Wells College markets to a women-only niche

AURORA--Ideological commitment is as solid a ground as any on which an organization can base its marketing strategy. Eighty-three women's colleges in the U.S., rather than become co-educational and move out of a three-percent market niche for women's-only college enrollment, remain committed to the idea that there is a need and a place for women's colleges within the higher-education landscape. Wells College in Aurora, N.Y., a private college with about 400 students, is affirming its commitment by marketing the many strengths of women's colleges, and the strengths of Wells College in particular. Wells's strategy may hold lessons for New York's three other women's colleges--Barnard in New York City, Marymount College in Tarrytown, and the College of New Rochelle.

Today's 83 women-only colleges hark back to a time when a single-sex education, whether for men or for women, was not uncommon. In 1969, there was 228 single-sex colleges in the U.S., many of them men's colleges. In an educational climate stirred up by social commentators and legislators--rather than by educators--the majority of these colleges became co-educational in the late '60s and early '70s. Ivy-league schools that had previously been for men only became co-educational or installed coordinate women's colleges. A number of women's colleges also converted to co-education, on the reasoning that this would attract more students; this reasoning was abetted by the notion, then widely held, that women's colleges had become anachronistic in that they advocated a form of gender segregation.

Colleges that remained single-sex certainly did so with the trustees' commitment to resist a wave of transformation going the opposite way. In Wells's case, this commitment meant that remaining competitive with other colleges, including other women's colleges, would require a broad-based strategy emphasizing the value of a women's college education--especially at Wells--in terms of academic excellence, the quality of student life, and the prospects for career success. This strategy is evident in the college's efforts to grow a market niche at the same time as it seeks to grow its place within that niche.

Small is beautiful

The three-percent women's-college market niche is small by any estimate. But given the advantages to women of such an education, one might wonder why this niche isn't larger. Consider how disproportionately women's colleges are represented in the ranks of the nation's top colleges. Less than four percent of U.S. colleges are women's colleges. Yet 16 percent of the top 25 colleges are women's colleges.

Or consider how disproportionately women's-college graduates are represented in the highest ranks of professional achievement. In 1992, of the less than one percent of Fortune-1,000 board members that were women, 33 percent were graduated from women's colleges. And in politics, about a quarter of all women members of Congress are women's-college graduates.

According to Wells's director of public relations, DeVillo (Bill) Sloan, colleges such as Wells occupy a small but important niche. "We would like to see that niche grow," he adds. Susan Sloan, the college's director of admissions, says there is a lot of media support for this endeavor, partly because the benefits of women's colleges are so thoroughly documented (see sidebar comparing women's colleges with co-educational colleges). (Sidebar omitted) One may question whether the success of women 's college students is due to the colleges or whether it's due to the women themselves. But, in either case, the evidence clearly indicates that a women's-college education enhances any gifts the students might already possess.

Room at the top

The primary purpose of a college is academics, just as the primary purpose of a restaurant is the food. And at around $15,000 a year for tuition Wells is a rather fancy establishment. Ninety-six percent of Wells's faculty members hold doctorates, and the student-faculty ratio is eight to one. An interdisciplinary, team-taught set of core requirements emphasizes the use of reading, writing, thinking, analytical, and quantitative skills in content areas in which the student is interested. This teaching approach, according to Bill Sloan, customizes the education to the student, and the student learns more as a result.

Of course, this doesn't excuse Wells from staying current technologically. The campus's academic and administrative buildings are fully computer-networked. One of the dormitories is networked, and plans are afoot to network the other five. The college boasts a three-to-one student-computer ratio and, according to Susan Sloan, the college actively assesses the installation of new computer technology as it becomes available.

To provide more of the majors that students might seek, Wells has set up an "advisory system" with nearby colleges to provide entry into professional degrees in medicine, law, veterinary science, and engineering. Such predominantly male disciplines are disproportionately sought out by students at women's colleges. Over a 10-year period, 90 percent of Well's pre-law students and 70 percent of the pre-med students were accepted to law schools and medical colleges.

Wells also emphasizes the career aspects of its liberal-arts education with a strong internship program. In a recent year, about 125 Wells students had internships in 17 states and two foreign countries. Alumnae helped put what Wells's advertising calls "the old-girl network" to work for the students. According to Susan Sloan, "It is not uncommon for a student's internship to lead to her first job."

Come hither

But for students to come, the college must make itself visible to them. This it does through a variety of recruitment methods. Five to six members of the admissions staff regularly travel to high schools and college fairs to make contacts. This effort is aided by the college's alumnae.

The college has also retained the services of an outside communications firm, Peterson's Educational Services of Princeton, N.J. The firm designs the college's promotional materials and helps to target potential markets. The college also maintains a Web site, and is included in a CD-ROM package that contains key information and video clips on selected U.S. colleges.

Wells College now recruits across the U.S., including on the West Coast and in the Dakotas. The college also is recruiting more in New England than it had in the past. And, reversing a 10-year strategy, Wells is also recruiting more from private girls' schools, according to Bill Sloan.

To attract prospective students to the campus, the college expects applicants to interview on campus, if possible, as part of the admissions process. Susan Sloan explains that a visit to Wells's lakeside campus often convinces applicants to enroll there. In a further effort to draw the best among applicants, the college offers five full-tuition and 20 $7,500 scholarships. To qualify, accepted candidates must visit the campus on one of two specified weekends and sit for the required examinations. This bringing of students to the campus leads many of them to enroll whether or not they win a scholarship, according to Susan Sloan, who adds, "We use it as a chance to show that Wells is a unique institution."

During their visit, prospects receive individualized attention from the faculty. The prospects also see that Wells is a small college that is committed to liberal arts. And, because Wells is in a rural setting, the campus is cleaner and safer than a competing college such as Barnard College in New York City. The physical beauty and charm of the campus often wins students over. The fact that Wells is a residential rather than a commuter campus is also a major factor distinguishing Wells from some of its competitors.

Our strong band

Like other women's colleges, Wells enjoys the above-average generosity of its alumnae. Alumnae giving in 1996 was high enough to earn Wells College the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's award for educational fund raising. The college is involved in a $50-million comprehensive campaign to increase the endowment, enhance academic programs, and stay up to date on technology. About $30 million has been raised so far, according to Bill Sloan.

It would seem that Wells has everything in place for a surge in academic enrollment. But the truth is that enrollment has remained at around 400 for the past 10 years. The college does want enrollment to grow, says Bill Sloan, and is now assessing how much growth would be most feasible. But growing the market niche will take time, and Wells should perhaps feel pride at its tenacity in maintaining a stable women-only enrollment in such a small market. Rather than give up and become co-educational, as other women's colleges continue to do, Wells has leveraged its ideological commitment into its most fundamental marketing tool.

Wells College at a Glance

Established: 1868, by American Express and Wells Fargo founder Henry Wells; a private, non-sectarian four-year liberal-arts college granting the bachelor of arts degree

Location: Aurora, N.Y., on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake

Enrollment: approximately 400 students from across the U.S. and several foreign countries

Student/faculty ratio: 8:1

Academic programs: 21 including the sciences; pre-med, pre-vet, pre-law, and engineering offered by arrangement with nearby colleges. Students may seek approval to create their own major.

Social life: lectures, poetry readings, plays, concerts, college-sponsored dances and parties; daily bus service to and from Ithaca; Cornell, Hamilton, Hobart and Colgate colleges nearby

Scholarships: five full-tuition and twenty $7,500-per-year scholarships

Cost: $23,440 including room, board, tuition, and fees for 1996-97 academic year

Copyright Central New York Business Journal Jan 06, 1997
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