Common Sense Is Available Locally $84,000 Answer: Concentrate On Students Who Live In The Region. Sell Your Best Programs.

The sequence of name changes that eventually converted Cheney Normal School into Eastern Washington University tells us something about the modernization of public higher education in the Spokane area.

But in its drive to keep pace with the changing needs, bad times have befallen the institution. Enrollment has nose-dived by nearly 1,000 students in four years. State officials are withholding revenues until they see evidence of a plan to correct the slippage. And when this fall’s numbers revealed yet another decline it was seen as good news - because the decline wasn’t as severe as expected.

EWU’s strategy has been characterized by gimmicks.

In September, Eastern paid more than $25,000 to get President Marshall Drummond on a New York television program about how colleges reach students through on-line instruction. Eastern figured that exposure was cheaper than advertising, even though only one of the 48 cities where the show aired was in the Pacific Northwest. Also in September, Eastern held a four-day Education Expo at which it gave away scholarships as door prizes.

The scholarship pool is up. Dorm rates are down. It is, in Provost Niel Zimmerman’s words, “a buyer’s market here.” Or maybe a fire sale.

And now, EWU has paid an Iowa consultant $84,000 for tips on how to polish the school’s image, for more-effective marketing. In return for that expenditure, here’s the nub of the heartland consultant’s advice: Concentrate on students who live in the region; tell them about your best programs.

In other words, be what Eastern Washington University was intended to be: an affordable place for students from - guess where - Eastern Washington to get a four-year degree.

Under the circumstances, consultant Stamats Communication Inc. gave Eastern an uplifting report: You have a good faculty and strong programs, but you haven’t done a good job of getting that message out to community college students and high school counselors who help graduating seniors make their higher-education decisions. Stamats didn’t stress door prizes or New York television appearances, by the way.

Nor did Eastern need to spend $84,000 for such down-to-earth, common-sense advice. An incoming freshman could have provided it.

, DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see “Outside advice can make a difference”

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