Rice's national surveys should be expanded

4/10/08 7:00pm

Rice's department of public affairs recently conducted a small survey of Rice's reputation both locally and nationally, focusing specifically on the east and west coasts (see story, page 6). Although the small sample size of 800 means the survey's results are extremely rough at best, we feel the study's implementation was time well spent for Rice. First of all, it was a good preliminary investigation into Rice's national presence. With the university looking to expand enrollment and gain national recognition for campus research, those in charge of marketing have to know where and how to target their efforts. This introductory indicator provided some general information that could help with that mission.

Of course, the university still has to conduct more detailed and expansive surveys for more accurate analysis, but the basic results from this one offered a few simple revelations: Only a middling percentage of people on the seaboards know about Rice, but the majority of the ones who do offer nothing but praise. While it is disappointing to realize that Rice lacks the national identity of, say, Stanford University, at the same time, the fact that Rice's reputation is well-respected is a good thing; it may mean the biggest part of the marketing department's job is improving name-recognition, because Rice's reputation following that speaks for itself.

We trust that the department of public affairs will take these small results as a sort of cursory challenge as Rice moves forward into a new era. For Rice to improve its standing as a global university, it has to attract students on a global scale. And those students have to hear about us first.

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