In what is being billed as the first of its kind in the nation, a collaborative group of 11 Milwaukee area colleges and universities has launched a Web-based marketing and recruitment tool intended to promote Milwaukee as a great place for college students.
The College Collaboration Group, formed in 1999, has developed the Web site, www.milwaukeecollegelife.com.
The site was designed for the group by OnMilwaukee.com, LLC, with input from students, and to be used by each member school as a link to their respective Web sites.
The site includes a photo tour of Milwaukee, feedback from famous Milwaukeeans, and lists of activities that appeal to students.
"We want to portray the city in a fun, vibrant, urban manner," said Jeff Sherman, one of the owners of OnMilwaukee.com.
"Milwaukee is a city of high-caliber education al institutions," said Mary Denis, vice president of marketing for the Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We know that students who want the best education, city life and culture want to come to Milwaukee for their education. That’s why we formed the College Collaboration Group in 1999. The introduction of this Web site is the fruition of the passion and commitment of local university leaders."
While other communities have produced print-based promotional pieces for their colleges, Milwaukee apparently is the first city to use the Web for such a promotion, Denis noted. But the Web was the natural media for such a promotion, college and university representatives say, because it’s the media of choice among the college-age population.
"We’re trying to reach the e-generation; there’s no doubt about it," said Fr. Robert Wild, SJ, president of Marquette University, who also noted that 5% of MU’s students are from overseas, and that the Web site will help promote Milwaukee area colleges to more of those kind of students.
"Web sites have been an open door to new students," added Nancy Zimpher, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
At the Medical College of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, half of the students and residents are from out of state. And many of those students are coming to Milwaukee with spouses who may be interested in attending one of the other colleges in the area. The Web site helps promote the availability and diversity of those colleges, said Dick Katschke, assistant vice president for public affairs at the college.
And Zimpher added that the site can also be seen as another tool in corporate recruitment, as executives who are considering a move to Milwaukee often have college-age children.
A January 2000 study from McGill University in Montreal ranked Milwaukee sixth in a list of US and Canadian cities with the highest number of colleges per 100 residents.
The Web site, which each member school can customize with its own logo and other branding identity, had 6,000 viewing hits in its first month of existence, and that was before any announcement of its availability was made known, Sherman said. the site will be updated about four times per year.
The collaboration’s 11 schools, which each are contributing financially to the site, are Alverno College, Cardinal Stritch University, Marquette University, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Mount Mary College, UW-Milwaukee, Waukesha County Technical College, and Wisconsin Lutheran College.
May 10, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
