, not just internally, right, but with students, faculty, advancement members, and different things like that. So I’m excited to really talk about that later on
Shiro:
today. Awesome. Well, thank you. Yeah. Let’s we’ll get it in the tail end here. Let’s talk about something you’re passionate about, which I know in our intro call, you told me you’re very passionate about the UX experience for the student, especially during the application process. And so in your, you know, in your experience, what have been some of the barriers that you’ve seen, and how can institutions decrease the dropout rate during this time?
Blair Lee:
Higher ed institutions have become very great for individuals who are already a part of the institution to navigate its infrastructure. So what do I mean on that? Oftentimes, over the years, institutional, organizational websites at higher ed, institutions that become a space where it’s easy for faculty members or staff members to navigate. Right? But we forget that our main driver, that our main customer is actually our student. Right? How do we make sure that the digital experience for students, prospective students, remains as a driver when we think about the online experience? And, you know, living in the digital age, I ordered something from Amazon last night just to bring it back. Right? I ordered something from Amazon last night at 6 o’clock in the evening. And as I was walking out of my house to go to work this morning, it was at my house at my front door being delivered. Right?
Shiro:
Mhmm.
Blair Lee:
What I’m getting at is if you can order something in a matter of 2 clicks from Amazon and it’s at your house the next day traveling across the country sometimes or across the state, enrolling into a college or university should be that easy. Right? I think, oftentimes, we private sector best practices that we can really incorporate into the higher ed experience when we think about the digital experience for prospective students when they are beginning the enrollment process.
Shiro:
And, I know at your time at CCA, you noticed a couple things around you mentioned the, CCA being one of the most diverse or it is the most diverse college in, in in Colorado. You know, you had shifted some things there to to help, address your audience better in terms of messaging and the website. Can you tell us a little bit more about the things you did there?
Blair Lee:
Absolutely. So late in 2023 or early 2023, we actually did a complete website redesign. And I and I continue to use the word complete website redesign because I think oftentimes people will say, oh, we’re redoing our website at our university or college. But what they’re actually doing is they’re just hiding pages behind behind things. So what we did is we actually went page by page and actually redesigned, the website. We got it down from 5,000 pages to a little over 200 pages. Right? And all of those pages that were left after the redesign, have intentionality, but we designed this website with the design with the with the goal in mind of being our north star as this is a website that is going to be used to drive enrollment and to retain students. Right? Only the most necessary content remain on the website.
Blair Lee:
This was a charge that was given to me from the president at the time. So, if you if you check out the website, ccaorror.edu, it’s actually won best website in the Rocky Mountain District for the National Council For Marketing Public Relations as one of the, you know, best websites to do this work. But to to to back to your point, CCA is a federally designated Hispanic and minority serving institution. So, in order to get that designated that designation as an HSI, at minimum, I believe it’s 25% of your students must come from some type of Latinx background. At CCA, it was roughly 33%. So we designed this website in mind with, maybe individuals whose native language isn’t, English. Right? Maybe who they are navigating, the Internet maybe for some first times. Right? So we we kept all those things in mind and and got a great website.
Blair Lee:
But at at the center of the experience, what we continue to go back to I continue to tell my creative team what I what I shared before is if you if you could purchase something from Amazon in the matter of 2 clicks, a student should be able to browse their website this website in 2 clicks. So we kept that as our north star. We’re able to do some great things. 6 months later, we launched a fully immersive Spanish, website, that goes with it. And I say fully immersive because oftentimes, once again, student or institutions will say, hey. We have a Spanish website, but it’s only certain pages. Right? We actually partnered with a student and went page by page to make sure that we’re hitting the right dialect. A little after that, we launched a chatbot on the website.
Blair Lee:
Right? Because we wanted to make sure that after hours, students who are maybe working 3rd shift or nontraditional hours that we could still engage with them after hours. So that chatbot has been instrumental in, you know, not only engaging students, but driving enrollment, making sure that we’re retaining students and keeping them engaged after hours until a human could come back in the morning the next day and engage them. So that’s just a little bit about the website redesign that took place at CCA. Currently, I won’t let the cat out of the bag too much, but working on a a a website redesign here at Colorado State, and we’re working on the site map right now, and it is fun work. This is something that my passion really is centered around.
Shiro:
Got it. It’s that’s I’m on the website right now, and, yeah, it’s very front center, top right nav. You got button, and it converts everything pretty seamlessly, like, even the chatbot, like you said. Like, I’ve been to sites where, you go to the English version, you can have the translated version, but, like, little things like the widgets the chat widgets don’t immediately translate over. So that’s cool.
Blair Lee:
Absolutely. You can even see bottom left hand corner. Right? We were super intentional about making sure that there is an accessibility menu. Right?
Shiro:
Mhmm.
Blair Lee:
So if someone has some type of ADA accessibility need, be it visually impaired, hearing impaired, right, like, they can still browse the website with ease. There’s a lot of intentionality that went you know, when you browse any website that I am behind, you will not see stock images as well. Everything is reflective of the community we serve. Images are refreshed every 3 months to make sure that nothing becomes stagnant or stale, but, really, that student as they browse your website, that they can begin to envision themselves on your website. You know what I mean? It it’s gotta be intentional. No more just kind of blanket marketing and throwing things out there and and seeing what catches. Right? Today’s students are savvy, they’re intuitive, and they can see through BS marketing.
Shiro:
Gotcha. And I know one thing that I just remembered in our previous conversation, I think digital first is, like, what everyone is trying to market their new website as. But you you kind of explained the statistics I wasn’t aware of, which is, like, actually a lot of students, especially, like, students who are underprivileged, don’t always have access to Internet at home. And so, like, there should also be a movement that things shouldn’t just go completely digital always as well. Can you explain that a little bit?
Blair Lee:
You know, I I hear I was having a conversation with someone recently at SiriusXM, and they were talking about the pandemic created a lot of barriers for those those that are trying to seek an education, and I said, let me stop you there. I don’t think that the pandemic created any new problems that didn’t exist already. I think all it did was shine a spotlight on them. Right? The Department of Higher Ed estimates that there are still roughly about 42,000,000 people throughout the US that are still in the in offline. What do I mean by that? I mean, do not have access to Internet at their house. Right? The pandemic showed that, you know, as students were being sent home, some were being sent home but didn’t have Wi Fi. So we’ve all heard the stories about students sitting in the parking lot of Starbucks or McDonald’s or of their institutions to still, in a way, be able to tap into that Wi Fi. The reality is as we think that we are doing good for the institution, oftentimes, we can be doing harm to students who are internal customers.
Blair Lee:
So as we make advancements and make things easier on ourselves, I think it is mission critical, mission mission critical to make sure that, 1, you keep the student experience front and center, but, 2, that you also remember what works for 1 student doesn’t work for all students. So if still having those paper applications in the financial aid office or in your of enrollment management, you wanna make sure that we are, covering all bases and and not doing harm in the process of, making digital advancements for some. Because what works for some doesn’t work for all. And and I wanna say this, Jerome. Institutions need to wake up and recognize who their students are. Right? The students of today are not the students that institutions had 2030 years ago. Institutions, you know, as I even walk on the campus of Colorado State here in Fort Collins, right, there are a ton of adult learners. There are a ton of what we would consider nontraditional students
Shiro:
Mhmm.
Blair Lee:
International students. Today’s students are different than they were years ago. So I just think that we have to recognize and respect all of the various identities that are coming to us for an education in today’s market.
Shiro:
Yeah. I appreciate that a lot. Like, in, you know, what you’re saying with how the private sector is, how easy it is to purchase something. Right? Eventually, if higher ed gets to a point where the application process does get extremely streamlined in the digital space, like, make sure you make that same comfort and ease on the paper trail as well. Right?
Blair Lee:
Absolutely. Absa absolutely. Yeah. I can’t agree more with you on there. Now I I do wanna speak to some institutions that still rely too heavily on paper. Right? I I was just in a meeting the other day, and there were some internal processes that could have been streamlined. And I asked the individual enrollment management why is it being done like this, and they said something like, well, we’ve always done like this. And higher ed institutions need to wake up.
Blair Lee:
The institutions that will be around for the next 10 15, 20 years. You know, we hear about the enrollment decline in the cliff that’s that’s, looming on the on the horizon. But the institutions that recognize that to get to a place you’ve never been, it’s gonna require you to do some things you’ve never done before.
Shiro:
And I know one one last thing we talked about before that has actually come up on several, podcast episodes now, most recently with Paul Shantz from California State University Northridge, who’s an IT slash web person. And, you know, it was interesting for him to to say this, but how I asked how can you improve in higher ed website the most? And then he didn’t say page load speed or anything technical like that. He said messaging. He said you have to talk to your audience. He mentioned, you know, he he tries to write in a 7th, 8th grade level language because before Absolutely. You know, the school was, writing at a collegiate, like, during a college level of writing. And so he’s like, just work on that and work on messaging that resonates with your audience. And I know we talked a little bit about that, but what’s your experience been with with messaging and, changing the the word choice and making sure that you’re speaking to your audience?
Blair Lee:
You know, higher ed is great at letting people know that they went to college. They love using big vocabulary words and outlining the many and plethora of degrees they had. I’m I’m gonna answer your question twofold. 1, I remember when we did the website redesign at CCA, a little bit of the pushback I got was from individuals within the academy because I 86, I got completely rid of, faculty and instructor bios. I was like, oh, I studied here, and I have a PhD in this, and I have the reality is that kind of stuff can be intimidating for a student that is just trying to get an associate’s degree or or a credential. Right? Let’s get them in the door, and then we can tell them everything that we’ve done. So that’s the first thing. Language language and copy matters when it’s online.
Blair Lee:
The second thing I wanna an say is consistent voice through accessibility. What do I mean by that? One of the big things I had to do when I did my last website redesign was I had to take complete control of the website. There were a number of end users. I think it was roughly about 40 people could edit the website. So when I say that is everybody was editing the website in different voice. Someone who went to Columbia was editing the website with their experience, or, you know, the person in marketing is editing it with a marketing lens. Right? The institution, when you’re doing a website redesign, must have a consistent voice and know who it is. So if I’m on your financial aid page or if I’m on your academic offerings page, it needs to sound like it’s written by the same person.
Blair Lee:
Right? I always recommend an AP style style. Right? That is great because it’s digestible, and most, you know, journalistic copy is written at that level. When we talk about journalistic copy, I even think about the New York Times, for example. The it’s been said that the New York Times oftentimes is written at a 5th or 6th grade level. I think, you know, in in prepping for this interview today, I think it’s written now at a 9th or 10th grade level. But I say all that to say, it is through it is because of a means of accessibility and making sure that you were going after your intended audience. Right? If you’re using these big vocabulary words and big acronyms once again, higher ed is good at you know, it really goes back to ranking. Higher ed has built its reputation on and its rankings on how many individuals can I keep out? The more I keep out, the higher my rankings are When the reality is when we democratize education more, it better society.
Blair Lee:
Studies show, right, an educated society is better for everyone. You know, crime decreases when an individual can, provide for his family. There there are just a number of factors. So I I say that, you know, educate as many people as possible through the means of accessible education. Education that is within reach, but I also say education that is tailored for what the individual’s need is. You know? I don’t I don’t think everyone needs a traditional 4 year degree. What does it look like for a student to go to school for 6 to 7, 8 weeks, get a crit quick certificate or credential that puts them on the path to being able to educate themselves, but also provide for their family. So I know I said a lot there, Cheryl, but I I hope that really answers your question.
Shiro:
Yes. It definitely does. And, you know, I can fear the I can feel and hear the passion and fire, so I always love that on the show. It’s it’s what gets me fired up to do my job, so appreciate that. One last question I had around just the UX of a student and trying to build a better experience on your website is, do you think there’s, you know, better opportunities to showcase, your your school and what it feels like to be on campus? You know, maybe it’s like a virtual tour or pictures of the dorm room or the facilities you’ll be using, ahead of time? Because this is a question that I always have because I had no idea what campus was like until I visited in person, and I know that’s that’s becoming less accessible to families as well.
Blair Lee:
Absolutely. You know, I uploaded a video a few weeks on social on my social media. I won’t plug myself just yet, but, essentially, it was a video of me on our college campus recording virtual and digital tours. The first time a prospective student gets a feel for your campus should not be the time that they are stepping foot on your campus for the very first time. Right? Virtual tours are a way to engage not only the prospective students, but the one who’s paying for college most of the time, which is the parents. Right? Is it a safe place? What is the feel and the vibe for? Right? What are the wraparound services you have? Right? So when we did that last website redesign I was a part of, making sure that we incorporated virtual tours was a part of it. Right? You know, even when you think about larger institutions, right, they can be demonstrative, particularly your traditional brick and mortar institutions that have many, many buildings. Right? How can you streamline the experience institution for the first time? They they get to the institution for the first time.
Blair Lee:
And the last thing I wanna say in regards to virtual tours is this. Students today, and I and I alluded to this at the beginning, are very savvy. I can go to a 1000000 colleges that offer a communications program. Right? I went to the University of Baltimore. I’m gonna plug University of Baltimore. Right? Shout out to the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Science in Baltimore, Maryland. But what are you going to do to stand out from the crowd, from the sea of options available to students. Right? So cool.
Blair Lee:
What stood out to me at the University of Baltimore was their digital communications program. Right? There were interviews, and there were tours of the facilities that I fell in love with before I even got to the institution. Right? And mind you, I was an out of state student applying and looking at this school from across the country. So when I got to Maryland for the first time, I was like, man, this is exactly what it looked like online because I was like, this is the institution. It wasn’t a bait and switch. So I just think that colleges and universities need to get savvy about the way that they tell their story, but they need to get savvy about the way that they bring the brand to life when they’re thinking about what they’re posting online, when they’re posting on social. Right? How can you make individuals feel like they are there and involved with the experience already, before they even step foot on campus. And that also goes for, your higher ed leaders.
Blair Lee:
Right? Higher ed leaders, listen to me when I say this. All of you all need to be on social media engaging with your students, stakeholders, potential donors. Right? Because the more you tell the story of your institution, the more others will tell the story of your institution.
Shiro:
I agree. Yeah. Like and if you don’t have time or if you think you’re bad at it, hire someone to do it because there’s so much value in your executive leadership being out outspoken. So I think that applies to any business, educational institution. Like, it’s there’s so much value in that. Awesome. Well, I can go on forever about this topic, about improving the the user experience, but let’s switch gears onto our future proofing topic. What is future proofing, and what does it mean to future proof an institution?
Blair Lee:
When I think about future proofing an institution, it’s really ensuring that your institution has the systems and foundations in place to make sure that they are relevant in the years to come. So we look at the number of institutions that are actually shutting its doors in 2024 in 2023. Future proofing is about making sure that your institution is still relevant and in existence in the next 30 to 40 years still serving the serving the community that it loves. So that’s really what it’s about, making sure you’re still around, but really making sure the systems and foundations are in place to ensure long term sustainability.
Shiro:
And where do you look at first when you when it comes to you know, is it enrollment? Is it operations? Is it facilities? Like, how do you even get started on a on a project that’s so outward looking? Right? You said 30, 40 years. Like, how do you how do you chunk that into bite sized pieces?
Blair Lee:
Absolutely. So I always say this. The way you eat a elephant is bite by bite by bite, but it starts with a number of things. I think, first of all, it is your strategic plan. What kind of institution do you want to be remembered for or known for in the next 30, 40 years? But I also think it is understanding the demographic shifts that are happening within higher education. Right? So, Gen z has a significant mistrust in higher education, for a number of reasons. Right, that that’s for a number of reasons. We can unpack that for for a while.
Blair Lee:
However, what we know is that Gen z is looking for something different when it comes to pursuing a higher education. That is less student loan debt. They are looking for a quick experience. Right? They don’t want to be in college for 6, 7 years, but they’re also looking for a type of credential that can put them in the seat of being able to provide for their family and be able to, you know, provide for themselves. So I think when we look at future proofing, the first part I wanna talk about is the type of academics that is offered. Right? Institutions must remain agile. If we know that the job market is calling for this type of degree and this type of credential, oftentimes, institutions are scared to say, hey. This programming we are offering is no longer relevant anymore.
Blair Lee:
We need to pivot and make sure that we are offering the type of programming that we need to use. I’ll use, for example, the University of Baltimore where I attended. When I started, it was a mass communications degree. The department chairs and faculty and instructors came together and said, hey. A mass communications degree isn’t really relevant in the marketplace today as it was 30 or 40 years ago. Let’s create a digital communications degree, which looks at how individuals can do communications work in a new age. So that, meant me exploring and learning how to do things like UX, code, web design, YouTubing, podcasting, relevant communications work for today because we know that there are shifts happening in traditional mediums, such as newspaper, print, design, different things like that. Right? So when we talk about future proofing, the first thing I wanna say is it’s looking at the type of academics and programming that is within your portfolio.
Blair Lee:
I also say the second part that walks hand in hand with that is making sure that the operational infrastructure is in place. So here at Colorado State, we are a platinum. Let me get it right. I wanna get the designation right, but we are a bike friendly platinum designation. What that means is that there are a lot of people at our institution that drive that don’t drive to work, but rather that pursue other modalities. So CSU has a very robust active transportation department. Right? So I mentioned at the top of the show, we’ve got over 9,000 employees. We have over 35,000 students.
Blair Lee:
Right? Be it undergraduate, graduate researchers, yada yada yada. What would it look like if 40,000 students showed up with cars today at our institution. It would be very problematic. Right? So the role of our active transportation department is to plug bicycles, scooters, skating, you know, getting students to utilize, you know, other modalities because the reality is we can’t support that many vehicles on campus. You know what I mean? So, that that is what really future proofing is all about, making sure that you are forward thinking and thinking about the next 30, 40, even 50 years. And I will tell you this. The last thing on this I wanna say is the institutions that will be around for the years to come are the ones that remain agile. Right? Gone are the days of students wanting to come, to large universities just to offer and sit in classes.
Blair Lee:
Right? The universities that will and colleges that will be around are the ones that remain bullish in the marketplace, offer programming at 6 AM, offer more robust online. Man, that was a loud motorcycle that just passed by. Offer more online programming, offer weekend programming, offer 5 to 6 week classes because we’re meeting students where they are today, to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of today. So I said a whole lot to say a whole little, but we’ve gotta be forward thinking. We’ve gotta be forward thinking at Jira.
Shiro:
That’s fantastic. And and from a marketer to to communicate, like, you know, things like facility operations or or transportation and how that ties together with growth is, you know, pretty fascinating because, typically, we all work in our lane. Right? And we’re like, if you’re working in marketing, it’s probably about getting those numbers up, whether it’s, you know, applications or website traffic. Right? If you’re in enrollment, it’s getting more applications and more retention, but you’re kind of connecting all these dots of, like, what okay. What would it look like if we continued the same growth trajectory? We’re still able to provide academics that the market needs today. And then how can we continue to listen to our students and our customers so that we can shift, you know, programming and schedules to their needs. And so I like how you’re bringing it all together and and you’re not you’re you’re even looking at it more, I would say, less from a a marketing lens and just seeing it as a growth lens and how you can continue to feel a fire versus, like, how do we put more in?
Blair Lee:
Absolutely. Absolutely. I will tell you. And and and that’s kind of what attracted me to this role at Colorado State when I took this role here is that, you know, I I report to a a couple of different people at the institution, but one of those individuals is our CFO and, the institution. And I appreciate his lens of looking at things because it’s all about strategy and sustainability. I hear my boss all the time say strategy. What is the strategy that’s gonna get us there? Right? That’s the traditional marketing and the packaging of the messaging. Right? But the sustainability.
Blair Lee:
Right? How do we make sure that we are here to continue to serve students and research for the next 30 to 40 years?
Shiro:
That’s amazing. Well, I think we’re that’s a good wrap up point since we’re just at time here. I’m wondering where our listeners could reach out and learn more about you. You can plug anything here.
Blair Lee:
Absolutely, folks. So you can find me on all social platforms at the Higher Ed Creative. You I typically engage on Instagram. You can find me on LinkedIn at Blair Lee. You can find me at online at higheredcreative.net. But it thank you so much for the opportunity. I really wanna really plug. Right? If you were struggling to to tell the story of your institution, that’s where I can come alongside and help partner with you, Abba.
Blair Lee:
Once again, I am the higher ed creative on all social platforms, and thank you for the opportunity to come on here and share my story, share some best practices on how we can really make the brand come alive for colleges and universities.
Shiro:
Thanks so much, Blair. I I didn’t even know about this, Instagram account that you had, so I’m trying to find it right now after a call. But appreciate it. Thanks, everyone, for joining. Thank you so much, Blair.
Blair Lee:
Thanks so much. We’ll talk soon.
