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TABLE OF CONTENTS FAPSC 2011 PUBLIC RELATIONS RECAP 1 - 2 FAPSC RESPONSES PUBLISHED 3 - 27 CLIP REPORT 28 - 55 PRESS RELEASES CARRIED 56 - 59 FAPSC PRESS RELEASES 60 - 72 LEGISLATIVE PACKET 73 – 75 MEDIA TRAINING 76 Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges 150 South Monroe Street, Suite 303 Tallahassee, FL 32301 (850) 577-3139, phone ● (850) 577-3133, fax www.FAPSC.org Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges Public Relations’ Report – Recap 2011 By Wragg & Casas Public Relations The Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges (FAPSC) media relations project started this year by engaging media outlets in a variety of ways including editorial board meetings, news releases and an increased online presence. That momentum continued and grew throughout the year to include a network of trained ambassadors as well as proactive placements and outreach to Florida opinion leaders. Here are some highlights from the year in PR: EDITORIAL BOARD & MEDIA OUTREACH Across the state, our teams (including Kathy Mizereck, Wayne Slater and Jan Schoonmaker) met with editorial boards for more than a half-dozen newspapers, including two trips to the Orlando Sentinel, which also shares content with the Sun- Sentinel and who had published multiple staff editorials urging more regulation. Within these meetings with the opinion page editors, we shared our key messages about FAPSC issues, which evolved from Gainful Employment earlier in the year to more proactive education on issues such as student debt and financial aid as the year progressed. In addition to meeting with editors, we also submitted our own opinion pieces with Kathy Mizereck’s byline to respond to issues or clarify the untold FAPSC part of stories that were overlooked. In total, there were nine responses published including three feature columns with a photo. A staple of the PR efforts this year included our outreach strategy we called, “no free shots.” Whenever a reporter or editor published something, especially if it was one-sided or the facts were not correct, we immediately contacted the responsible party and let them know we were paying attention and began the process of what the best next step would be to correct the facts or become a resource next time. Further, our efforts included interviews and being sourced for stories about the sector. These stories came from around the state and ranged from large publications like The Tampa Tribune and Florida Times-Union to business publications like the Orlando Business Journal and Daily Business Review (S. Fla.) and wire services like the News Service of Florida, which were picked up by various markets across the state. In addition, as needed, we devised statements for the media in advance of issues making national news we knew would have a Florida angle and made those insights available for beat reporters to use in their coverage. Finally, a highlight includes being engaged as a speaker on a panel along side other experts for “Critical Conversations” about higher education, which was produced by the South Florida Business Journal and also resulted in a published article that documented the dynamic forum. 1 In all of these efforts, our overarching goal was to provide education and information. On all efforts, we assessed that our professionalism and knowledge left a positive impression that we believe helped diminish the negative impact of subsequent news stories that were already in development. FLORIDA TREND ADVERTORIAL A paid placement, we strategically chose to write, edit and place this print and digital advertising package in the Florida Trend advocacy issue in March. The advertorial “Career Colleges: Hard at Work for Florida” was factual and included easy-to-read charts showing where funds are allocated to show the healthy return on investment to lawmakers and opinion leaders. Following publication and through the assistance of Mitch Talenfeld’s team at MDT Direct, more than 500 reprints were mailed to targeted individuals across the state with a thank-you letter for their hard work and support. This piece was additionally utilized by the Florida Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., during ASPCU’s Hill Day and in November for the annual FAPSC Day with state lawmakers in Tallahassee. FAPSC WEBSITE NEWS CHANNEL A pivotal resource in the PR campaign included creation and updates to our online resources on the homepage. The effort, with the assistance of Wanda Minick, started with a link on the homepage, “FAPSC Launches Multi-Faceted Campaign to Highlight the Benefits of Career Education” and three new landing spots where any website visitor can find materials. Later in the year, these efforts included launching an online blog and providing content as well as administrative counsel as needed. MEDIA / SPEAKER TRAINING As part of the PR outreach, we determined there was a value to training a cadre of FAPSC members armed with the message, talking points and demeanor necessary to make influential presentations before editorial boards of local newspapers and community groups. These interactive training sessions, where those being trained practiced on-camera, were held at three sites and trained 20 people over the course of the year. Overwhelmingly, participants surveyed after the training gave high satisfaction marks to the course, which they also thought would help them within their own positions at their schools. Presently, there are two small papers scheduled and more opportunities being identified to place these speakers. NEWS MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENTS We wrote and distributed a series of news releases throughout the year on proactive news items including the FAPSC Hottest Jobs Scholarship program and the annual conference awards program (including 14 drafts schools could personalize). In addition, we issued releases to show support of actions taken by groups fighting the Gainful Employment rule at the national level. The news releases, based on the content, were sent to reporters across the state to continue to brand the presence of FAPSC in Florida. 2 FAPSC RESPONSES PUBLISHED Summary 2011 3 January 9, 2011 Letters to the Editor Sunday’s Letters: Criticism of colleges misses mark Taxpayers get a lesson in Greed 101 | Dec. 25, 2010, editorial The Times missed crucial elements in its Dec. 25 criticism of career colleges. It's all of higher education that's on the chopping block as the federal government questions its value in relation to rising student debt and the ability of graduates to repay their loans. Much attention in this regard is unfairly focused on private career colleges. Our association represents Florida's 900 licensed, private career schools and colleges, serving 370,000 students annually. Most career college students are working moms and dads with children who need flexibility and found the traditional college path wasn't for them. The so-called gainful employment rule proposed to curb student debt would harm students like these, the very ones it purports to help: low-income individuals seeking to improve their lives. Financial aid goes to the student, not the school. Pundits, regulators and educators pursuing their own agendas point to career college students as having higher loan default rates. They cleverly ignore that when student debt is analyzed based on the student's income level and other risk factors, as it should be, the default rate is substantially the same across all types of colleges. The gainful employment rule is based on what the association considers a flawed report issued by the Government Accountability Office. Several members of Congress have also criticized the report for its carelessness. Even so, the report is the basis for attacks against all career colleges, including those in Florida, which are highly regulated. The rule would negatively impact any institution's program where indebted graduates' first salaries fall below that defined by an arbitrary formula set by the U.S. Education Department. It's time for structural changes to student loan programs, but let's make sure the rules are played fairly across the board. Kathy Mizereck, executive director, Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges 4 5 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE MAGAZINE: MIAMI January 2011 Career Colleges Offer Choice for Students with Technical, Vocational Goals If you dream of designing computer animation for a living, joining a law firm as a paralegal, helping people in the health field, or becoming a gourmet chef, then a Florida career college may be for you. A career college will prepare you to reach your career goals with focused hands-on training and real-life experience. These schools exist in convenient locations across the Florida, and offer courses and electives that complement your field of study, whether it’s criminal justice or massage therapy. Degrees are generally earned after two to four years, depending on the extent of training required, and many programs grant certificates and diplomas that take less than a year to earn. From building custom cars like Cameron Diaz’s character in the 2010 Tom Cruise movie “Knight & Day” to actually working as crew on films like “The Social Network,” you can find a college in Florida that specializes in almost any career. More than 200 fields of study are available, whether it’s recording engineering, Web design and development, medical insurance billing and coding, entertainment business, graphic arts, pharmacy technician, medical sonography, accounting, fashion design, culinary arts, film production, nursing or many more. “Florida’s career colleges are helping students earn higher education degrees and practical training in areas like business, nursing, and computer science that will put them in the position to jump-start their careers,” says Kathy Mizereck, executive director of the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges (FAPSC). The association works on behalf of 370 degree granting and 550 non-degree granting schools across the state. For many students the best way to learn something new is to do it.