Team building
Parent relations is another aspect of brand management, says Educational Marketing Group President Bob Brock. "But on many campuses there are several offices independently communicating with parents. The issue of decentralized communications can be enormously damaging to institutions if they are unable to work out solutions to it," he says.

Paul Marthers, Reed College's dean of admission, suggests starting by talking about how communicating with parents has — and hasn't—changed in recent years. "Admissions, student services, alumni affairs, development, and even faculty need to be seen as potential partners who can work together to engage parents with the institution," he says. Brown agrees. "There has to be a universitywide commitment to the importance of engaging parents," she says.

When clients ask how to start an advancement effort like this, "we answer with tried-and-true advice," Brock says. "Gather the major players and see if you have consensus about your goals. Then take it to the president. Unless, of course, the president is the one who is driving the process, which happens more and more." The composition of parent relations teams will vary depending on the organizational structure and character of each campus, but those who deal directly with parents and those who are primarily responsible for maintaining the institution's identity — communications and marketing pros — should be at the table.

Where the team "lives" also will vary. A February 2003 national study of parent programs by UMN's Savage found that 52 percent of parent services are housed in student affairs; 40 percent are housed in advancement. Nearly 5 percent report to academic affairs and only 2.4 percent to the admissions office. The study also notes that "a growing number of APPI conference participants have said they either are now or may soon be reporting to enrollment management at their institution." The reason for the shift? Admissions is typically the institutional entry point for parents, and parent-services staff members believe their programs increase student retention—one of the key factors in enrollment management.

Regardless of the structure or home of the parent relations function, those responsible for parent communications need to be viewed as brand managers, providing not only big-picture messaging but also a high level of customer service. One way of maintaining that customer service is by using what EMG's Brock calls "the concierge concept"—one-stop
shopping for parents. UMN's first survey of 500 UMN parents in 1995 supported this idea, identifying the need for a single point of contact for parents. "Although the comments were all worded differently, the message was, 'We don't need to know how the University of Minnesota is structured. We just need answers to our questions,'" Savage says. As a result UMN began publicizing her name and contact information as a resource for parents. Northeastern's Brown distributes magnets and postcards to NEU parents each year with her number listed as the one to call for any parent question.

Making the concierge model work means relying on a strong campuswide team. "We're a small office, and in order to function, we have partnerships with just about every department on campus," Savage says. The university bookstore staff handles registration for Parents Weekend. UMN's faculty club accepts parents as members, and residence hall staff members host parent events on move-in weekends and pass along timely messages to parents—such as housing sign-up deadlines, when the heat will be turned on, and other issues that parents might hear students complain about—throughout the year. University relations staffers develop and maintain UMN's parent Web site, the athletics department provides discounted event tickets during high-volume parent visitation days, and Savage and her staff work with the government relations office to help inform parents of legislative issues.

CONTINUED: Taking their temperature