Colleges Learn To Sell Themselves

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Teri Lucie Thompson is such a high-powered marketing person that she was featured in a Wall Street Journal article. She's not in a corporation; but in another business, the CMO - Chief Marketing Officer - at Purdue University with twelve staff.

Weak job placements for graduates and heavy student debts are causing elite colleges and universities to prove to families and state governments that a degree is still worth the investment.

It's not surprising then that the office of the CMO, many earning six figures, is noted as the "biggest shift in higher ed administration in the past decade." At a recent conference for higher ed marketing, 727 people attended, up from 473 in 2005.

Thompson teaches often dubious faculty that marketing builds the school's reputation, keeps them informed and attracts the kinds of students the institution wants. But most CMO's keep marketing jargon out, instead of talking about the school's brand, they use "identity."

Read more at Online.WSJ.com.