In our latest episode of Test. Learn. Grow., Level Agency’s President, Patrick Patterson, and Level’s Digital Marketing Lead, Jenna Bluedorn sat down with CECU’s Executive Vice President, Kelley Blanchard, and CECU’s CEO Dr. Jason Altmire to discuss the changes in the education marketing landscape, they looked ahead to this year’s Career Education Convention, and they touched upon the importance of building relationships in business and education.
Rather listen than read? There’s no denying that education has changed in the past few years. CECU has led the way through these changes as schools have transitioned to a virtual capacity. In this podcast episode, Level Agency’s President Patrick Patterson and Level’s Digital Marketing Lead Jenna Bluedorn dive into these changes with CECU’s Executive Vice President Kelley Blanchard and CECU’s CEO Jason Altmire in addition to discussing CECU’s upcoming Career Education Convention highlights.
Who is CECU?
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is a national association that represents 740 for-profit campuses nationwide. This diverse group of schools’ specializations include nursing, truck driving, welding, aviation technicians, cosmetology, auto mechanics, phlebotomy, and underwater construction divers.
CECU focuses on advocacy efforts, communication efforts, professional development (which is a driving force for these institutions), live events and webinars.
Not only does CECU stay abreast of education and business issues, but they also keep a pulse on policy and regulatory changes that happen in Washington, D.C. that impact CECU schools.
CECU and Level Agency
Both CECU and Level Agency are selective when it comes to partnerships. Marketing and recruitment have been a challenge within the education vertical so CECU takes choosing marketing partners very seriously. Level and CECU have worked together for many years, and with how the pandemic has changed education, Level and CECU’s partnership has only grown with the changes. Level and CECU have stayed connected and have kept each other aware of pivots in both marketing and education.
Recently, there has been a change in education marketing. Education marketing has become more user-centered. Level Agency is committed to making a positive connection between the schools and the students. Now, it’s about telling the students’ stories and how the educational opportunities they are experiencing impact their lives.
CECU Career Education Convention 2022
CECU’s Career Education Convention, which is coming up on May 31-June 2 in Las Vegas, NV, brings together sector leaders and industry experts in one annual event. With the release of the convention program ahead of time, Kelley and Jason hope attendees do some strategic pre-planning and really take advantage of networking opportunities. Here are a few highlights attendees don’t want to miss:
- Keynote Speakers
- Mike Rowe – Host of the Discovery Channel series, Dirty Jobs
- Jonathan Karl – ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent
- Representative Burgess Owens (UT-04) – U.S. Representative for Utah’s 4th congressional district
- Emerging Leaders Reception – In partnership with Level Agency, this event on June 1, is a networking event for new and emerging young thought leaders
CECU Resources
While on-site at the convention there is a great sense of community, and the CECU team remains incredibly accessible, there are other opportunities to plug into CECU. CECU recently started offering a few new resources. Career Education Review is a quarterly magazine that highlights news and events from around the CECU community. Jason hosts a bi-weekly podcast called Career Education Report. Twitter is also a good place to stay up-to-date as well.
Building trust in higher education is about building relationships. Both Jason and Kelley hope the strong relationships and partnerships they’ve worked hard to build over the past few years will continue to flourish in Washington, D.C. and beyond and the positive impact of these relationships will be felt by CECU schools for years to come.
If you would like to meet up with Level Agency at CECU or you’d like to know how we approach education marketing, let’s set up a call and get to know each other better.
Did we miss something? Feel free to share the successes of your organization’s culture or other thoughts on the topic!
