Quanfitafive Research Findings

Quan%ta%ve
Research
Findings
Youngstown
State
University
20
January
2010
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Guiding
Ques?ons
•  What
are
the
image
and
reputa?on
of
YSU
and
its
peer
ins?tu?ons?
•  How
has
YSU’s
image
changed
when
compared
with
previous
research
conducted
about
the
University?
•  What
expecta?ons
do
prospects
and
their
parents
have
for
a
collegiate
experience?
•  How
strongly,
posi?vely
and
nega?vely,
is
open
admissions
associated
with
YSU;
and
how
do
prospects
and
parents
react
to
YSU
implemen?ng
admissions
standards?
•  How
familiar
are
prospects
and
parents
with
the
admissions
standards
already
in
place
to
be
admiIed
into
certain
programs/schools
at
YSU?
•  What
is
the
image
of
the
city
of
Youngstown?
Does
it
help
or
hurt
the
image
of
YSU?
•  How
well
do
possible
posi?oning
statements
resonate
with
prospects
and
parents;
and
how
well
do
the
statements
reflect
the
associa?on
they
currently
hold
about
YSU?
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Research
Methodology
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
High
school
seniors
in
YSU’s
target
enrollment
areas
who
have
inquired
about,
but
not
applied
to
YSU,
for
Fall
2010
entry
High
school
seniors
in
YSU’s
target
enrollment
areas
who
have
neither
inquired
nor
applied
to
YSU
The
parents
of
high
school
seniors
who
1)
intend
to
aIend
college,
and
2)
an?cipate
enrolling
in
college
in
Fall
2010
List
from
YSU
List
purchased
by
SimpsonScarborough
List
from
YSU
Sample
Size
300
300
300
Method
of
Data
Collec?on
Phone
Phone
Phone
302
302
301
15
minutes
15
minutes
15
minutes
Sample
Frame
Sample
Source
#
of
Respondents
Length
Dates
Incen?ve
September
21
–
October
12
September
21
–
October
12
September
21
–
October
12
$500
Amazon.com
gi_
cer?ficate
$500
Amazon.com
gi_
cer?ficate
$500
Amazon.com
gi_
cer?ficate
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Respondent
Profile
(1
of
3)
Gender
Inquirers
36.8%
Non‐Inquirers
40.1%
Parents
63.2%
59.9%
60.5%
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
White
64.8%
87.7%
75.6%
Other
race/ethnicity
35.2%
12.3%
24.4%
Inquirers
30.1%
Non‐Inquirers
72.5%
Parents
33.6%
Ohio
‐
Other
36.1%
13.9%
31.9%
Pennsylvania
12.6%
13.6%
16.9%
All
other
states
21.2%
n/a
17.6%
Inquirers
35.4%
Non‐Inquirers
20.3%
Parents
Average
Ability
(ACT
21‐26
or
SAT
1196‐1720)
46.0%
54.5%
n/a
Higher
Ability
(ACT
>=27
or
SAT
>=
1721)
18.7%
25.2%
n/a
Male
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Region*
Youngstown
area
Academic
Ability
Lower
ability
(ACT
>=20
or
SAT
<=1195)
*
Youngstown
and
surrounding
area:
Ashtabula,
Carroll,
Columbiana,
Mahoning,
Portage,
Stark,
Summit,
and
Trumball
coun?es
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
39.5%
n/a
Respondent
Profile
(2
of
3)
Household
Income
$0‐25K
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
n/a
n/a
16%
$26K‐50K
n/a
n/a
22%
$51K
‐
100K
n/a
n/a
38%
Above
$100K
n/a
n/a
25%
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
Less
than
high
school
n/a
n/a
4%
High
school
or
equivalent
n/a
n/a
40%
Associates
degree/some
college
3%
2%
11%
Bachelor’s
degree
33%
40%
30%
Master’s,
doctoral,
or
professional
degree
63%
57%
13%
Other
(i.e.
trade
school,
technical
school)
0%
1%
3%
Educa?onal
A@ainment*
*
Inquirers
and
non‐inquirers:
desired
educa?onal
aIainment
level;
parents=highest
degree
level
earned.
For
analysis
purposes,
parents’
educa?onal
aIainment
levels
were
collapsed
into
two
categories:
less
than
bachelor’s
degree
and
a
bachelor’s
degree
or
higher
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Respondent
Profile
(3
of
3)
Inquirers
(n=302)
Non‐Inquirers
(n=88)
Parents
(school/
division
of
child’s
intended
major)
(n=301)
Liberal
Arts
and
Sciences
24%
19%
20%
Science,
Tech,
Engineering,
and
Math
18%
34%
19%
Health
and
Human
Services
14%
10%
16%
Other
(includes
Educa?on,
Fine
&
Performing
Arts,
Business,
and
Miscellaneous)*
19%
32%
15%
• 
Fine
&
Performing
Arts
(8%)
(11.%)
(5%)
• 
Educa?on
(4%)
(10%)
(6%)
• 
Business
(5%)
(5%)
(4%)
• 
Miscellaneous
(n/a)
(6%)
(n/a)
25%
5%
31%
Area
of
Study
(School/Division
of
Intended
Major)
Unspecified
*
Educa?on,
Fine
&
Performing
Arts,
and
Business
account
for
small
percentages
of
students,
these
schools
were
collapsed
into
the
category
“Other”
for
analysis.
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Geographic
Distribu?on
of
Respondents
(1
of
3)
•  Map
shows
how
inquirers
are
distributed
within
25,
50,
and
100
mile
bands
around
YSU
•  22%
live
within
25
miles;
14%
live
within
26
to
50;
27%
live
within
51
to
100
•  90%
of
inquirers
live
within
metropolitan
sta?s?cal
areas
(MSAs)
and
10%
live
in
rural
areas
not
in
any
MSA
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Geographic
Distribu?on
of
Respondents
(2
of
3)
•  Map
shows
how
non‐
inquirers
are
distributed
within
25,
50,
and
100
mile
bands
around
YSU
•  22%
live
within
25
miles;
49%
live
within
26
to
50;
29%
live
within
50
to
100
•  91%
of
non‐inquirers
live
within
MSAs
and
9%
live
in
rural
areas
not
in
any
MSA
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Geographic
Distribu?on
of
Respondents
(3
of
3)
•  Map
shows
how
parents
are
distributed
within
25,
50,
and
100
mile
bands
around
YSU
•  30%
live
within
25
miles;
10%
live
within
26
to
50;
27%
live
within
51
to
100
•  91%
of
parents
live
within
MSAs
and
9%
live
in
rural
areas
not
in
any
MSA
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
School
Choice
(1
of
2)
Have
you/has
your
child
decided
on
a
school?
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
Yes
38%
35%
29%
No
62%
65%
71%
Which
school
are
you/is
your
child
set
on?
Inquirers
(n=115)
Non‐Inquirers
(n=107)
Parents
(n=87)
Community
College
9%
1%
6%
Youngstown
State
8%
2%
15%
University
of
Akron
4.%
6%
2%
Ohio
State
3%
3%
9%
Kent
State
1%
5%
5%
University
of
Toledo
1%
0.3%
1%
Edinboro
University
‐
1%
1%
Slippery
Rock
Univ
‐
1%
2%
Cleveland
State
Univ
0.3%
0.3%
2%
Other
73%
81%
57%
Have
you/has
your
child
decided
where
you/they
want
to
go
to
college?
(If
yes)
Which
school
are
you/is
your
child
set
on?
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Around
a
third
of
each
popula?on
reports
they
have
already
made
a
college
choice
•  Survey
data
was
collected
in
Fall
•  YSU
needs
to
make
significant
efforts
to
reach
out
to
juniors
and
sophomores
based
on
the
fact
that
many
students
have
chosen
a
college
by
senior
year
•  More
than
40
addi?onal
colleges
were
iden?fied
(only
top
choices
shown
in
table)
School
Choice
(2
of
2)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Respondents
from
Pennsylvania
less
likely
than
those
from
Ohio
to
have
decided
where
they
want
to
go
to
college
(Pennsylvania:
23%;
Youngstown:
37%;
Ohio‐Other:
43%)
•  Females
are
significantly
more
likely
than
males
to
have
decided
on
a
college
(43%
vs.
27%)
•  Parents
•  No
significant
differences
•  Note
that
responses
to
the
ques?ons
“which
school
are
you/is
your
child
set
on”
cannot
be
broken
out
because
responses
are
not
concentrated
enough
on
specific
schools;
YSU
was
cited
most
o_en,
but
only
by
25
inquirers,
5
non‐inquirers,
and
13
parents
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Level
of
Certainty
Regarding
School
Choice
(1
of
2)
%
of
Respondents
Level
of
Certainty
Regarding
School
Choice
Mean
level
of
certainty
Inquirers
–
8.2
Non‐inquirers
–
8.4
Parents
–
8.5
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
•  Only
asked
of
respondents
who
said
they/their
child
had
decided
where
they
want
to
aIend
college
•  n=115
inquirers,
107
non‐
inquirers,
87
parents
•  Parents
who
say
their
child
has
made
a
college
choice
report
the
highest
level
of
certainty
regarding
that
choice
•  Inquirers
report
being
fairly
confident
about
their
choice,
with
responses
ranging
from
7
to
10,
peaking
at
8‐9
for
non‐
inquirers
and
10
for
inquirers
Scale:
1=very
uncertain/10=very
certain
If
you
had
to
rate
your
level
of
certainty
that
you/your
child
will
aIend
this
school
on
a
scale
of
1
to
10
where
1
means
very
uncertain
and
10
means
very
certain,
how
certain
are
you
that
you/your
child
will
aIend
[ins?tu?on
named
in
response
to
previous
ques?on]?
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Level
of
Certainty
Regarding
School
Choice
(2
of
2)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Prospec?ve
students
from
Pennsylvania
who
have
decided
where
they
want
to
go
to
college
are
less
certain
about
their
choice
than
respondents
from
all
other
areas
(PA:
7.4;
Youngstown:
8.5;
OH‐Other:
8.1)
•  Among
prospects
who
have
decided
on
a
college,
females
are
more
certain
than
males
about
their
choice
(8.4
vs.
8.0)
•  Parents
•  No
significant
differences
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Familiarity
with
YSU
and
Compe?tors
(1
of
5)
Mean
Youngstown
State
University
Familiarity
Kent
State
University
Inquirers
University
of
Akron
Non‐Inquirers
Cleveland
State
University
Slippery
Rock
University
Parents
Scale:
1=very
know
very
liIle
about
school;
10=very
familiar
with
school
Let
me
get
you
to
rate
how
familiar
you
are
with
5
different
schools.
You
can
use
a
scale
of
1
to
10
where
1
means
you
know
very
liIle
about
the
school
and
10
means
you
are
very
familiar
with
it.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Inquirers,
non‐inquirers,
and
parents
have
similar
familiarity
levels
with
Cleveland
State
University
and
Slippery
Rock
•  Non‐inquirers
are
less
familiar
with
Youngstown
and
more
familiar
with
Kent
State
and
University
of
Akron
•  YSU
can
affect
familiarity
by
inves?ng
more
in
the
marke?ng
effort
Familiarity
with
YSU
and
Compe?tors
(2
of
5)
Mean
Youngstown
State
University
Mean
Familiarity
Ra?ngs
by
Home
Region
(Inquirers)
Kent
State
University
Youngstown
area
University
of
Akron
OH‐Other
PA
Cleveland
State
University
•  Inquirers
are
more
familiar
with
ins?tu?ons
in
their
home
state
or
region
•  Familiarity
with
YSU
ranges
from
about
a
5.0
to
6.0
in
most
markets;
the
familiarity
ra?ng
among
Youngstown‐area
inquirers
is
7.6
•  While
inquirers
in
the
Youngstown
area
are
more
familiar
with
YSU
than
Kent
State,
inquirers
in
other
Slippery
Rock
parts
of
Ohio
are
more
University
familiar
with
Kent
State
Scale:
1=very
know
very
liIle
about
school;
10=very
familiar
with
school
Let
me
get
you
to
rate
how
familiar
you
are
with
5
different
schools.
You
can
use
a
scale
of
1
to
10
where
1
means
you
know
very
liIle
about
the
school
and
10
means
you
are
very
familiar
with
it.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Familiarity
with
YSU
and
Compe?tors
(3
of
5)
Mean
Youngstown
State
University
Mean
Familiarity
Ra?ngs
by
Home
Region
(Non‐Inquirers)
Kent
State
University
Youngstown
area
University
of
Akron
OH‐Other
PA
Cleveland
State
University
•  Non‐inquirers
from
Ohio
are
most
familiar
with
Kent
State
and
University
of
Akron
•  Non‐inquirers
from
Pennsylvania
are
most
familiar
with
Slippery
Rock;
they
are
more
familiar
with
Kent
State
than
with
other
ins?tu?ons
in
Ohio
•  The
familiarity
ra?ng
for
YSU
ranges
from
a
high
of
4.6
for
non‐inquirers
in
the
Slippery
Rock
Youngstown
area
to
a
low
University
of
2.5
for
non‐inquirers
in
Pennsylvania
Scale:
1=very
know
very
liIle
about
school;
10=very
familiar
with
school
Let
me
get
you
to
rate
how
familiar
you
are
with
5
different
schools.
You
can
use
a
scale
of
1
to
10
where
1
means
you
know
very
liIle
about
the
school
and
10
means
you
are
very
familiar
with
it.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Familiarity
with
YSU
and
Compe?tors
(4
of
5)
Mean
Youngstown
State
University
•  Mean
familiarity
ra?ngs
for
YSU
range
from
just
under
4.0
for
Pennsylvania‐area
parents
to
5.5
for
Youngstown‐area
parents
•  Familiarity
with
Slippery
Rock
is
strong
in
its
home
state,
but
weak
in
other
areas
Mean
Familiarity
Ra?ngs
by
Home
Region
(Parents)
Kent
State
University
Youngstown
area
University
of
Akron
OH‐Other
Cleveland
State
University
Slippery
Rock
University
PA
Scale:
1=very
know
very
liIle
about
school;
10=very
familiar
with
school
Let
me
get
you
to
rate
how
familiar
you
are
with
5
different
schools.
You
can
use
a
scale
of
1
to
10
where
1
means
you
know
very
liIle
about
the
school
and
10
means
you
are
very
familiar
with
it.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Familiarity
with
YSU
and
Compe?tors
(5
of
5)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Caucasian
prospects
are
more
familiar
with
Slippery
Rock
(2.8
vs.
2.6)
and
less
familiar
with
Cleveland
State
University
(3.2
vs.
4.0)
and
YSU
(4.8
vs.
5.4)
•  Prospects
planning
to
major
in
the
liberal
arts
are
less
familiar
with
Cleveland
State
(2.9)
than
those
planning
to
major
in
science
and
technology
(4.2)
or
in
health
and
human
services
(4.3)
•  Prospects
in
the
boIom
academic
?er
are
more
familiar
with
Cleveland
State
than
other
ins?tu?ons
(3.8
vs.
2.9
for
average
prospects;
3.4
for
higher‐ability
prospects)
•  Parents
•  Caucasian
parents
are
more
familiar
with
Slippery
Rock
(3.6
vs.
2.4)
and
less
familiar
with
Cleveland
State
(3.1
vs.
4.7)
and
University
of
Akron
(4.4
vs.
5.4)
•  Males
are
more
familiar
than
females
are
with
Cleveland
State
(3.9
vs.
3.2)
and
University
of
Akron
(5.1
vs.
4.2)
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Best
Academic
Reputa?on
(1
of
3)
Inquirers
Non‐
Inquirers
Parents
Kent
State
University
60%
72%
59%
Youngstown
State
University
49%
21%
37%
University
of
Akron
47%
64%
40%
Cleveland
State
University
20%
17%
16%
Slippery
Rock
University
18%
22%
18%
A@ribute
In
your
opinion,
which
TWO
of
the
schools
you
just
rated
have
the
best
reputa?on
for
strong
academic
programs?
Respondents
were
reminded
of
schools,
if
necessary;
two
responses
were
collected.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Top
two
men?ons
for
each
audience
are
highlighted
in
red;
Ins?tu?ons
men?oned
least
frequently
are
highlighted
in
blue
•  Kent
State
is
the
top
choice
among
all
audiences
•  The
gap
between
Kent
State
and
YSU
is
50
percentage
points
among
non‐inquirers
•  Kent
State
and
Akron
dominate
the
mindshare
among
non‐inquirers
and
parents
Best
Academic
Reputa?on
(2
of
3)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Kent
State
was
men?oned
first
by
37%
of
Ohio
prospects,
compared
to
24%
of
Pennsylvania‐area
prospects
•  47%
of
Pennsylvania
prospects
first
men?oned
Slippery
Rock
compared
to
6%
of
respondents
from
the
Ohio
area
•  Male
prospects
view
University
of
Akron
more
favorably
than
females
do,
with
35%
of
males
selec?ng
it
first,
compared
to
21%
of
females;
On
the
other
hand,
38%
of
female
prospects
selected
Kent
State
first,
compared
to
27%
of
males
•  Parents
•  While
Kent
State
was
men?oned
most
frequently
overall,
first
men?on
varies
substan?ally
by
region
•  Parents
from
the
Youngstown
area
were
about
equally
divided
among
Kent
State
(27%),
YSU
(30%),
and
University
of
Akron
(28%)
•  Parents
from
other
parts
of
Ohio
were
most
likely
to
name
Kent
State
first
(41%),
followed
by
University
of
Akron
(25%)
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Best
Academic
Reputa?on
(3
of
3)
•  Parents
(cont)
•  Caucasian
parents
selected
Kent
State
and
Slippery
Rock
more
frequently
than
other
parents
(Cleveland
State:
35%
vs.
26%;
Slippery
Rock:
14%
vs.
3%)
•  Minority
respondents
selected
Cleveland
State
more
frequently
than
Caucasian
respondents
(14%
vs.
6%)
•  While
41%
of
parents
with
higher
educa?onal
aIainment
levels
selected
Kent
State,
parents
with
lower
educa?onal
aIainment
levels
are
less
polarized
•  26%
selected
Kent
State,
22%
selected
YSU,
and
20%
selected
University
of
Akron
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
AIracts
Best
and
Brightest
(1
of
3)
Inquirers
Non‐
Inquirers
Parents
Kent
State
University
61%
66%
52%
University
of
Akron
45%
55%
43%
Youngstown
State
University
38%
24%
30%
Cleveland
State
University
26%
19%
16%
Slippery
Rock
University
19%
25%
17%
A@ribute
Which
TWO
of
these
schools
do
you
think
aIracts
the
best
and
brightest
students?
Respondents
were
reminded
of
schools,
if
necessary;
two
responses
were
collected.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Top
two
men?ons
for
each
audience
are
highlighted
in
red;
Ins?tu?ons
men?oned
least
frequently
are
highlighted
in
blue
•  Kent
State
is
the
top
choice
among
all
audiences
•  The
gap
between
Kent
State
and
YSU
is
23
percentage
points
among
inquirers,
42
among
non‐
inquirers,
and
22
among
parents
•  Kent
State
and
Akron
dominate
the
mind‐share
among
all
audiences
AIracts
Best
and
Brightest
(2
of
3)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Caucasian
prospects
view
University
of
Akron
more
favorably
and
Cleveland
State
less
favorably
than
minority
respondents
view
them
•  University
of
Akron
was
men?oned
first
as
aIrac?ng
the
best
and
brightest
students
by
38%
of
Caucasian
respondents
vs.
20%
of
minority
prospects
•  Cleveland
State
was
men?oned
first
by
8%
of
Caucasian
respondents
vs.
16%
of
minority
respondents
•  Cleveland
State
and
Slippery
Rock
have
stronger
reputa?ons
in
their
home
regions
•  Cleveland
State
was
selected
by
14%
of
prospects
from
Ohio‐Other
vs.
8%
of
Youngstown‐area
prospects
and
4%
of
Pennsylvania
prospects
•  Slippery
Rock
was
selected
by
33%
of
Pennsylvania
prospects
vs.
9%
of
Ohio
prospects
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
AIracts
Best
and
Brightest
(3
of
3)
•  Parents
•  Caucasian
parents
view
Kent
State
more
favorably
and
Cleveland
State
less
favorably
than
minority
parents
view
them
•  Kent
State
was
men?oned
first
by
44%
of
Caucasian
parents
vs.
25%
of
other
parents
•  Cleveland
State
was
men?oned
first
by
6%
of
Caucasian
parents
vs.
18%
of
minority
parents
•  University
of
Akron
and
Slippery
Rock
have
beIer
reputa?ons
among
parents
with
a
bachelor’s
degree
or
higher
than
among
less‐educated
parents;
Cleveland
State
has
a
worse
reputa?on
•  University
of
Akron
was
selected
by
23%
of
parents
with
a
bachelor’s
degree
or
higher
vs.
14%
of
other
parents
•  Slippery
Rock
was
men?oned
by
10%
of
parents
with
a
bachelor’s
degree
or
higher
vs.
6%
of
other
parents
•  Cleveland
State
was
selected
by
6%
of
parents
with
a
bachelor’s
degree
or
higher
vs.
11%
of
other
parents
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Most
Affordable
(1
of
3)
Inquirers
Non‐
Inquirers
Parents
Youngston
State
University
57%
40%
45%
Kent
State
University
41%
62%
30%
University
of
Akron
36%
52%
22%
Cleveland
State
University
30%
18%
20%
Slippery
Rock
University
20%
16%
21%
A@ribute
Which
TWO
of
these
schools
do
you
think
are
the
most
affordable
based
on
just
tui?on
and
not
considering
what
it
would
cost
you
to
live
at
or
near
the
school?
Respondents
were
reminded
of
schools,
if
necessary;
two
responses
were
collected.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Top
two
men?ons
for
each
audience
are
highlighted
in
red;
Ins?tu?ons
men?oned
least
frequently
are
highlighted
in
blue
•  YSU
dominates
the
mindshare
for
affordability
among
inquirers
and
their
parents
•  Kent
State
and
University
of
Akron
are
perceived
as
being
the
most
affordable
among
non‐inquiries
•  Ra?ngs
are
influenced
by
general
awareness
Most
Affordable
(2
of
3)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Minority
prospects
see
Cleveland
State
and
University
of
Akron
as
more
affordable
and
Slippery
Rock
as
less
affordable
when
compared
to
Caucasian
prospects
•  Cleveland
State
selected
by
19%
of
minority
prospects
vs.
7%
of
Caucasian
prospects
•  University
of
Akron
men?oned
by
30%
of
minority
prospects
vs.
20%
of
Caucasian
prospects
•  Slippery
Rock
selected
by
3%
of
minority
prospects
vs.
11%
of
Caucasian
prospects
•  Prospec?ve
students
view
in‐state
ins?tu?ons
as
more
affordable
than
out‐of‐state
•  44%
of
Pennsylvania
prospects
selected
Slippery
Rock
as
most
affordable,
but
YSU
was
second,
selected
by
23%
•  Higher
ability
prospects
see
University
of
Akron
as
more
affordable
that
other
prospects
(32%
vs.
19%)
and
Slippery
Rock
as
less
affordable
(2%
vs.
12%)
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Most
Affordable
(3
of
3)
•  Parents
•  Minority
parents
see
Cleveland
State
and
University
of
Akron
as
more
affordable
than
Caucasian
parents
(Cleveland
State:
9%
vs.
15%;
University
of
Akron:
19%
vs.
7%),
and
Slippery
Rock
as
less
affordable
(4%
vs.
17%)
•  Parents
view
the
ins?tu?ons
closest
to
them
as
most
affordable
•  58%
of
Youngstown‐area
parents
selected
YSU
vs.
20%
of
parents
from
other
parts
of
Ohio
and
12%
of
parents
from
Pennsylvania
•  23%
of
Ohio‐Other
parents
selected
Cleveland
State
vs.
6%
of
Youngstown‐area
parents
•  Cleveland
State
was
not
named
as
most
affordable
by
any
parents
from
Pennsylvania
•  63%
of
Pennsylvania
parents
selected
Slippery
Rock
vs.
3%
of
parents
from
Ohio
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Top
Choices
among
Compe??ve
Set
(1
of
3)
Inquirers
Non‐
Inquirers
Parents
Kent
State
University
54%
72%
54%
Youngstown
State
University
53%
25%
45%
University
of
Akron
41%
64%
38%
Cleveland
State
University
26%
14%
14%
Slippery
Rock
University
18%
19%
22%
A@ribute
(Prospects)
If
your
only
op?on
were
to
aIend
one
of
these
schools,
which
TWO
would
you
consider
most
seriously?
(Parents)
If
your
child’s
only
op?on
were
to
aIend
one
of
these
schools,
which
TWO
would
you
encourage
them
to
consider
most
seriously?
Respondents
were
reminded
of
schools,
if
necessary;
two
responses
were
collected.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Top
two
men?ons
for
each
audience
are
highlighted
in
red;
Ins?tu?ons
men?oned
least
frequently
are
highlighted
in
blue
•  Kent
State
dominates
the
mindshare
among
all
audiences
•  YSU
is
as
a
close
second
for
inquirers,
with
only
a
difference
of
1
percentage
point
•  The
gap
between
Kent
State
and
YSU
is
47
percentage
points
among
non‐inquirers
Top
Choices
among
Compe??ve
Set
(2
of
3)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Caucasian
prospects
more
likely
than
others
to
choose
Kent
State
(36%
vs.
26%)
and
Slippery
Rock
(12%
vs.
5%)
and
less
likely
to
choose
Cleveland
State
(5%
vs.
14%)
•  Kent
State
is
the
first
choice
among
those
from
the
Youngstown
area
and
other
areas
of
Ohio;
Kent
State
is
second
to
Slippery
Rock
among
Pennsylvania
prospects
•  Among
females,
Kent
State
is
the
top
choice
(37%
of
females
vs.
28%
of
males),
while
Akron
is
the
top
choice
among
males
(31%
of
males
vs.
21%
of
females)
•  Parents
•  Caucasian
parents
are
more
likely
than
others
to
choose
Kent
State
(34%
vs.
21%)
and
Slippery
Rock
(18%
vs.
4%)
and
less
likely
to
choose
Cleveland
State
(5%
vs.
18%)
and
University
of
Akron
(10%
vs.
22%)
•  Parents
most
likely
to
encourage
their
children
to
select
ins?tu?ons
closest
to
them
•  48%
of
Youngstown‐area
parents
chose
YSU
•  44%
of
parents
from
other
parts
of
Ohio
chose
Kent
State
•  57%
of
Pennsylvania
parents
chose
Slippery
Rock
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Top
Choices
among
Compe??ve
Set
(3
of
3)
•  Parents
(cont)
•  Upper‐income
groups
($51,000+)
are
more
likely
to
choose
Kent
State
or
Slippery
Rock;
lower‐income
parents
(<$51,000)
are
more
likely
to
choose
Cleveland
State
or
YSU
•  Kent
State
selected
by
36%
of
higher‐income
parents
vs.
19%
of
lower‐income
parents
•  Slippery
Rock
chosen
by19%
of
higher‐income
parents
vs.
9%
of
lower‐income
parents
•  Cleveland
State
selected
by
3%
of
higher‐income
parents
vs.
17%
of
lower‐
income
parents
•  YSU
chosen
by
20%
of
higher‐income
parents
vs.
36%
of
lower‐income
parents
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Demographic
Profiles
of
Respondents
by
Top
Choice
(1
of
2)
Non‐Inquirers
Top
Choice:
Kent
State
(n=127)
Non‐Inquirers
Top
Choice:
U
of
Akron
(n=87)
47
(37%)
41
(47%)
Inquirers
Top
Choice:
YSU
(n=103)
42
(41%)
Non‐Inquirers
Top
Choice:
YSU
(n=37)
15
(41%)
Female
61
(59%)
22
(60%)
80
(63%)
46
(53%)
Race/Ethnicity
(n=102)
(n=37)
(n=126)
(n=86)
White
73
(72%)
31
(84%)
116
(92%)
71
(83%)
Other
race/ethnicity
29
(28%)
6
(16%)
10
(8%)
15
(17%)
Region
Youngstown
area
(n=103)
39
(38%)
(n=37)
33
(89%)
(n=127)
89
(70%)
(n=87)
74
(85%)
Ohio
‐
Other
27
(26%)
3
(8%)
26
(21%)
12
(14%)
Pennsylvania
10
(10%)
1
(3%)
12
(9%)
1
(1%)
All
other
states
27
(26%)
n/a
n/a
n/a
Gender
Male
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Demographic
Profiles
of
Respondents
by
Top
Choice
(2
of
2)
Inquirers
Top
Choice:
YSU
(n=70)
Non‐Inquirers
Top
Choice:
YSU
(n=26)
Non‐Inquirers
Top
Choice:
Kent
State
(n=83)
Lower
ability
(ACT
>=20/SAT
<=1195)
21
(30%)
9
(35%)
16
(19%)
14
(23%)
Average
Ability
(ACT
21‐26
or
SAT
1196‐1720)
34
(49%)
12
(46%)
43
(52%)
29
(48%)
Higher
Ability
(ACT
>=27
or
SAT
>=
1721)
15
(21%)
5
(19%)
24
(29%)
18
(30%)
Area
of
Study
Liberal
Arts
and
Sciences
(n=103)
12
(12%)
(n=37)
2
(5%)
(n=127)
9
(7%)
(n=87)
4
(5%)
Science,
Tech,
Engineering,
Math
19
(18%)
4
(11%)
14
(11%)
12
(14%)
Health
and
Human
Services
Other
Unspecified/missing
15
(15%)
6
(16%)
4
(3%)
3
(3%)
21
(20%)
36
(35%)
2
(5%)
31
(84%)
15
(12%)
85
(67%)
5
(6%)
63
(72%)
Academic
Ability
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Non‐Inquirers
Top
Choice:
U
of
Akron
(n=61)
Most
Appealing
Ci?es
(1
of
2)
Inquirers
Non‐
Inquirers
Parents
Akron,
Ohio
47%
58%
42%
Youngstown,
Ohio
46%
22%
36%
Kent,
Ohio
41%
51%
46%
Slippery
Rock,
Pennsylvania
33%
31%
32%
Athens,
Ohio
24%
30%
24%
A@ribute
If
the
cost
to
you
to
aIend
college
in
the
following
ci?es
were
exactly
the
same,
which
TWO
ci?es
would
you
find
most
appealing/would
you
choose
for
your
child?
Respondents
were
reminded
of
schools,
if
necessary;
two
responses
were
collected.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Top
two
men?ons
for
each
audience
are
highlighted
in
red;
Ins?tu?ons
men?oned
least
frequently
are
highlighted
in
blue
•  Akron
and
Youngstown
are
the
most
appealing
ci?es
for
inquirers,
but
non‐
inquirers
chose
Youngstown
as
the
most
unappealing
city
•  Parents
chose
Kent
as
the
most
appealing
city,
closely
followed
by
Akron;
The
gap
between
Kent
and
Youngstown
is
10
percentage
points
Most
Appealing
Ci?es
(2
of
2)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Caucasian
respondents
are
more
likely
than
minority
respondents
to
consider
Athens
the
most
appealing
loca?on
(18%
vs.
8%),
and
less
likely
than
minority
respondents
to
consider
Youngstown
the
most
appealing
(14%
vs.
22%)
•  Athens
and
Akron
are
much
more
appealing
to
students
from
Ohio
than
from
Pennsylvania
(Athens:
19%
vs.
8%;
Akron:
35%
vs.
18%)
•  Likewise,
Slippery
Rock
is
more
appealing
to
prospects
from
Pennsylvania
than
from
Ohio
(42%
vs.
9%)
•  Parents
•  Caucasian
parents
are
more
likely
than
other
parents
to
consider
Slippery
Rock
the
most
appealing
loca?on
(22%
vs.
7%)
and
less
likely
to
consider
Akron
appealing
(14%
vs.
32%)
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Open
Access
and
Academic
Quality
(1
of
2)
Effect
of
Open
Access
Status
on
Impression
of
College
or
University
Very
Positve
100%
100%
7%
8%
80%
81%
72%
0%
1%
2%
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
Posi?ve
100%
13%
Nega?ve
Very
Nega?ve
(Prospects
and
parents)
If
I
told
you
that
one
or
several
of
the
schools
we’ve
been
discussing
were
“open
access”
ins?tu?ons,
what
impression
would
that
give
you
of
the
quality
of
the
ins?tu?on?
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  As
asked
in
this
ques?on,
the
concept
of
“open
access”
is
perceived
to
have
a
posi?ve
connota?on
among
all
audiences
•  89%
of
non‐inquirers
note
this
as
very
posi?ve
or
posi?ve,
followed
by
87%
of
inquirers,
85%
of
parents
•  On
the
other
hand,
only
16%
of
parents
view
this
as
very
nega?ve
or
nega?ve,
followed
by
12%
of
inquirers,
and
11%
of
non‐
inquirers
Open
Access
and
Academic
Quality
(2
of
2)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Prospects
from
the
Youngstown
area
are
the
most
likely
to
view
open
access
as
very
posi?ve
(11%
vs.
3%
of
prospects
from
other
areas)
•  High‐ability
prospects
are
more
likely
than
other
prospects
to
perceive
open
access
as
a
nega?ve
(21%
of
high‐ability
students
vs.
14%
of
average
ability
and
4%
of
low
ability
students)
•  Despite
these
varia?ons,
79%
of
high‐ability
students
s?ll
say
that
a
school’s
open‐
access
status
would
give
them
a
posi?ve
or
very
posi?ve
impression
of
the
ins?tu?on’s
quality
•  Parents
•  No
significant
varia?ons
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Effect
of
“Open
Access”
Defini?on
on
Percep?on
of
Quality
Does
Defini?on
of
“Open
Access”
Change
Impression
of
Quality
of
Open
Access
Ins?tu?ons?
Inquirers
No
79.1%
Yes
20.9%
Non‐Inquirers
BeIer
13.6%
No
78.5%
Yes
21.5%
Worse
7.3%
Parents
BeIer
16.8%
Worse
4.6%
No
78.7%
Yes
21.3%
BeIer
15.6%
Worse
5.7%
At
an
ins?tu?on
that
is
“open
access,”
most
students
can
get
in
as
freshmen,
but
then
when
they
declare
a
major,
they
have
to
meet
certain
academic
requirements
to
be
admiIed
to
their
major
program.
Does
this
change
your
impression
of
the
quality
of
open
access
ins?tu?ons?
If
yes,
Does
this
defini?on
leave
you
with
a
beIer
or
worse
impression
of
the
quality
of
open
access
ins?tu?ons?
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
37
Ins?tu?ons
Perceived
as
Open
Access
(1
of
3)
%
of
Respondents
Who
Iden?fied
Ins?tu?on
as
Open
Access
Youngstown
State
University
Inquirers
Kent
State
University
University
of
Akron
Non‐Inquirers
Cleveland
State
University
Slippery
Rock
University
Parents
•  All
audiences
were
most
likely
to
iden?fy
YSU,
Kent
State,
and
Akron
as
open‐
access
ins?tu?ons
•  These
ra?ngs
are
heavily
influenced
by
overall
familiarity
with
each
ins?tu?on
•  The
majority
of
inquirers
and
parents
selected
YSU
as
an
open‐access,
while
the
majority
of
non‐
inquirers
selected
Kent
State
and
University
of
Akron
To
the
best
of
your
knowledge
is
[school]
open
access?
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
THE
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
38
Ins?tu?ons
Perceived
as
Open
Access
(2
of
3)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Minority
prospects
are
more
likely
than
Caucasians
to
perceive
Cleveland
State
(45%
vs.
33%)
and
YSU
(54%
vs.
48%)
as
open
access
ins?tu?ons
•  60%
of
prospects
in
the
boIom
academic
?er
iden?fied
YSU
as
open
access,
compared
to
46%
of
average‐ability
prospects
and
39%
of
higher‐ability
prospects;
•  Students
in
the
boIom
?er
were
also
more
likely
to
iden?fy
Slippery
Rock
as
open
access
(27%
vs.
29%
of
average
ability
and
15%
of
high‐ability
prospects)
•  Kent
State,
University
of
Akron,
and
Slippery
Rock
are
more
likely
to
be
seen
as
open
access
by
in‐state
prospects
than
out‐of‐state
prospects
•  Kent
State
iden?fied
as
open
access
by
56%
of
Ohio
prospects
vs.
39%
of
Pennsylvania
prospects
•  University
of
Akron
selected
as
open
access
by
57%
of
Ohio
prospects
vs.
30%
of
Pennsylvania
prospects
•  Slippery
Rock
chosen
as
open
access
by
52%
of
Pennsylvania
prospects
vs.
23%
of
Ohio
prospects
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
39
Ins?tu?ons
Perceived
as
Open
Access
(3
of
3)
•  Parents
•  Cleveland
State,
YSU,
and
University
of
Akron
were
more
frequently
iden?fied
as
open
access
by
minority
respondents
than
by
Caucasian
respondents
•  Cleveland
State:
47%
vs.
28%
•  YSU:
57%
vs.
44
•  University
of
Akron:
51%
vs.
34%)
•  YSU
and
Slippery
Rock
were
most
frequently
iden?fied
as
open
access
by
respondents
who
live
in
the
ins?tu?on’s
home
region
•  YSU
was
iden?fied
as
open
access
by
62%
of
parents
from
the
Youngstown
region,
compared
to
40%
for
Ohio‐Other
and
33%
for
Pennsylvania
•  Slippery
Rock
was
iden?fied
as
open
access
by
41%
of
Pennsylvania
parents,
compared
to
the
average
of
25%
of
Youngstown‐area
parents
and
18%
of
parents
from
other
parts
of
Ohio
•  Parents
with
a
bachelor’s
degree
or
higher
were
more
likely
than
other
parents
to
be
aware
that
Kent
State,
University
of
Akron,
and
Slippery
Rock
are
not
open
access
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
40
AIributes
that
Significantly
Increase
Interest
(1
of
4)
%
of
Respondents
Who
Say
Statement
Significantly
Increases
Interest
Statement
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
Faculty
at
University
A
have
students
work
on
projects
with
real
clients
in
the
community
and
online
as
a
teaching
tool
93%
93%
94%
At
University
A,
many
undergraduates
to
graduate‐level
research
in
their
junior
and
senior
years
90%
92%
90%
University
A
is
located
in
a
"university
town"
where
many
of
the
ac?vi?es
in
the
area
revolve
around
the
university
88%
87%
86%
University
A
is
very
diverse
in
terms
of
the
racial
and
socioeconomic
profile
of
students
87%
85%
68%
At
University
A,
most
students
manage
part‐
?me
jobs
in
addi?on
to
their
coursework
86%
88%
64%
University
A
is
an
open‐access
ins?tu?on
78%
77%
67%
University
A
is
an
"urban
research
university"
64%
61%
57%
Let’s
assume
for
a
minute
that
you/your
child
is
considering
a
hypothe?cal
university
called
University
A.
I’m
going
to
read
you
some
statements
about
University
A
and
I
want
you
to
tell
me
if
each
statement
alone
makes
you
significantly
more
interested
in
aIending
/your
child
aIending
the
school.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Red
iden?fies
the
3
factors
that
most
significantly
increase
interest
in
a
school;
Blue
iden?fies
the
boIom
3
factors
•  Factors
listed
in
red
are
more
likely
to
mo?vate
target
audiences
if
used
in
marke?ng
communica?ons
•  “Students
working
on
projects
with
real
clients
in
the
community”
is
the
most
effec?ve
message
across
all
audiences
•  “Urban
research
university”
is
least
effec?ve
of
all
messages
tested
AIributes
that
Significantly
Increase
Interest
(2
of
4)
Prospects:
%
of
Respondents
Who
Say
Statement
Significantly
Increases
Interest
Statement
Race/Ethnicity
University
A
is
an
"urban
research
university"
Caucasian
59%
Other
72%
Statement
Gender
Most
students
manage
part‐?me
jobs
in
addi?on
to
their
coursework
Statement
Many
undergraduates
to
graduate‐level
research
in
their
junior
and
senior
years
Most
students
manage
part‐?me
jobs
in
addi?on
to
their
coursework
University
A
is
an
"urban
research
university"
University
A
is
an
open‐access
ins?tu?on
Male
81%
Female
90%
Lower
Ability
87%
Academic
Ability
Average
Ability
93%
Higher
Ability
100%
92%
87%
73%
71%
91%
59%
76%
56%
48%
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
AIributes
that
Significantly
Increase
Interest
(3
of
4)
Parents:
%
of
Respondents
Who
Say
Statement
Significantly
Increases
Interest
Statement
Race/Ethnicity
University
A
is
very
diverse
in
terms
of
the
racial
and
socioeconomic
profile
of
students
University
A
is
an
"urban
research
university"
University
A
is
an
open‐access
ins?tu?on
Most
students
manage
part‐?me
jobs
in
Statement
addi?on
to
their
coursework
University
A
is
located
in
a
“university
town”
where
many
of
the
ac?vi?es
in
the
area
revolve
around
the
university
Faculty
at
University
A
have
students
work
on
projects
with
real
clients
in
the
community
and
online
as
a
teaching
tool
Caucasian
62%
Other
89%
48%
64%
58%
85%
81%
79%
Gender
Male
91%
Female
82%
90%
96%
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
AIributes
that
Significantly
Increase
Interest
(4
of
4)
Parents:
%
of
Respondents
Who
Say
Statement
Significantly
Increases
Interest
Statement
Child’s
Intended
Area
of
Study
Most
students
manage
part‐?me
jobs
in
addi?on
to
their
coursework
Lib
Arts
&
Social
Sciences
54%
Science,
Tech,
Math,
Engineering
57%
Statement
Health
&
Human
Services
82%
Other
71%
Income
$0‐25K
72%
University
A
is
an
“urban
research
university”
$26‐50K
65%
Statement
$51‐100K
59%
$100K+
43%
Educa?onal
A@ainment
University
A
is
an
“urban
research
university”
University
A
is
very
diverse
in
terms
of
the
racial
and
socioeconomic
profile
of
students
University
A
is
an
open‐access
ins?tu?on
At
University
A,
most
students
manage
part‐
?me
jobs
in
addi?on
to
their
coursework
Less
than
a
Bachelor’s
Degree
63%
Bachelor’s
Degree+
49%
74%
60%
74%
74%
57%
48%
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Importance
of
Specific
Factors
in
College
Selec?on
(1
of5)
A@ribute
Availability
of
majors
of
interest
to
you
Quality
of
programs
of
study
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
9.3
8.9
8.9
9.4
9.0
9.6
9.4
8.7
9.0
8.8
8.7
8.7
9.0
8.9
9.2
Reputa?on
of
faculty
as
being
available
to
and
interested
in
students
8.5
8.5
9.2
Quality
of
academic
facili?es
(library,
labs,
technology,
compu?ng
resources,
etc.)
8.5
8.5
9.2
Quality
of
on‐campus
housing
Opportunity
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
(e.g.,
win
awards,
work
on
research,
par?cipate
in
academic
compe??ons)
8.1
7.7
8.5
7.8
7.6
8.4
Quality
of
social
life
and
extra‐curricular
ac?vi?es
7.8
7.6
7.2
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
on
campus
7.6
7.5
7.4
7.2
7.4
7.5
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
(grants,
scholarships,
loans
and
work
study
cover
exp.)
Cost
Quality
of
faculty
members'
academic
training,
exper?se
and
accomplishments
AIrac?veness
of
campus
Scale:
1=very
unimportant/10=very
important
On
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
very
unimportant
and
10
being
very
important,
rate
how
important
the
following
aIributes
are
to
you/your
child
when
selec?ng
a
college.
YSU
NOT
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Red
iden?fies
the
3
factors
with
the
highest
ra?ngs
from
each
audience;
Blue
iden?fies
the
boIom
3
•  Across
all
audiences,
the
most
important
factor
is
the
“availability
of
majors”
•  These
findings
are
in
line
with
the
2005
Image
Study
conducted
by
YSU,
where
the
two
highest
factor
rated
by
parents
and
prospec?ve
students
were
“availability
of
majors”
and
“quality
of
programs”
Importance
of
Specific
Factors
in
College
Selec?on
(2
of
5)
Prospects
Statement
Race/Ethnicity
Cost
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
Quality
of
on‐campus
housing
Quality
of
social
life
and
extracurricular
ac?vi?es
AIrac?veness
of
campus
Statement
Quality
of
social
life
and
extracurricular
ac?vi?es
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
AIrac?veness
of
campus
Caucasian
8.7
8.7
7.8
Other
9.1
9.1
8.7
7.8
7.7
7.2
8.3
8.0
7.8
Academic
Ability
Lower
Average
Higher
Ability
Ability
Ability
8.3
7.9
7.5
8.2
7.7
7.3
8.1
7.6
7.4
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Importance
of
Specific
Factors
in
College
Selec?on
(3
of
5)
Prospects
(cont)
Statement
Gender
Reputa?on
of
faculty
as
being
available
to
and
interested
in
students
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
Male
8.2
Female
8.8
8.5
9.0
Statement
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
Liberal
Arts
&
Social
Sciences
7.7
Area
of
Study
Science,
Tech,
Health
&
Math,
Human
Engineering
Services
7.6
6.7
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Other
7.7
Importance
of
Specific
Factors
in
College
Selec?on
(4
of
5)
Parents
Statement
Region
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
Quality
of
social
life
and
extracurricular
ac?vi?es
Youngstown
OH‐Other
PA
7.0
6.9
7.5
7.4
7.9
7.4
Statement
Race/Ethnicity
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
Quality
of
on‐campus
housing
Caucasian
8.2
8.3
Statement
$0‐25K
Reputa?on
of
faculty
as
being
available
to
and
interested
in
students
9.6
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
9.4
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
8.9
Statement
Other
9.2
9.1
Income
$26‐50K
$51‐100K
9.6
9.1
9.9
8.9
8.8
8.5
$100K+
8.8
8.4
7.7
Educa?onal
A@ainment
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
Less
than
a
Bachelor’s
Degree
9.5
8.8
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Bachelor’s
Degree+
8.4
7.9
Importance
of
Specific
Factors
in
College
Selec?on
(5
of
5)
2005
Image
Study
(5‐point
scale)
A@ribute
2009 Research
Study
(10‐point
scale)
Parents
Prospects
Inquirers
Non‐
Inquirers
Availability
of
majors
of
interest
to
you
4.73
4.75
9.3
9.4
9.6
Quality
of
programs
of
study
4.65
4.58
8.9
9.0
9.4
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
(grants,
scholarships,
loans
and
work
study
cover
exp.)
4.35
4.55
8.9
8.7
9.0
Cost
4.58
4.55
8.8
8.7
9.0
Quality
of
faculty
members'
academic
training,
exper?se
and
accomplishments
4.5
4.33
8.7
8.9
9.2
Reputa?on
of
faculty
as
being
available
to
and
interested
in
students
4.23
4.2
8.5
8.5
9.2
Quality
of
on‐campus
housing
4.3
3.7
4.29
3.66
8.5
8.1
8.5
7.7
9.2
8.5
Opportunity
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
3.78
3.74
7.8
7.6
8.4
Quality
of
social
life
and
extra‐curricular
ac?vi?es
3.5
3.78
7.8
7.6
7.2
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
on
campus
4.5
3.71
7.6
7.4
7.4
AIrac?veness
of
campus
3.7
3.66
7.5
7.2
7.5
Quality
of
academic
facili?es
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Parents
Youngstown
as
a
Second
Choice
(1
of
4)
%
of
Prospects
Considering
YSU
as
a
Second
Choice
100%
100%
No
Yes
60%
40%
Inquirers
(n=54)
Non‐Inquirers
(n=36)
•  Reasons
for
considering
YSU
as
a
second
choice
•  Close
to
home
•  Affordable
•  Good
school/programs
•  Offers
intended
major/good
selec?on
of
majors
•  Reasons
for
not
considering
YSU
as
a
second
choice
•  Not
familiar
enough
with
YSU
•  City
of
Youngtown
undesirable/unsafe
•  Doesn’t
offer
intended
major
•  Too
far
from
home
•  Doesn’t
offer
Division
1
sports
(Prospects)
You
said
you’ve
made
up
your
mind
to
go
to
another
school;
would
you
consider
YSU
as
a
2nd
choice?
Why
are/aren’t
you
interested
in
YSU
as
a
second
op?on?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Youngstown
as
a
Second
Choice
(2
of
4)
Prospects
Reasons
for
Interest
Prospects
Reasons
for
Lack
of
Interest
Word
clouds
created
using
hIp://www.wordle.net
(Prospects)
Why
are/aren’t
you
interested
in
YSU
as
a
second
op?on?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Youngstown
as
a
Second
Choice
(3
of
4)
•  Mothers
are
more
likely
than
fathers
to
say
child
should
consider
YSU
(40%
vs.
9%)
100%
100%
•  Reasons
child
is
interested
in
YSU
Yes
as
a
second
choice
•  Close
to
home
•  Good
reputa?on
•  Availability
of
major
•  Reasons
child
is
not
interested
in
No
81%
YSU
as
a
second
choice
69%
•  Ge•ng
athle?c
scholarship
elsewhere
•  Bad
loca?on/too
much
crime
•  YSU
too
far
from
home
Child
IS
considering
YSU
Child
SHOULD
consider
YSU
•  YSU
doesn’t
offer
major
(Parents)
You
said
your
child
has
made
up
their
mind
to
go
to
another
school;
do
you
know
if
they
are
considering
YSU
as
a
2 choice?
Do
you
think
your
child
SHOULD
consider
YSU
as
a
2 choice?
Do
you
know
•  Not
familiar
enough
with
YSU
Parents:
Child
IS
Considering
YSU
as
a
Second
Choice
vs.
Child
SHOULD
Consider
YSU
as
a
Second
Choice
(n=74)
nd
nd
why
child
is/is
not
interested
in
YSU
as
a
second
op?on?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Youngstown
as
a
Second
Choice
(4
of
4)
Parents
Reasons
for
Interest
Parents
Reasons
for
Lack
of
Interest
Word
clouds
created
using
hIp://www.wordle.net
(Parents)
Do
you
know
why
your
child
is/is
not
interested
in
YSU
as
a
second
op?on?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Best
Known
Majors
at
YSU
Major
Engineering
Educa?on
Nursing
Health
Professions
Music
Criminal
Jus?ce/Forensic
Science
Art
Physical
Therapy
Accoun?ng
Computer
Science
English
Poli?cal
Science
Psychology
Pre‐Law
Biology
Business
(Marke?ng/Management)
Economics
Other*
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
22%
14%
12%
21%
14%
11%
13%
11%
5%
10%
3%
5%
7%
6%
4%
6%
2%
1%
5%
1%
2%
5%
2%
2%
5%
3%
1%
5%
3%
1%
5%
2%
1%
5%
2%
<1%
4%
1%
1%
4%
2%
1%
3%
2%
1%
3%
2%
<1%
1%
1%
<1%
72%
82%
51%
•  Top
3
men?ons
in
each
category
are
highlighted
in
red
•  Across
all
audiences,
YSU
is
best
known
for
engineering,
closely
followed
by
educa?on
and
nursing
•  Economics
was
selected
least
among
all
audiences
•  Non‐inquirers
also
chose
Art
less
frequently
•  Poli?cal
Science
and
Business
was
also
*
Respondents
could
name
up
to
5
majors;
“Other”
category
represents
percentage
of
respondents
who
named
a
major
selected
less
not
listed
in
the
table
as
1
of
the
5
YSU
is
known
for
To
the
best
of
your
knowledge,
what
are
the
majors
Youngstown
State
is
best
known
for?
Unaided,
respondents
allowed
frequently
by
parents
to
provide
up
to
five
responses.
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
THE
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
on
Specific
AIributes
(1
of
6)
A@ribute
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
Affordability
7.8
7.3
7.6
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
7.8
7.4
7.4
(grants,
scholarships,
loans,
and
work
study)
Availability
of
majors
7.2
7.3
7.8
Quality
of
academic
programs
7.7
7.2
7.4
Quality
of
academic
facili?es
(library,
7.6
7.2
7.5
laboratories,
technology,
compu?ng
resource
Reputa?on
of
faculty
as
being
available
to
7.6
7.3
7.4
and
interested
in
students
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
7.6
7.0
7.2
themselves
academically
(e.g.,
win
awards,
work
on
research,
par?cipate
in
academic
compe??ons)
Quality
of
faculty
7.5
7.3
7.4
AIrac?veness
of
campus
7.5
6.7
7.0
Quality
of
social
life
and
extra‐curricular
7.5
6.9
6.5
ac?vi?es
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
on
campus
7.3
7.4
6.9
Quality
of
on‐campus
housing
7.3
6.7
6.9
Scale:
1=poor/10=excellent
On
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
poor
and
10
being
excellent,
rate
YSU
on
[the
following
aIributes].
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
•  Red
iden?fies
the
aIributes
with
the
top
3
mean
ra?ngs
for
each
audience;
Blue
iden?fies
the
boIom
3
aIributes
•  All
audiences
rate
YSU
tops
on
“affordability”
and
“availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid”
•  In
the
2005
Image
Study,
parents
and
prospects
rated
YSU
highest
for
its
availability
of
majors
and
cost
compared
to
other
ins?tu?ons;
•  In
2005,
availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
was
rated
in
the
lower‐?er
of
all
factors,
but
one
of
the
highest
in
the
2009
study
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
on
Specific
AIributes
(2
of
6)
Prospects
Statement
Region
Youngstown
7.8
Affordability
Statement
OH‐Other
7.3
PA
7.1
Race/Ethnicity
Availability
of
majors
Quality
of
academic
programs
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
Quality
of
social
life
and
extracurricular
ac?vi?es
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
Quality
of
on‐campus
housing
Caucasian
7.3
7.3
Other
8.0
8.0
7.1
7.9
7.0
7.0
6.8
7.8
7.7
7.6
Statement
Area
of
Study
Reputa?on
of
faculty
as
being
available
to
and
interested
in
students
Science,
Tech,
Liberal
Arts
&
Health
&
Human
Math,
Social
Sciences
Engineering
Services
7.1
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
7.3
7.6
Other
7.9
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
on
Specific
AIributes
(3
of
6)
Prospects
Statement
Availability
of
financial
aid
Quality
of
academic
facili?es
Quality
of
faculty
Availability
of
majors
Reputa?on
of
faculty
as
being
available
to
and
interested
in
students
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
Quality
of
academic
programs
Quality
of
social
life
and
extracurricular
ac?vi?es
AIrac?veness
of
campus
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
Quality
of
on‐campus
housing
Academic
Ability
Average
Higher
Lower
Ability
Ability
Ability
8.0
7.4
7.4
7.9
7.3
6.7
7.8
7.4
7
7.8
7.4
7
7.8
6.2
6.8
7.8
7.2
6.6
7.7
7.7
7.6
7.5
7.4
7.4
7.1
6.9
6.9
6.8
6.9
6.6
6.3
6.5
6.3
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
on
Specific
AIributes
(4
of
6)
Parents
Statement
Region
Quality
of
faculty
Availability
of
majors
Quality
of
academic
programs
Quality
of
academic
facili?es
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
Affordability
Youngstown
7.7
7.7
8.0
7.9
7.8
8.2
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
OH‐Other
7.1
6.9
7.1
7.2
6.8
7.2
PA
6.9
7.0
7.0
6.9
7.3
7.4
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
on
Specific
AIributes
(5
of
6)
Parents
Statement
Race/Ethnicity
Quality
of
on‐campus
housing
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
Caucasian
8.3
8.2
Other
9.1
9.2
7.4
7.3
8.1
8.0
AIrac?veness
of
campus
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
Statement
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
Statement
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
Opportuni?es
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
$0‐25K
9.4
8.9
Income
$26‐50K
$51‐100K
9.9
8.9
8.8
8.5
$100K+
8.4
7.7
Educa?onal
A@ainment
Less
than
a
Bachelor’s
Bachelor’s
Degree+
Degree
9.5
8.4
8.8
7.9
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
on
Specific
AIributes
(6
of
6)
2005
Image
Study
(5‐point
scale)
A@ribute
Parents
Prospects
Availability
of
majors
of
interest
to
you
4.25
4.3
Quality
of
programs
of
study
4.15
4.2
Availability
of
sufficient
financial
aid
(grants,
scholarships,
loans
and
work
study
cover
exp.)
3.8
3.95
Cost
4.2
4.4
Quality
of
faculty
members'
academic
training,
exper?se
and
accomplishments
4.1
4.1
Reputa?on
of
faculty
as
being
available
to
and
interested
in
students
4.05
4.05
Quality
of
on‐campus
housing
4.15
3.85
4.2
3.9
Opportunity
for
students
to
dis?nguish
themselves
academically
3.95
3.95
Quality
of
social
life
and
extra‐curricular
ac?vi?es
3.75
3.95
4
4.05
3.85
3.85
Quality
of
academic
facili?es
Quality
of
recrea?onal
facili?es
on
campus
AIrac?veness
of
campus
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
2009 Research
Study
(10‐point
scale)
Inquirers
7.8
Non‐
Inquirers
7.3
Parents
7.6
7.8
7.4
7.4
7.8
7.2
7.3
7.7
7.2
7.4
7.6
7.2
7.5
7.6
7.3
7.4
7.6
7.0
7.2
7.5
7.5
7.3
6.7
7.4
7.0
7.5
6.9
6.5
7.4
6.9
7.3
7.3
6.7
6.9
Importance
of
Specific
AIributes
vs.
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
(1
of
3)
Inquirers:
Importance
of
Specific
A@ributes
vs.
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
Mean
Availability
of
majors
Quality
of
academic
programs
Importance
Availability
of
financial
aid
Quality
of
Faculty
Cost
Quality
of
academic
facili?es
Rep
of
Opp
for
Quality
of
faculty
as
students
to
on‐campus
being
dis?nguish
housing
available
to
selves
students
academically
Quality
of
social
life
Quality
of
AIrac?veness
rec
facili?es
of
campus
Ra?ng
of
YSU
Scale:
1=very
unimportant/10=very
important;
On
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
very
unimportant
and
10
being
very
important,
rate
how
important
the
following
aIributes
are
to
you/your
child
when
selec?ng
a
college.
Scale:
1=poor/10=excellent;
On
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
poor
and
10
being
excellent,
rate
YSU
on
[the
following
aIributes].
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Importance
of
Specific
AIributes
vs.
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
(2
of
3)
Mean
Availability
of
majors
Non‐Inquirers:
Importance
of
Specific
A@ributes
vs.
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
Quality
of
academic
programs
Importance
Quality
of
Faculty
Availability
of
financial
aid
Cost
Quality
of
academic
facili?es
Rep
of
Opp
for
Quality
of
faculty
as
students
to
on‐campus
being
dis?nguish
housing
available
to
selves
students
academically
Quality
of
social
life
Quality
of
AIrac?veness
rec
facili?es
of
campus
Ra?ng
of
YSU
Scale:
1=very
unimportant/10=very
important;
On
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
very
unimportant
and
10
being
very
important,
rate
how
important
the
following
aIributes
are
to
you/your
child
when
selec?ng
a
college.
Scale:
1=poor/10=excellent;
On
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
poor
and
10
being
excellent,
rate
YSU
on
[the
following
aIributes].
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Importance
of
Specific
AIributes
vs.
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
(3
of
3)
Parents:
Importance
of
Specific
A@ributes
vs.
Ra?ngs
of
YSU
Mean
Availability
of
majors
Quality
of
academic
programs
Importance
Rep
of
faculty
as
available
to
students
Quality
of
faculty
Quality
of
academic
facili?es
Availability
of
financial
aid
Cost
Quality
of
Opp
for
AIrac?veness
Quality
of
on‐campus
students
to
of
campus
rec
facili?es
housing
dis?nguish
selves
academicaly
Quality
of
social
life
Ra?ng
of
YSU
Scale:
1=very
unimportant/10=very
important;
On
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
very
unimportant
and
10
being
very
important,
rate
how
important
the
following
aIributes
are
to
you/your
child
when
selec?ng
a
college.
Scale:
1=poor/10=excellent;
On
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
poor
and
10
being
excellent,
rate
YSU
on
[the
following
aIributes].
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Average
GPA
of
Tradi?onal
Freshmen
Es?mated
Average
GPA
of
YSU’s
Tradi?onal‐Age
Freshmen
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
If
you
had
to
guess,
what
would
you
say
is
the
average
high
school
GPA
(on
a
4‐point
scale)
of
YSU’s
tradi?onal
age
freshmen?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
•  All
audiences
perceive
YSU
similarly
Notable
Differences
•  Caucasian
prospects
es?mate
GPA
to
be
higher
than
others
(3.2
vs.
2.9)
•  Health
&
human
services
prospects
es?mate
the
average
GPA
to
be
lower
(3.0)
than
liberal
arts
(3.2)
and
science
&
tech
prospects
(3.2)
•  Caucasian
parents
es?mate
the
average
GPA
to
be
slightly
higher
(3.1)
than
other
parents
es?mate
it
(3.0)
•  Females
es?mate
it
to
be
higher
than
males
es?mate
(3.2
vs.
3.0)
•  Parents
with
less
than
a
bachelor’s
degree
es?mate
the
average
GPA
to
be
higher
(3.2)
than
parents
with
higher
educa?on
levels
(3.0)
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Effect
of
Specific
AIributes
on
Interest
in
YSU
(1
of
4)
• 
Non‐Inquirers
Inquirers
Statement
YSU’s
professors
are
known
for
being
very
approachable,
unlike
other
universi?es
where
professors
are
most
interested
in
working
on
their
own
research
YSU
can
be
the
opportunity
of
a
life?me
for
some
students
to
ul?mately
be
admiIed
to
very
selec?ve
programs
YSU
is
well
known
for
its
excep?onal
programs
in
Engineering,
Music,
Geology,
Astronomy,
and
Physical
Therapy
Significantly
Slightly
increases
increases
interest
interest
27%
60%
Does
not
change
interest
14%
Significantly
increases
interest
56%
Slightly
increases
interest
33%
xx
Parents
Does
not
Significantly
change
increases
interest
interest
11%
52%
Slightly
increases
interest
25%
Does
not
change
interest
23%
36%
36%
27%
32%
42%
26%
34%
36%
30%
32%
33%
35%
28%
38%
34%
29%
26%
45%
YSU
is
one
of
the
most
racially
and
socioeconomically
diverse
ins?tu?ons
in
the
region
YSU
is
open
access
to
freshmen,
but
when
students
declare
a
major
they
must
meet
the
requirements
of
that
program,
which
can
be
very
selec?ve
YSU
is
considered
to
be
one
of
Ohio’s
“urban
research
universi?es”
28%
44%
28%
23%
43%
34%
23%
25%
52%
22%
44.%
34%
17%
46%
36%
27%
31%
42%
22%
40%
38%
18%
34%
48%
26%
31%
44%
YSU
is
located
in
the
city
of
Youngstown,
Ohio
13%
27%
60%
10%
27%
63%
16%
20%
64%
I’m
going
to
read
you
a
series
of
statements
about
YSU
and
I’d
like
to
know
how
much
each
impacts
your
interest
in
the
University/your
interest
in
the
University
for
your
child.
You
can
answer
with
“significantly
increases
my
interest,”
“slightly
increases
my
interest,”
or
“does
not
change
my
interest.”
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Effect
of
Specific
AIributes
on
Interest
in
YSU
(2
of
4)
•  The
idea
that
Youngstown
is
an
entrepreneurial
environment
has
the
greatest
appeal
of
the
messages
tested,
this
data
suggests
that
if
we
emphasize
this
aspect
of
our
environment
it
will
posi?vely
influence
the
impressions
of
the
city
•  The
concept
of
“rebirth”
and
growing
the
technology
and
green
industry
also
have
strong
appeal
•  The
park
has
the
least
appeal
of
the
items
tested
Notable
Differences
%
of
Prospects
Who
Say
A@ribute
Significantly
Increases
Interest
in
YSU
Statement
Race/Ethnicity
YSU
is
one
of
the
most
racially
and
socioeconomically
diverse
ins?tu?ons
in
the
region
YSU
is
open
access
to
freshmen,
but
when
students
declare
a
major
they
must
meet
program
requirements…
YSU
is
considered
to
be
one
of
Ohio’s
“urban
research
universi?es”
Caucasian
22%
Other
38%
17%
28%
16%
31%
Statement
Gender
YSU
is
well
known
for
its
excep?onal
programs
in
Engineering,
Music,
Geology,
Astronomy,
and
Physical
Therapy
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Male
Female
35%
26%
Effect
of
Specific
AIributes
on
Interest
in
YSU
(3
of
4)
%
of
Prospects
Who
Say
A@ribute
Significantly
Increases
Interest
in
YSU
Statement
YSU’s
professors
are
known
for
being
very
approachable…
YSU
is
considered
to
be
one
of
Ohio’s
“urban
research
universi?es”
YSU
is
located
in
the
city
of
Youngstown,
Ohio
Statement
YSU
is
well
known
for
its
excep?onal
programs
in
Engineering,
Music,
Geology,
Astronomy,
and
Physical
Therapy
Academic
Ability
Average
Higher
Ability
Ability
Lower
Ability
55%
63%
55%
18%
16%
8%
12%
11%
3%
Area
of
Study
Science,
Tech,
Liberal
Arts
Math,
Health
&
&
Social
Engineer Human
Sciences
ing
Services
Other
18%
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
41%
37%
27%
Effect
of
Specific
AIributes
on
Interest
in
YSU
(4
of
4)
%
of
Parents
Who
Say
A@ribute
Significantly
Increases
Interest
in
YSU
Statement
Race/Ethnicity
YSU
is
one
of
the
most
racially
and
socioeconomically
diverse
ins?tu?ons
in
the
region
YSU
is
located
in
the
city
of
Youngstown,
Ohio
Caucasian
16%
Other
44%
12%
29%
Statement
YSU
is
located
in
the
city
of
Youngstown,
Ohio
YSU
is
one
of
the
most
racially
and
socioeconomically
diverse
ins?tu?ons
in
the
region
Statement
YSU
is
located
in
the
city
of
Youngstown,
Ohio
YSU
can
be
the
opportunity
of
a
life?me
for
some
students
to
ul?mately
be
admiIed
to
very
selec?ve
programs
Statement
YSU
is
located
in
the
city
of
Youngstown,
Ohio
$0‐25K
36%
28%
Youngstown
25%
48%
Income
$26‐50K
$51‐100K
29%
22%
37%
23%
Region
OH‐Other
14%
27%
$100K+
13%
12%
PA
6%
29%
Educa?onal
A@ainment
Less
than
a
bachelor’s
degree
Bachelor’s
Degree+
18%
12%
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Effect
of
Loca?on
AIributes
on
Interest
in
YSU
(1
of
3)
Inquirers
Statement
This
year,
Youngstown,
Ohio
was
named
one
of
the
top
10
ci?es
in
America
for
star?ng
a
new
business
by
Entrepreneur
Magazine.
Many
new
businesses
have
been
created
in
the
city's
business
incubator
and
in
partnership
with
Youngstown
State
University
Significantly
Slightly
increases
increases
interest
interest
36%
37%
Non‐Inquirers
Does
not
change
interest
26%
Significantly
increases
interest
34%
Slightly
increases
interest
40%
Parents
Does
not
Significantly
change
increases
interest
interest
26%
33%
Slightly
increases
interest
29%
Does
not
change
interest
38%
33%
42%
25%
26%
46%
28%
33%
31%
36%
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
less
than
an
hour
and
a
half
drive
away
from
both
downtown
Cleveland
and
downtown
PiIsburgh
28%
33%
39%
18%
38%
44%
21%
22%
57%
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
a
center
of
arts
and
cultural
ac?vity
in
the
region
21%
39%
40%
24%
41%
35%
21%
33%
46%
17%
35%
48%
14%
37%
49%
16%
24%
60%
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
undergoing
a
rebirth
as
a
university
town
with
an
emphasis
on
growing
new
technology
and
green
industries
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
home
to
Mill
Creek
Park,
the
2nd
largest
urban
park
in
the
United
States
Now,
I’m
going
to
read
you
series
of
statements
about
the
city
of
Youngstown,
Ohio,
and
I’d
like
to
know
how
much
each
impacts
your
interest
in
aIending
YSU/your
interest
in
YSU
for
your
child.
You
can
answer
with
“significantly
increases
my
interest,”
“slightly
increases
my
interest,”
or
“no
change
my
interest.”
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Effect
of
Loca?on
AIributes
on
Interest
in
YSU
(2
of
3)
%
of
Prospects
Who
Say
A@ribute
Significantly
Increases
Interest
in
YSU
Statement
Region
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
less
than
an
hour
and
a
half
drive
away
from
both
downtown
Cleveland
and
downtown
PiIsburgh
Youngstown
17%
Statement
Male
43%
This
year,
Youngstown,
Ohio
was
named
one
of
the
top
10
ci?es
in
America
for
star?ng
a
new
business
by
Entrepreneur
Magazine…
Statement
This
year,
Youngstown,
Ohio
was
named
one
of
the
top
10
ci?es
in
America
for
star?ng
a
new
business
by
Entrepreneur
Magazine…
OH‐Other
30%
Gender
PA
30%
Female
31%
Area
of
Study
Science,
Liberal
Arts
Tech,
Math,
Health
&
&
Social
Engineerin Human
g
Sciences
Services
27%
44%
37%
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Other
44%
Effect
of
Loca?on
AIributes
on
Interest
in
YSU
(3
of
3)
%
of
Parents
Who
Say
A@ribute
Significantly
Increases
Interest
in
YSU
Statement
Region
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
home
to
Mill
Creek
Park,
the
2nd
largest
urban
park
in
the
United
States
Youngstown
27%
Statement
Male
13%
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
a
center
of
arts
and
cultural
ac?vity
in
the
region
Statement
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
a
center
of
arts
and
cultural
ac?vity
in
the
region
OH‐Other
14%
Gender
PA
6%
Female
26%
Child’s
Area
of
Study
Less
than
a
Bachelor’s
Degree
Bachelor’s
Degree+
24%
16%
Statement
Race/Ethnicity
Caucasian
Other
55%
14%
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
home
to
Mill
Creek
Park,
the
2nd
largest
urban
park
in
the
United
States
Statement
Income
Youngstown,
Ohio
is
home
to
Mill
Creek
Park,
the
2nd
largest
urban
park
in
the
United
States
$0‐25K
29%
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
$26‐5
0K
33%
$51‐100K
25%
$100K+
14%
Impression
of
Youngstown,
Ohio
(1
of
2)
Appeal
of
Youngstown,
Ohio
%
of
Respondents
Mean
ra?ng
Inquirers
–
6.8
Non‐inquirers
–
6.5
Parents
–
5.4
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
Scale:
unappealing/10=appealing
On
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
unappealing
and
10
being
appealing,
rate
your
overall
impression
of
the
city
of
Youngstown.
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  Inquirers
and
non‐
inquirers
rate
the
appeal
of
the
city
of
Youngstown
similarly,
with
a
6.8
and
6.5
mean
ra?ng,
respec?vely
•  Parents
rate
Youngstown,
OH
lower
at
a
5.4
mean
ra?ng
Impression
of
Youngstown,
Ohio
(2
of
2)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  Minority
prospects
rate
Youngstown
higher
than
Caucasian
prospects
(6.9
vs.
6.5)
•  The
mean
ra?ng
for
Youngstown‐area
prospects
(6.3)
is
lower
than
the
ra?ngs
for
prospects
from
other
parts
of
Ohio
(6.9)
and
Pennsylvania
(6.8)
•  The
city
of
Youngstown
is
most
appealing
to
respondents
in
the
boIom
academic
range
(6.9
for
lower
ability
vs.
6.5
for
average
ability
and
6.2
for
higher
ability
prospects)
•  Parents
•  Youngstown
is
rated
higher
by
minority
parents
than
by
Caucasian
respondents
parents
(6.3
vs.
5.2),
and
higher
by
females
than
by
males
(5.9
vs.
4.8)
•  Lower‐income
parents
rate
Youngstown
more
appealing
than
higher‐income
parents
($0‐$25K:
6.7;
$26‐50K:
6.0
vs.
$51‐100K:
4.9;
$100K+:
5.0)
•  Youngstown
is
also
more
appealing
to
parents
with
less
than
a
bachelor’s
degree
than
it
is
to
more
educated
parents
(5.8
vs.
5.1)
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Effect
of
Impression
of
Youngstown
on
Interest
in
YSU
(1
of
3)
Effect
of
Impression
of
Youngstown
on
Interest
in
YSU
100%
Big
Posi?ve
7%
100%
3%
100%
6%
Posi?ve
No
change
Nega?ve
Big
Nega?ve
36%
37%
26%
12%
11%
11%
2%
3%
6%
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
How
does
your
impression
of
the
city
of
Youngstown
impact
your
interest
in
aIending/your
child
aIending
YSU?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
•  43%
of
inquirers
say
that
their
impression
of
the
city
of
Youngstown
has
a
big
posi?ve
or
posi?ve
impact
on
their
interest
in
aIending
YSU;
The
same
number
of
inquirers
said
that
this
had
no
change
•  The
majority
of
parents
said
that
this
had
no
change
on
their
interest
in
their
child
aIending
the
University
•  46%
of
non‐inquirers
selected
no
change,
compared
to
40%
that
said
it
has
a
big
posi?ve
or
posi?ve
impact
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Effect
of
Impression
of
Youngstown
on
Interest
in
YSU
(2
of
3)
Notable
Differences
‐
Prospects
Race/Ethnicity
Big
Pos?ve
100%
3%
100%
11%
Region
100%
3%
100%
100%
7%
6%
Posi?ve
No
Change
Nega?ve
31%
38%
43%
35%
Big
Nega?ve
11%
11%
2%
1%
Caucasian
Other
38%
15%
3%
9%
1%
1%
6%
•  Other
prospects
were
more
inclined
to
say
that
their
impression
of
the
city
of
Youngstown
had
a
big
posi?ve
or
posi?ve
impact
than
Caucasians(46%
vs.
41%)
•  Prospects
from
the
Youngstown
area
noted
this
as
having
less
of
a
big
posi?ve
or
posi?ve
impact
than
those
from
Ohio‐Other
and
Pennsylvania
(34%
vs.
50%
and
44%,
respec?vely)
Youngstown
Ohio‐Other
Pennsylvania
area
How
does
your
impression
of
the
city
of
Youngstown
impact
your
interest
in
aIending
YSU?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Effect
of
Impression
of
Youngstown
on
Interest
in
YSU
(3
of
3)
Notable
Differences
‐
Parents
Race/Ethnicity
Big
Pos?ve
Posi?ve
No
Change
100%
3%
100%
18%
Income
100%
100%
5%
32%
Nega?ve
31%
6%
Caucasian
Other
race/
ethnicity
26%
100%
100%
3%
9%
100%
4%
20%
22%
31%
30%
14%
7%
4%
100%
5%
19%
25%
Big
Nega?ve
Educa?on
0%
5%
$0‐25K
6%
3%
$26K‐50K
15%
16%
9%
10%
$51K
‐
100K
Above
$100K
16%
9%
4%
Less
than
bachelor’s
degree
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
8%
Bachelor’s
degree+
Change
in
Open
Access
Status
(1
of
2)
Perceived
Impact
of
Change
in
Open
Access
Status
on
YSU’s
Reputa?on
Non‐Inquirers
Inquirers
Parents
Strengthen
No
Impact
Weaken
53%
23%
25%
48%
42%
21%
35%
32%
23%
100%
100%
100%
(Prospects
and
parents)
Assume
for
a
minute
that
YSU
changed
its
“open
access”
status
and
instead
of
applying
admission
requirements
when
students
declare
a
major,
students
had
to
meet
the
requirements
even
to
get
into
YSU
as
freshmen.
Do
you
think
this
would
strengthen,
weaken,
or
have
no
impact
on
YSU’s
reputa?on?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
THE
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  While
there
are
some
other
research
findings
which
suggest
YSU’s
“open
access”
policy
is
an
asset,
large
percentages
of
prospects
and
parents
believe
it
would
strengthen
the
University’s
image
to
change
it
•  Parents
in
higher
income
groups
are
par?cularly
likely
to
say
the
change
would
strengthen
YSU’s
image
Change
in
Open
Access
Status
(2
of
2)
Notable
Differences
•  Prospects
•  No
significant
differences
•  Parents
•  Parents
in
the
upper
two
income
groups
are
more
likely
than
parents
in
the
boIom
two
groups
to
say
that
a
change
in
YSU’s
open
access
status
would
strengthen
YSU’s
reputa?on
(53%
of
parents
in
the
$51‐$100K
and
$100K+
categories
compared
to
28%
of
parents
in
the
$0‐$25K
range
and
29%
of
parents
in
the
$26‐$50K)
•  Approximately
35%
of
parents
in
the
boIom
two
income
groups
say
that
a
change
in
YSU’s
open
access
status
would
weaken
its
reputa?on,
compared
to
17%
of
parents
in
the
$51‐$100K
income
range
and
12%
of
parents
with
income
of
and
$100K+
•  Males
are
more
likely
than
females
to
say
that
a
change
in
YSU’s
open
access
status
would
strengthen
YSU’s
image
(54%
vs.
35%)
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Effect
of
Change
in
Open
Access
Status
on
Interest
Effect
of
Change
in
Open
Access
Status
on
Interest
in
YSU
%
of
Respondents
Mean
ra?ng
Inquirers
–
5.6
Non‐inquirers
–
5.7
Parents
–
5.6
Inquirers
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
Scale:
1=Greatly
decreases
interest/10=Greatly
increases
interest
If
YSU
changed
their
“open
access”
status
so
that
students
had
to
meet
requirements
to
even
get
into
YSU
as
freshman
how
would
change
your
interest
in
aIending/your
child
aIending
YSU,
on
a
scale
of
1
to
10,
with
1
being
greatly
decrease
and
10
being
greatly
increase?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
•  All
audiences
felt
similar
when
asked
how
the
change
in
the
open
access
status
would
change
their
interest
in
aIending/their
child
aIending
YSU
Notable
Differences
•  A
change
in
open
access
status
increases
interest
among
female
prospects
more
than
among
male
prospects(ra?ng
of
5.8
vs.
5.4)
•  No
notable
differences
among
parents
Awareness
of
Eastern
Gateway
Community
College
Awareness
of
Eastern
Gateway
Community
College
Yes
Inquirers
5%
Non‐Inquirers
Parents
No
100%
6%
16%
100%
100%
Are
you
aware
of
Eastern
Gateway
Community
College
that
is
being
established
in
North
East
Ohio?
YSU
IDENTIFIED
AS
STUDY
SPONSOR
•  Almost
no
one
is
aware
of
the
Eastern
Gateway
Community
College
Notable
Differences
•  8%
of
prospects
from
the
Youngstown
area
are
aware
that
EGCC
is
being
established,
compared
to
3%
of
prospects
from
other
parts
of
Ohio
and
1%
of
prospects
from
Pennsylvania
•  43%
of
Youngstown‐area
parents
are
aware
of
EGCC,
compared
to
less
than
2%
of
parents
from
other
parts
of
Ohio
and
4%
of
parents
from
Pennsylvania
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Summary,
Commentary,
and
Recommenda?ons
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Timeline
of
College
Choice
Key
Finding(s)
•  Many
students
and
parents
have
already
decided
on
a
college
by
the
?me
the
student
reaches
the
senior
year;
Female
students
are
par?cularly
likely
to
decide
early
•  Students
and
parents
report
feeling
fairly
certain
about
these
choices
Commentary
and
Recommenda?ons
•  Marke?ng
ac?vi?es
should
be
designed
to
reach
juniors
and
sophomores
•  Recruitment
efforts
should
also
be
designed
to
engage
students
well
before
they
reach
their
senior
year
•  YSU
should
have
communica?ons
plans
specifically
tailored
to
sophomores,
juniors,
and
seniors;
These
plans
should
ensure
that
students
do
not
simply
receive
the
same
communica?ons
from
the
University
year
a_er
year
•  An
effec?ve
way
to
communicate
with
any
audiences
over
an
extended
period
of
?me
is
to
develop
tools
which
cycle
and
recycle
content,
such
as
blogs
and
eNewsleIers
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Baseline
Visibility
Key
Finding(s)
•  Inquiries
and
parents
are
just
below
a
6
on
familiarity
with
YSU
(10=very
familiar)
•  The
level
of
familiarity
with
YSU
among
non‐inquiries
rates
a
4
on
the
same
scale
•  Non‐inquiries
are
significantly
more
familiar
with
Kent
State
and
Akron
than
they
are
with
YSU
(familiarity
ra?ngs
between
6
and
7)
•  Visibility
of
Kent
State
and
Akron
is
higher
than
YSU
even
among
non‐inquirers
in
PA
•  There
is
almost
no
familiarity
with
Eastern
Gateway
Community
College
Commentary
and
Recommenda?ons
•  The
purpose
of
the
marke?ng
effort
is
to
increase
familiarity
with
YSU;
Inves?ng
more
in
the
marke?ng
effort
will
help
YSU
raise
its
visibility
and
close
the
gap
between
Kent
State/Akron
•  It
is
important
for
YSU
to
recognize
that
it
is
over‐shadowed
by
Kent
State
and
Akron,
even
in
Pennsylvania;
YSU
will
need
to
work
just
as
hard
in
PA
as
it
does
in
OH
to
compete
with
these
ins?tu?ons
for
mindshare
•  The
familiarity
ra?ngs
should
be
used
as
benchmarks
over
?me
to
measure
YSU’s
marke?ng
produc?vity;
YSU
should
take
periodic
measurements
of
these
data
points
to
gauge
marke?ng
ROI
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Percep?ons
of
Academic
Quality
(1
of
2)
Key
Finding(s)
•  Given
the
op?ons
of
YSU,
Kent
State,
Akron,
Cleveland
State,
or
Slippery
Rock,
the
overwhelming
majority
of
non‐inquirers
iden?fy
Kent
State
or
Akron
as
having
the
strongest
academic
reputa?on
•  Akron
is
more
likely
to
be
iden?fied
as
excellent
by
men
as
opposed
to
women
while
the
reverse
is
true
for
Kent
State
•  Parents
with
higher
educa?on
levels
are
more
likely
to
iden?fy
Kent
State
as
having
an
excellent
academic
reputa?on
•  All
audiences,
including
YSU’s
own
prospects
and
parents,
iden?fied
Kent
State
and
Akron
as
the
ins?tu?ons
that
aIract
the
best
and
the
brightest
students
•  Kent
State
and
Akron
are
also
the
top
choices
when
non‐inquiries
are
asked
to
iden?fy
up
to
two
schools
they
would
choose
if
given
only
the
five
choices
listed
above;
Even
non‐inquiries
in
the
Youngstown
area
are
highly
likely
to
choose
Kent
State
over
YSU
•  Survey
respondents
iden?fied
the
average
GPA
of
tradi?onal
freshmen
entering
YSU
to
be
in
the
range
of
a
3.08
to
3.13
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Percep?ons
of
Academic
Quality
(2
of
2)
Commentary
and
Recommenda?ons
•  Kent
State
and
Akron
clearly
own
the
mindshare
in
YSU’s
market;
This
should
be
considered
when
making
decisions
about
the
level
of
investment
in
marke?ng
•  It
will
require
a
greater
level
of
investment
and
require
many
years
for
YSU
to
chip
away
at
the
strong
mindshare
for
excellent
academics
and
aIrac?ng
top
students
enjoyed
by
Kent
State
and
Akron
•  YSU’s
overall
academic
reputa?on
is
on
more
stable
foo?ng
than
the
extent
to
which
the
University
is
perceived
to
aIract
top
students;
This
is
notable
because
students
are
significantly
influenced
by
the
quality
of
their
peers
who
choose
to
aIend
various
schools
•  YSU
should
consider
emphasizing
the
quality
of
students
who
choose
the
University;
Top
students
who
choose
YSU
could
be
featured
in
adver?sing,
on
the
Web,
and
through
blogs
and
other
communica?ons
•  The
GPA
es?mate
offered
by
each
audience
provides
the
University
with
a
good
benchmark
to
be
used
in
years
to
come;
As
the
University
invests
in
marke?ng
and
emphasizes
academics
more
aggressively,
the
percep?on
of
the
GPA
of
incoming
freshmen
should
rise
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Percep?ons
of
Affordability
Key
Finding(s)
•  YSU
is
strongly
associated
with
affordability
•  Kent
State
and
Akron
are
s?ll
chosen
first
among
non‐inquiries,
but
YSU’s
share
of
the
market
is
significant
sugges?ng
affordability
is
a
stronger
brand
associa?on
than
overall
academic
quality
or
aIrac?ng
top
students
Commentary
and
Recommenda?ons
•  YSU
should
con?nue
to
emphasize
its
affordability
message,
but
much
stronger
emphasis
must
be
placed
on
the
academic
rigor
of
the
programs
and
the
quality
of
the
students
and
faculty
at
the
University
•  Equal
voice
should
be
given
to
the
affordability
and
quality
messages
in
all
marke?ng
communica?ons;
both
messages
should
come
through
in
force
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Percep?ons
of
the
City
of
Youngstown
(1
of
2)
Key
Finding(s)
•  The
city
of
Youngstown
is
significantly
less
likely
to
be
chosen
as
an
appealing
city
in
which
to
aIend
college;
The
top
choices,
again,
are
Akron
and
Kent
mirroring
the
findings
on
quality
and
the
percep?on
that
top
students
aIend
the
ins?tu?ons
in
these
ci?es
•  Even
Slippery
Rock,
PA
and
Athens,
OH
are
iden?fied
as
appealing
more
o_en
than
Youngstown
by
the
general
popula?on
of
inquiries
•  Caucasian
prospects
are
less
likely
than
minority
prospects
to
iden?fy
Youngstown
as
appealing
•  A
loca?on
in
a
“university
town”
is
an
enormously
influen?al
aIribute
for
both
students
and
parents
who
are
selec?ng
a
college
•  Of
five
messages
regarding
Youngtown
that
were
tested
with
each
audience,
prospects
and
parents
found
the
messages
about
the
city’s
entrepreneurial
spirit
and
the
city’s
rebirth
based
on
new
technology
and
green
industries
the
most
appealing;
Messages
regarding
Mill
Creek
Park,
the
city
as
a
center
of
arts
and
cultural
ac?vity,
and
access
to
PiIsburg
and
Cleveland
were
significantly
less
impac•ul
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Percep?ons
of
the
City
of
Youngstown
(2
of
2)
Commentary
and
Recommenda?ons
•  YSU
needs
to
be
more
aggressive
and
deliberate
about
marke?ng
the
city
the
Youngstown
as
this
is
a
very
important
factor
to
students
and
parents
and
percep?ons
of
Youngstown
are
significantly
less
than
favorable
•  The
percep?ons
of
Youngstown
are
lagging
significantly
behind
other
university
towns;
Thus,
it
is
important
to
recognize
that
shi_ing
percep?ons
of
the
city
will
require
diligent
effort
over
?me
•  Marke?ng
around
the
city
should
emphasize
the
most
appealing
aspects
described
above;
Almost
sole
focus
should
be
on
the
entrepreneurial
spirit
of
the
city
and
on
the
new
technology
and
green
industry
progress;
other
marke?ng
messages
that
might
water
these
down
should
be
avoided
•  YSU
should
consider
how
Web
2.0
tools
could
be
used
to
promote
the
appeal
of
the
city;
blogs
and
social
networks
for
entrepreneurs,
Web
sites
tracking
the
city’s
progress
•  YSU
should
build
a
repository
of
tes?monials
about
student
connec?ons
with
emerging
businesses
in
Youngstown
that
can
be
used
in
brochures
and
on
the
Web
•  YSU
should
consider
developing
marke?ng
communica?ons
specifically
dedicated
to
promo?ng
the
city
of
Youngstown
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
“Open
Access”
(1
of
2)
Key
Finding(s)
•  When
asked
about
the
impression
created
by
the
term
“open
access,”
all
respondents
generally
report
a
posi?ve
or
favorable
impression
•  When
respondents
were
provided
with
an
explana?on
of
“open
access,”
almost
80%
of
each
audience
reported
the
descrip?on
would
not
change
their
impression;
For
the
small
percentage
who
said
it
would,
the
impression
was
generally
changed
for
the
beIer
•  The
“open‐access”
label
is
significantly
more
likely
to
influence
the
college
choice
of
a
lower
ability
student
as
opposed
to
a
higher
ability
student
•  About
half
of
the
popula?on
of
each
audience
iden?fied
YSU
as
an
open‐access
ins?tu?on;
these
figures
were
about
the
same
for
Kent
State
and
Akron
and
the
respondents
that
iden?fied
YSU
as
“open
access”
generally
reside
closer
to
the
campus
•  The
more
compelling
findings
regarding
the
open
access
status
were
uncovered
when
respondents
were
asked
how
the
University’s
image
would
be
affected
if
students
had
to
meet
admission
criteria
to
be
accepted
as
freshmen;
While
a
third
of
non‐inquiries
said
this
would
weaken
the
image
of
the
University,
48%
said
it
would
strengthen
the
image
and
21%
said
it
would
have
no
impact
(higher
income
parents
were
par?cularly
likely
to
say
the
change
in
admission
criteria
would
strengthen
the
image
of
YSU)
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
“Open
Access”
(2
of
2)
Commentary
and
Recommenda?ons
•  The
decision
regarding
YSU’s
open
access
status
is
a
mission
decision
as
opposed
to
a
marke?ng
decision;
However,
the
marke?ng
impact
of
such
a
decision
is
an
important
considera?on
•  If
the
University
were
to
require
that
all
students
meet
admission
criteria
to
be
accepted
as
freshmen,
it
would
improve
the
University’s
image,
par?cularly
among
higher
ability
and
higher
income
families
•  Making
the
change
to
admission
criteria
would
be
a
significant
step
in
terms
of
closing
the
large
gap
that
exists
between
the
percep?on
of
YSU
and
its
top
two
compe?tors,
Kent
State
and
Akron;
There
is
no
other
single
decision
outside
of
a
major
infusion
of
marke?ng
dollars
that
is
likely
to
have
as
significant
an
impact
on
closing
the
quality
percep?on
gap
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Marke?ng
Messages
(1
of
2)
Key
Finding(s)
•  The
idea
of
working
on
real
projects
for
clients
and
working
on
undergraduate
research
projects
are
significantly
mo?va?ng
for
students,
par?cularly
high
ability
students
•  The
idea
that
YSU
professors
are
approachable
(rather
than
only
being
interested
in
working
on
their
own
research
projects)
is
enormously
effec?ve
in
increasing
interest
among
prospects
and
parents
•  The
idea
that
YSU
is
diverse
and
that
many
students
are
able
to
work
while
aIending
college
also
have
significant
appeal,
though
the
idea
of
working
while
in
school
is
significantly
more
appealing
to
lower
ability
students
as
opposed
to
higher
ability
students
•  The
concept
of
working
in
college
is
less
appealing
to
students
who
want
to
study
in
the
liberal
arts,
social
sciences,
or
STEM
fields
than
it
is
to
those
who
want
to
study
in
other
fields
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
Marke?ng
Messages
(2
of
2)
Commentary
and
Recommenda?ons
•  Generally
speaking,
families
are
most
concerned
about
the
quality
of
the
student’s
major
program
and
cost
•  YSU
has
already
made
a
significant
dent
in
communica?ng
the
affordable
aspect
of
the
University,
but
needs
to
expand
its
messaging
to
infuse
more
of
an
academic
message
•  This
can
be
achieved
by
tou?ng
the
“real
project”
and
undergraduate
research
work
described
above
in
marke?ng
communica?ons
•  When
emphasizing
research
ac?vi?es,
the
University
must
be
aware
that
the
student
(as
opposed
to
faculty)
research
should
be
communicated;
In
the
ideal
scenario,
the
faculty
would
be
featured
working
on
and
suppor?ng
the
students’
research
•  Diversity
and
the
ability
to
work
are
important
secondary
messages
for
YSU;
Along
with
messages
about
the
city
of
Youngstown
as
previously
discussed
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
“Urban
Research
University”
Key
Finding(s)
•  The
idea
that
an
ins?tu?on
is
an
“urban
research
university”
has
significantly
less
influence
on
prospects
and
parents
than
other
factors
tested
•  The
concept
of
an
“urban
research
university”
is
significantly
less
appealing
to
Caucasian
students
and
parents
when
compared
to
those
of
other
races;
It
is
also
less
appealing
to
higher‐income
families
when
compared
to
lower‐income
families
Commentary
and
Recommenda?ons
•  YSU’s
marke?ng
program
needs
to
be
focused
and
sharp;
Thus,
the
University
must
emphasize
those
aIributes
that
are
most
compelling
to
families
and
avoid
using
jargon
or
messages
that
are
superfluous
•  The
“urban
research
university”
label
has
significantly
less
influence
on
families
than
other
messages
tested
•  The
irony
is
that
“research”
and
the
city
of
Youngstown
(“urban”)
are
two
of
the
key
messages
that
need
to
be
emphasized
heavily
in
YSU’s
marke?ng
communica?ons
•  However,
the
label
“urban
research
university”
is
unappealing,
is
descrip?ve
only
(meaning
lacking
emo?on);
YSU
should
work
to
develop
a
more
impac•ul
label
or
tagline
www.SimpsonScarborough.com
YSU’s
Notable
Programs
Key
Finding(s)
•  YSU
is
best
known
for
its
programs
in
engineering,
educa?on,
and
nursing
Commentary
and
Recommenda?ons
•  Marke?ng
theory
suggests
that
every
organiza?on
should
accentuate
the
posi?ve;
Currently
the
“posi?ves”
in
YSU’s
“product
line”
are
perceived
to
be
engineering,
educa?on,
and
nursing
•  YSU
will
achieve
a
higher
level
of
marke?ng
success
by
employing
a
strategy
that
involves
emphasizing
its
strong
programs
in
engineering,
educa?on,
and
nursing
•  This
does
not
mean
that
the
University
should
ignore
other
programs
or
reduce
the
extent
to
which
the
admission
office
recruits
for
these
programs
•  It
simply
means
that
case
studies,
highlights,
and
profiles
that
are
selected
for
strategic
marke?ng
communica?ons
designed
to
strengthen
the
image
and
brand
of
the
University
should
emphasize
students,
faculty,
and
alumni
in
these
majors
most
heavily
(though
not
exclusively)
www.SimpsonScarborough.com