PS&L Blog

I like LinkedIn. I belong to several groups related to higher education marketing and admissions. In addition to the networking benefits, the discussions within the Groups are a good way to keep up with hot topics. Case in point – a recent discussion string from a member of the College Admissions Experts group raised this question:

“Is it frowned upon to try and get an admissions job in a non-profit college/university coming from a for-profit college/university?”

Perhaps this resonates with me because I experienced quite a bit of frowning as a job applicant when I made the move from for-profit enrollment management to the other side almost 15 years ago. Today with the front page issues related to gainful employment, title IV funds and unethical sales tactics, job applicants from the for-profit sector face more stigma (or “frowning”) than ever before.

The point I care to raise has to do with perspective and experience. Since making the transition, I’ve been involved with helping not-for-profit institutions generate the revenue they need to exist. During that time there has been a notable shift. Concepts that used to be just for the for-profits, such as enrollment planning, competitive marketing strategies and placing focus on ROI are now common and essential in the not-for-profit higher education marketplace. Traditional higher education, even community colleges are marketing, counting, analyzing and planning more than they did 15 years ago. Some institutions (not all) can tell you their yield statistics and enrollment goals, but yet there are still some who do not know their benchmarks. There is plenty to learn and room for improvement.

I will not open the debate of whether for-profit or not-for-profit is better for the student – or whether one business model is better than another. But I do want to say that if you are a not-for-profit and hiring do not disregard a candidate because he/she has for-profit experience. Someone from the for-profit world may give your admissions and marketing team a refreshed sales perspective. Furthermore, since not-for-profits do compete against for-profits, you might also gain some valuable insight into why so many for-profits succeed and what they do to challenge your enrollment.

If anyone reading this has experience working with people with for-profit experience in your not-for-profit institution, I’d love to hear how it worked out.