HIGHER ED – PORTFOLIO – CASE STUDIES – MCCC Persona
CASE STUDY
Montgomery County Community College
Persona Development
MCCC is a public community college based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania- the most populous suburban county in Pennsylvania. MCCC’s curriculum includes more than 100 associate degree and certificate programs. The college has campuses in Blue Bell, Pottstown, The Culinary Arts Institute in Lansdale, and the fully online Virtual Campus.
CHANGING STUDENT AUDIENCE LANDSCAPE
MCCC and Annodyne partnered on the innovative Project Horizons initiative. The two-year initiative spearheaded the development and implementation of data-driven strategies in support of MCCC's student enrollment, retention and completion objectives.
A key challenge facing MCCC was a changing student audience landscape. The college’s audience could no longer be simply categorized as either traditional full-time learners or part-time adult learners. Understanding this changing landscape became vital for student recruitment and retention success.
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
To this end, the Annodyne-staffed Project Horizons Office (PHO) based at MCCC undertook a major strategic analysis of the college’s student audience. The PHO analyzed the college’s enrollment data, researched Montgomery County demographic and economic trends, and heat mapped student densities.
In addition, the PHO conducted primary market research sessions with stakeholders from MCCC’s enrollment services, student services, institutional research, marketing, and IT units as well as with students.
STUDENT SEGMENTATION & PERSONAS
Following the analysis phase, PHO identified five priority student audience segments. The detailed segmentation reinforced a critical finding, namely the impact of major generational shifts that were occurring. These shifts were driving a student population that was trending away from traditional high-school aged learners as well as an overall trend towards part-time hybrid study.
Emerging Adults
Fast Trackers
Degree Completers
Generation Z High School Graduate
Generation X Parent of High School Graduate
After identification of the priority student audience segments, PHO developed associated marketing personas for each. These personas were then used to influence marketing and media planning, marketing collateral development, as well as optimization of student services.
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