In January, Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) took steps to remarket the college. After interviewing students, staff and faculty, a creative team came up with the new slogan ‘Be Your Dream’ to tie together all the new marketing and recruiting work at MHCC.

After budget reductions 3 years ago, the High School recruiter was removed. This saw a steep decrease in incoming high school aged students.

“We were seeing about 25 percent of district high school students enter (MHCC),” Supervisor of Advising and Admissions, Meridith Ficher said. “After the position was lost the numbers dropped to 19 percent.”

Advertisements featuring the new slogan will be placed in newspapers, on buses, in theaters and on the radio, on FM stations 94.7, 95.5, and 100.3.

The creative team in charge of all these endeavors is made up of individuals specializing in public relations, advertising, graphic services and recruiting for high school students and beyond. Robert Nielson, Executive Dean of Student Development and Services is in charge of the team.

“The projects has been going on for about 2 months and will continue for 3 years,” Nielson said.

With the return of a full time and a part time high school recruiter, hopes are high that numbers of incoming students will rise.

“They will engage in outreach and attend events at high schools,” Ficher said.
According to Ficher, the school will also host a Latino Family College Preview Night and a Russian Speaking Youth Leadership Conference, in order to attract diverse students.

Additionally, there are plans to send advisors out to local high schools to meet with potential students and to send mailings to students in the high school market containing the ‘Be Your Dream’ slogan. Currently, MHCC has local high schools run the College Placement Tests.

In Mid-December, the school will unveil the new web site, designed to help potential students gain a clearer view of the school and provide easier navigation for current students.

“We are hoping it will be ready for use by winter term,” Nielson said.

The creative team also hopes to get more students involved.

“Students can help by word of mouth,” Nielson said. “They can go back to their high schools and tell about their experiences (at MHCC).”