Tuition decision shows how President Susan Martin is rebranding Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University, long haunted by a lack of coherent leadership, is rebranding itself.
EMU President Susan Martin, driven by a vision for revitalizing the university's image, is championing the university’s hallmark asset: its affordability and the role it plays in boosting southeast Michigan’s distressed economy.
And the EMU Board of Regents is endorsing the university’s rebranding. Regents opted to keep tuition and fees flat for 2010-11 -- an exceptional move on Tuesday in light of continuous higher education funding cuts from Lansing.
This is a classic example of a moment in which a business - or in
this case, a university - recognizes that by cutting prices, its product
will get enough additional buyers to make up for it.
"Our graduates stay in Michigan, particularly in this region," Martin told me in an interview when she took the job in 2008. "And if there's anything the state needs right now, it's a more educated workforce, getting jobs and staying in Michigan. Eastern is a critical player in that."
It's already paying off: Enrollment was up 4 percent for the fall semester.Martin is systematically expunging the legacies of former EMU Presidents John Fallon III and Samuel Kirkpatrick - whose dreadful tenures came to define Eastern’s last decade.
File photo | AnnArbor.com
Rebranding an organization pelted by scandal starts with honesty. Martin has gradually restored integrity to the EMU presidential office, which, for a time, almost seemed cursed.
But integrity is only one piece of the engine required to revitalize and rebrand a 22,000-student university. There has to be a defined mission that leverages existing assets that no one otherwise seems to notice.
Martin, hired in spring 2008, has swiftly and efficiently rescued the university’s image. Her predecessors had a reputation for barely recognizing that students still pay the bills.
As a 2006 EMU graduate, I covered several EMU scandals as a student reporter and editor of the Eastern Echo. Kirkpatrick spent two years of my educational career ignoring the controversial $6 million president’s house construction project, which ultimately prompted his resignation. Fallon, of course, was fired after his administration’s failure to adequately communicate details about the December 2006 murder of EMU student Laura Dickinson.But those incidents were simply reflective of a dysfunctional culture. Martin has uprooted that culture and replaced it with a focus on transparency and hard work.
Now, visit an EMU basketball game or football game in Ypsilanti and you’ll see Martin hanging out with students in the front row
And why not? This is the people’s university.
Transparency and honesty had to come first. Rebranding comes second.
Eastern’s affordability has long been its greatest asset. And affordability is fashionable these days. Conserving cash is cool - and getting a college degree is the first step to ensuring your survival as the complexion of the Michigan economy shifts.
Refusing to raise tuition is not a gimmick. It’s a sign that EMU understands that it must still play a role in jump-starting Michigan’s economy - and that its route to accomplishing that can benefit students, too.
Contact AnnArbor.com’s Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com or follow him on Twitter. You can also subscribe to AnnArbor.com Business Review's weekly e-newsletter and breaking business news e-newsletter.
Comments
ScottyBoy
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 3:19 p.m.
EMU's approximate capacity is right around 21,500. This number was tossed about quite frequently by President John Porter. While EMU can enroll more students and has the building capacity, the University does not have the support staff to support many more. Back in the early 90's when enrollment was getting upward of 24-25,000 resources were strained. In response to making it more difficult to get into EMU - Eastern has always been an institution of opportunity and this should not change.
Mumbambu, Esq.
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 10:50 a.m.
If this were facebook I'd "like" this.
Donna Briggs
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 10:46 a.m.
I am currently a student at EMU and one suggestion I would have to improve the reputation of the university is to make acceptance a little more difficult to gain. I have had numerous classes where half the students fail or drop out of the class. They don't do homework assignments or attend calss regularly. The graduation rate it really low (under 25% according the the FAFSA website). If they didn't accept practically everyone who applies no matter of how unqualified they were it would seem a little more prestegious. Professors also get discouraged by the high rate of failure and that can't be good.
Top Cat
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 10:28 a.m.
A wonderful gesture and a terrific piece of marketing for EMU. I would like to go to President Martin's home and wash her car.
David Paris
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 9:51 a.m.
Thank you President Martin for doing the right thing! I look forward to your continued competence, integrity, and leadership... Thank You!
rreidannarbor
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 9:32 a.m.
Dr. Martin spoke @ the Ann Arbor Rotary club within the past 18-24 months. I was impressed. The state of California school districts LOVES EMU education grads so it seems EMU obviously has a great reputation for producing top notch teachers! Keep up the great work. The reputation of EMU is on solid footing now!
Sammy77
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 8:50 a.m.
"Transparency and honesty had to come first. Rebranding comes second." Spot on, Nathan! And as an EMU alumni and current grad student, I, too, see President Martin proving her commitment to our university. I saw her at Sidetracks about a year ago. To my surprise she was sitting next to me at the bar as we were both having burgers. I couldn't help but strike up a conversation and she spent the time lobbying for EMU and especially the basketball teams. She's a class act. We deserve someone like President Susan Martin.
kmgeb2000
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 8:15 a.m.
Now if she can only "rebrand" them back to the original brand. GO HURONS!
CountyKate
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 8:15 a.m.
Thank you, Dr. Martin. Both as the mother of college students and an Ypsilanti resident, you have my undying gratitude.
cmadler
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 7:58 a.m.
"This is a classic example of a moment in which a business - or in this case, a university - recognizes that by cutting prices, its product will get enough additional buyers to make up for it." You got this exactly right. I don't have the exact numbers, but I'm pretty sure that Eastern has been operating under capacity for a while now; they can accomodate more students on campus without needing to do any significant building expansion. That's a primary criterion for making a strategy like this work.
xmo
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 7:37 a.m.
I look forward to the day when EMU beats U of M in football. Go Hurons! oops I mean Eagles!
schultz2005
Wed, Apr 21, 2010 : 6:02 a.m.
Good job on the article Nate. As a two-time EMU graduate, I am behind EMU 100%. I hope EMU will do this again next year. I wish was a student under Dr. Martin's reign. Keep up the good work Dr. Martin!