Marketing Analysis for the Nontraditional Student at Carl Sandburg College.

With the wide range of students community colleges must provide services for, there is an increasing need for colleges to analyze and segment their marketing efforts. As part of an effort to focus on specific market segments and take into account internal and external environments, an analysis was conducted at Illinois' Carl Sandburg College (CSC) of marketing efforts related to nontraditional students between 25 and 46 years of age who are returning to school to ultimately complete a Bachelor's degree or vocational certificate. Major environmental influences were examined, including economic trends, technological developments, social factors related to gender roles and student behavior, political and legal trends, and competition from four-year institutions. Internal conditions were also reviewed, indicating that CSC relies on previous usage to determine target enrollments; that the college was doing very well in terms of pricing; but that only an overall college promotional strategy is employed, rather than a specific market segment strategy. As a result, a new strategy was proposed that includes environmental scanning to determine CSC's image in the community; expanding bookstore, financial aid, business office, registration, and counseling services to better serve nontraditional students; and creating interest and desire in degree programs and certificates. (BCY)