Colleges and Universities Need to Stay True to Their Brand

I see that the lead story in the March 13 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education is 13 Reasons Colleges Are in This Mess. Like all other industries, institutions of higher education are facing challenges in these tough economic times. The Chronicle story highlights some of the reasons why. Number nine, "Failed to Find a Niche," on their list caught my eye.

Like many businesses, in the past few years some colleges and universities have gotten away from their mission and core values. For many college and university stakeholders, mission and core values are simply words on a piece of paper and have very little relevance until their school is up for re-accreditation or the institution is in the middle of a capital campaign.

The global financial crisis provides every business, colleges and universities included, to go through a self-evaluation process and realize who they are and what they stand for. Now may be the most important time in the history of all businesses to connect or reconnect with their mission and core values, and realize that their brand is not their logo or tagline. Their brand is their name and what their name stands for. When we know that, it is much easier to remain true to our brand, and so will our brand champions.