GOOD Morning!! I want to thank Mitzi for inviting me this morning and hopefully I can provide you with some information about South College. I have brought a couple folks with me Dr. Kim Hall, Executive Vice President, and Ron Hall, VP Information Technology and Facilities in case I need help with any of your questions. I have prepared a short presentation Mitzi gave me some areas to cover. So I will start that. But don t hesitate to ask any questions that come to mind as I go along.
South College was established in 1882. We began offering our first associate degree programs in 1977. Our current ownership (me) has been in place since 1989. We became a regionally accredited school in 2000. This is with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. We changed our name from Knoxville Business College to South College in 2001. This change occurred because our old name was not a representation of who we are now. We began offering baccalaureate programs in 2002. In 2005, we renovated and occupied our current Learning Site in west Knoxville. We completed our new main campus facility that you can see from I640/I40 in 2006. In 2008 we began our first masters level program.
We have approximately 140 staff and faculty. I think when Kim started in 1995 we had about 40. We currently offer 20 programs of study 1 masters level, 1 post-baccalaureate level, 8 bachelor s level, 8 associate level, and 2 certificate level. With beginning our first masters program in 2008, we achieved Level III accreditation with SACS. To give you a perspective, there are only 15 for-profit schools accredited by SACS with South College being one of the 15. We have approximately 900 students this is an 18% increase over this time last year. Our average student/teacher ratio is 14:1 for all classes. We offer classes in the day, evening, and on Saturdays. We have just begun to offer some online courses. On average, over 90% of our graduates are employed in-field each year.
CHALLENGES TO SOUTH COLLEGE REGULATORY CHANGES For-profit education is highly regulated by the state government, as well as the federal government. For example, the recently passed higher education act resulted in an over 200 page Dear Colleague letters to institutions discussing new regulations and compliance. Staying in compliance with continual changing regulations is tough and time consuming. FUNDING We are a tuition driven institution. We do not receive state funding. So it is a constant battle to keep tuition rates in line with costs of providing programs. We live and die with the programs we offer. There must be interest in the program and jobs available for graduates. We look at projected salaries. Once we decide to implement a new program design takes time. We have to hire faculty and professionals to work on the program and assist us in getting all of the necessary approvals. This could take one to two years. So costs are incurred many months before the first student begins. We have to be
able to support this from revenue from other programs. In some fields, hiring qualified faculty is a challenge. Facilities and space is a constant battle more students and faculty more space is needed. Technology costs continue to escalate what is new today is outdated tomorrow. Financing even when we don t need it we need it arranged so that when we do decide on a new endeavor, we have the financing ready.
In relation to our Marketing Plan our overall objectives are to: Maximize our exposure while spending the least dollars possible. We work to ensure that all placements look professional and include accurate information. We work to adapt to changing demographics and programs as appropriate. And we work to efficiently track our inquiries by source so that we make good decisions regarding use of our dollars. MEDIA CHOICES We use a variety of marketing outlets. Our media package normally includes a plan for TV and newspaper ads. We schedule these choices to coincide with our class starts and enrollment periods.
TV spots are usually running M-TH on major channels late morning to prime time. Sometimes weekend ads run. We have never used cable channels. We began a new system for these inquiries this year. A special 1-800 number is used for each different station so that when an inquiry comes in, we know which channel ran the ad from the number. Newspaper ads run each Sunday we have the top half of the classified section. Normally use color. At times we wish to get word out about something new at South College we have utilized billboards and radio. These are largely for name recognition only. Internet advertising was something we didn t do even 4 years ago but it has quickly become a huge source for inquiries. Over 40% of our enrollments now come from Internet inquiries. As our programs have become increasingly attractive to those graduating from high school, we do a number of school presentations, attend a large number of career fairs, and provide tours and programs for class groups at the college.
TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS South College has historically attracted primarily non-traditional adult learners. Over the past 10 years, this demographic has shifted. Our current population includes 40% traditional age college students (18-24) and 60% non-traditional age college students (25 and older). 70% of our students are female our male population has increased over the last 5 years.
SOUTH COLLEGE COMPETITORS This is a hard one to address. One could say that other for-profit schools are our competitors. One could say that other private institutions are our competitors. In some instances, some of the state institutions are our competitors. Competition depends on the program who else has it. For our AS degree program in Radiography Roane State Community College is our competitor. For our Bachelor s in Business 14 schools are competitors and that doesn t include online schools. For Nursing it would be the University of Tennessee, Carson Newman, Tennessee Wesleyan, LMU.
ATTRACTING STUDENTS There is no magic formula for attracting students to our institution. A student could like a commercial he or she saw today. Someone could be sitting in a restaurant and overhear a conversation about someone s daughter or son graduating from South College and getting a great job. A happy teacher that had one of our students for student teaching could have talked to his/her niece about coming here. A happy employer of a South College graduate may have talked with someone who decided to check us out. Someone may see out building and be attracted to this environment.
To keep our name and programs out there - We employ various media ads on a regular basis we make presentations in the community to various groups but we also know that what is happening every day inside our walls also has impact on attracting new students. Programs are what largely bring interest. We attempt to design programs that maybe can t be found at a lot of other institutions in our area. We also look for ways to make them unique maybe in the way we schedule them. Success rates speak for themselves someone interested in Radiography are attracted to a 100% certification exam pass rate. Those interested in Education are attracted to a 98% Praxis Exam pass rate. Those interested in Nursing are attracted to a 94% Board pass rate (that was only 1 out of the class not successful on the 1 st try).
RETAINING STUDENTS This area also has no magic formula. What retained one student may have no affect on another. Quality programs retain students our graduation rates for those admitted into a program rotation are high. Quality faculty and staff retain students what happens in our classroom has to be relevant and exciting for students. Facilities have to be maintained as well as equipment, relevant and in good working order. Other things affect student retention We have tutoring at no charge to those having trouble in class, we have writing and math labs for those needing help, we have a counselor on campus for those needing this kind of help, we have clubs, and activities. But ultimately some students will not stay in school.
THERE ARE MULTIPLE MEASURES OF SUCCESS FOR US AT SOUTH COLLEGE In relation to marketing we are successful if The telephone rings Internet inquiries are coming in Appointments are set with our admissions personnel and met. New student enrollments meet expectations And our cost per inquiry is at an acceptable level. SOME OVERALL MEASURES OF SUCCESS RELATE TO - Where is student body size going? We expect to see it growing. - Are our students staying in school? We work for a 70% overall retention rate each year and an 85-90% in program rate.
- Student pass rates on licensure/certification exams should be at or higher than the national average. - Program graduation rates should meet programmatic accreditation requirements. - 90% or more of our graduates should find employment in field. - It is important to us to see students, graduates, and alumni report satisfaction with educational experience at South College. - We work to gain successful external evaluations of our institution from agencies such as the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, SACS, programmatic accrediting agencies, the Department of Education, guarantee agencies, etc. Well that wraps up what I have prepared. We will try to answer any questions you might have.