Santa Ana College is blowing $123,000 on a camera crew for an ad that doesn’t even target a local audience.
The College Tour is a show on Amazon Prime that showcases college campuses to students who aren’t sure where they want to go. The goal of bringing The College Tour team to our campus is to advertise our school and increase enrollment.
What we should actually be doing is directly targeting local potential students.
This budget comes from a COVID-19 relief bill that gave us money to bolster student retention rates and enrollment. The choice to spend this remaining money on a twenty minute ad shows just how disconnected the school is from its students.
Showcasing SAC on a national level is going to do next to nothing for our enrollment. As a former Middle College High School student, I was constantly discouraged from enrolling at SAC after graduation. Even when I was taking classes here as a high school student, I was told not to continue my education at this school. We should be sending people out to local high schools to show off just how good of a school we are.
While I’m sure the school is eager to show off the three new buildings we’ve built and hide the rest of the school, this College Tour episode misses the mark.
- The war on TikTok - June 8, 2023
- The real issue with enrollment - March 28, 2023
- It’s time for shorter work weeks - October 25, 2022
We should show off our accomplishments, yes!
I agree with you there. The ad will help to do that, from what you write—it is highlighting different programs and opportunities in a visual format that should catch attention! I am disappointed to hear that you were not encouraged at MCHS to continue being educated here, assuming that you were not part of the graduating class who also earned an Associates Degree when graduating from high school. I wonder if the focus at MCHS is on turning attention to the universities and colleges where the college credits earned as an MCHS student will put students on a junior level once they get enrolled, much like a transfer student. Are you aware that there is an Outreach team on campus who does target our local schools and local events to promote SAC? Some even think the focus might be overly swayed toward SAUSD! This ad will bring attention to SAC to multiple audiences, including Santa Ana residents. Ins’t that ultimately a good thing?