Let’s just say it: community colleges are carrying a lot right now. We’re expected to be everything — job trainer, transfer hub, safety net, innovation engine — often with fewer people and fewer resources than we had five years ago. And while the pressure keeps piling on, public attention and student interest haven’t exactly followed.
If you work in this space, none of that is surprising. You’ve probably lived it firsthand. But here’s what doesn’t get said enough: a lot of these challenges are, at their core, communication problems. Not all of them, obviously — policy, funding, and structural inequity are very real. But community college marketing, when done right, isn’t just about ads or flyers. It’s about connection. It’s about making sure people actually understand who we are, what we offer, and why it matters — in language that sticks.
Rethinking How We Talk About Enrollment
Take enrollment. Everyone’s feeling the drop, especially from adult learners and recent high school grads who are questioning whether college is worth it at all. The answer isn’t another open house or one more email blast. It’s rethinking how we talk about value.
We need to show, not just tell, how short-term credentials lead to real jobs. How flexible class schedules make it possible for working parents to keep going. How transfer agreements save students tens of thousands of dollars and actually work. If people don’t see themselves in our stories, they won’t show up. It really is that simple.
Confronting the “Just a Community College” Stigma
Then there’s the stigma. You’ve heard it: “It’s just a community college.” That phrase might not always come out loud, but it echoes in a student who applies “just in case,” or a counselor who steers someone elsewhere, or even in our own staff who unintentionally downplay the college’s impact.
That perception doesn’t shift on its own. We have to tell a better story — and we have to do it over and over again. One that highlights student success, faculty innovation, and alumni who are out there doing remarkable things. And it has to feel real. No stock photos, no copy-paste slogans. Just honest, consistent storytelling that reflects the lives we’re actually trying to serve.
Too Many Programs, Too Little Clarity
Another challenge? Most people don’t actually know what we offer. The program list is long, the website’s overwhelming, and nobody has time to decode it.
Community college marketing has to step in here — not just with a slick homepage redesign, but by translating all that information into something people can actually use. A prospective student shouldn’t need three clicks and a guess to figure out how to become a vet tech or get into an EMT program. Clear, human language isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s essential.
New Competition Is Redefining the Landscape
We’re also facing a different kind of competition than we used to. It’s not just the university down the road anymore. It’s online giants, bootcamps, YouTubers promising six-figure incomes, and job listings that don’t even require a degree.
That means we need to sharpen our own story. Our local roots, proven results, small class sizes, and real faculty who live in the communities they serve — that’s the stuff that sets us apart. But it doesn’t help if we’re not actually saying it, and saying it in the places where people are listening.
Marketing Isn’t Just About Recruitment — It Helps Retention Too
And let’s not forget retention. We work so hard to bring students in, and then too many leave. Sometimes it’s academic. More often, it’s life.
Marketing can’t fix food insecurity or the lack of childcare — but it can keep students connected. It can remind them they’re seen, that they belong here, that someone notices when they succeed. It can point them to the right resources before they hit a breaking point. And it can lift up their stories in ways that give others the courage to keep going too.
Stretching the Budget Without Losing Momentum
Budgets are tight. They’ve always been tight. So the real task is making what we do have go further.
That means being smart about repurposing content, automating what we can, and letting go of one-off vanity projects that don’t move the needle. It also means not waiting for the perfect strategic plan to land — because perfect doesn’t show up. But momentum? That we can build.
The Hardest Hurdles Are Often Internal
Honestly, sometimes the hardest part isn’t external at all — it’s internal. Change is hard. Silos are real. But if we don’t bring people along with us — if we don’t share wins, ask questions, and open the door to shared ownership — then we end up carrying the weight alone. And that doesn’t serve anyone.
Marketing Builds Trust — And Trust Builds Everything Else
At the end of the day, community college marketing isn’t just a function — it’s a relationship. It’s how we build trust with students, with faculty, with our communities. And when we get it right, that trust shows up everywhere — in enrollment, in retention, in word-of-mouth, in the way people talk about us when we’re not in the room.
Yes, the challenges are real. But so is the opportunity.
If your college is doing something creative, scrappy, or just plain smart to get through this moment, I’d love to hear about it. Because none of us are figuring this out alone.