Concordia both ‘dynamic’ and ‘approachable’
Dynamic, approachable, worldly. These are just a few of the adjectives repeatedly used to describe Concordia by the 10,000 plus people who responded to the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken by the university.
In all, nearly 38,000 people were contacted as part of a 10-phase process that reached out to students, applicants, faculty, support staff, board members, alumni, business and opinion leaders, and members of the general population to determine perceptions related to the university’s reputation.
Working closely with The Strategic Counsel (a national market research company), the Office of the Provost conceived and implemented the survey as a way of providing a factual context to help guide planning.
Most of the surveys were quantitative (web- or phone-based) and were supported by a significant number of qualitative one-on-one or focus group interviews. The response, especially from the internal community, was remarkable; over 4,000 students took the time to complete the survey, as did 32 per cent of 789 faculty and staff.
“While we still await final results of the overall study, our ability to move forward at this point represents this administration’s commitment to act on the results of quality research being conducted in the context of the academic plan,” said Brad Tucker, Director of Institutional Planning. “The response rates, in most cases, were well beyond our expectations.”
The overall picture painted of Concordia was of an above average, highly innovative and daring institution with pockets of exceptional teaching and research. The perception of high quality was one that was more strongly communicated by members of the external community, students, senior administrators, and to a large extent by support staff; faculty members were more reserved in their descriptions.
The survey also provided Concordia’s University Communications Services (UCS) with a unique opportunity to assess the university’s positioning and image. Working in close collaboration with the Office of the Provost, Marcel Proulx, an independent strategic planner and market researcher, examined the university’s branding initiatives with the USC to see how well they represent Concordia’s character and vision for the future.
“Concordia is an exciting place at the moment and it is seen as a university on the move,” Proulx said. We need to use this momentum to position ourselves by expressing our unique strengths and aspirations in a relevant way, so as to differentiate Concordia among all other Canadian universities.”
Part of the work undertaken by Proulx and Sami Antaki, Director of Marketing Communications, was an analysis of the ways in which Canadian universities present themselves to the public. Among their findings was that a unique opportunity exists for Concordia to step forward and communicate its image on the strength of the values inherent in the university.
“It’s clear that as we move forward with developing the university’s key messages, visual expressions, and image, regardless of how and where it’s projected, we are going to have to build on the positive perceptions people have of us, and introduce elements to support where we want to end up as a University over the next five years,” Antaki said.
“We have to tell the world about what it is that we value as an institution. We also have to showcase our daring and our dynamism, and project an image of quality that is built on the diversity and worldliness we find everywhere on campus. Of course, underpinning any of our initiatives will be the fact that Concordia is uniquely approachable in the Canadian university landscape.”
It is expected that new messages, visual expressions, and communications strategies will be developed and put into action in the new year.