I was on deadline, knee deep in a 75 slide powerpoint presentation trying to explain a community college brand: what it is, what it isn’t, how to live the brand, how to create a brand. I was exploring every possible way to explain the brand’s relevance within the right context: competitors, employers, faculty, staff, students. Despite knowing I needed to make significant cuts, I found myself stuck on the “Analysis Paralysis Express,” and the presentation started to feel like this:

“Now, we know YOU all know what you do, but we need to talk to internal stakeholders to see what they think, then we need to talk to external stakeholders, then we need to poll everyone’s pets to see what they think as well.” 

(By the way, Sir George,  your Boston Terrier, really likes the grass where the squirrels hang out on campus.)

Since writing, “How to Fix Branding Blunders: Perception’s Effect on Community College Success”  in August, I’ve been thinking about ways community colleges can connect with a wide range of audiences to showcase their mission and value. It seemed silly that we could easily understand our value, but we still struggled to communicate it.

I’ve come to realize that one of the biggest challenges for community colleges is simply getting people to see the benefits and how they create value. Internally, we recognize our value because we understand the specific benefits—such as affordable tuition, flexible courses, and robust career support—and why those benefits matter: they help students advance their careers, improve local workforce readiness, and promote economic mobility. However, when we focus too much on communicating broad concepts of value—like affordability and access—we often overlook the tangible “things” that make that value real for students and stakeholders. 

While marketers connect the dots between what we offer and why it matters, identifying benefits requires input from departments across the college. This collaboration is essential to convey how each benefit translates into real value. This realization led me to wonder: how can we streamline collaboration to quickly identify and communicate tangible benefits that drive value for each audience, both for individual programs and the college as a whole?

This is where the community college positioning framework comes into play. It’s not just about branding or the college mission; it’s about strategically presenting these benefits and their value in a way that resonates with different audiences.

What is Positioning?

Positioning is defined as the process by which a brand or product (in this case, the college) is perceived by the market. It’s important because when you have an expansive and broad mission like a community college, your community needs to know who you are, what you do, and how you might be valuable.

The Mission is the Anchor of Positioning

Community colleges are uniquely positioned among higher education institutions. Unlike many colleges that rely on prestige or exclusivity to define their positioning, community colleges are anchored by a mission rooted in accessibility and affordability. With over 1,400 community colleges across the nation, their mission drives their positioning:

To provide an accessible, affordable path to quality education that equips diverse learners with skills aligned to community and workforce needs.

The mission is the anchor that grounds the college’s identity and guides its long-term vision, even when the educational landscape evolves. This stability allows community colleges to adapt benefits to meet current needs while staying true to the value they provide.

Positioning: A Flexible Response to Changing Context

Unlike the static nature of the mission, positioning is dynamic, shaped by the ever-evolving needs of communities, shifts in educational demands, and trends in the labor market. Each stakeholder group—students, employers, and even the college’s own employees—may view community colleges differently based on the value they find in the college’s benefits. Effective positioning leverages this context, allowing community colleges to convey their benefits that create value for each unique audience.

Avoiding Mission-Positioning Confusion

Inside community colleges, we’re all driven by the mission, but translating that into a unique, actionable position often gets tricky. With so many programs, services, and resources serving a wide range of student needs, it’s challenging to distill everything into one clear value message—so we end up relying on the mission as a catch-all. However, positioning is about specificity—it captures the personality, promise, and essence of the college. The mission states, “we serve everyone,” while positioning clarifies, “this is who we are, distinct from everyone else.”

The complexity lies in balancing the broad mission with specific benefits. Many colleges aim to highlight individual programs, but can’t articulate what makes them unique. Each department has its strengths, but those strengths don’t always translate into a clear value that fits the college’s overall narrative.

Positioning provides a clear strategy to bring everything together. By breaking down the mission into specific, actionable pillars, each program, department, and objective aligns with a cohesive story. This approach allows us to clearly show students how each program fulfills the college’s broader mission, highlighting the unique benefits we offer.

The Four Positioning Pillars

By organizing our mission into four key positioning pillars—quality education, inclusive culture, comprehensive support, and measurable outcomes—community colleges can identify benefits and clearly communicate their unique value to a diverse range of audiences.

To truly grasp how community colleges can create and communicate value, we must start with our students’ perspectives. A recent Inside Higher Ed Student Voice survey highlights significant perceptions regarding the four positioning pillars. While 73 percent of students rate their educational quality positively, there’s a concerning gap in their feelings of inclusivity and support—only 34 percent feel welcomed by career services, and a mere 20 percent express confidence in their career preparedness. 

These insights reinforce the idea that the pillars are not isolated; they are deeply interconnected. We cannot rely on just one pillar to drive strong positioning or effectively communicate value; each one amplifies the others, creating a holistic educational experience.

However, it’s not enough to merely communicate the benefits of these pillars; they must also be operationalized within our colleges. The mission must translate into tangible benefits that students can access, reinforcing their educational journeys. This operational alignment guarantees that the value we market matches the reality our students experience.

Example: If people cannot access education due to barriers such as cost, location, or other factors, then the education itself cannot effectively fulfill its purpose of promoting equity and inclusivity. A college can have quality programs and comprehensive support, but if students cannot successfully transfer or secure employment, the college’s impact is diminished.

Reflecting on these perceptions and examining how our operations align with them allows us to adapt our tactics effectively. This is where positioning truly aids our adaptability. While the four positioning pillars will continue to guide our  overall strategy, the ways we implement can and will evolve to meet the changing needs of our students and communities. By staying mindful of this connection between our positioning and operational practices, we create a cohesive experience that fulfills college goals and genuinely supports those we aim to serve.

Positioning Pillars as a Diagnostic Tool: Identify, Validate, Promote 

The positioning pillars serve as a diagnostic tool for prescribing value within context. They allow us to thoughtfully examine the interests of various audiences and validate against the college’s tangible benefits. 

Example: An adult learner may prioritize flexible, short-term certificates. To effectively communicate this benefit, we must identify which short-term certificates we offer and how our campus can provide the necessary flexibility, and then promote these offerings accordingly.

While there are various frameworks for positioning, the community college positioning pillars serve as a practical guide to:

• Identify the benefits audiences are looking for: Understanding what students and community members seek enables us to tailor our programs and services to meet their needs effectively.
• Validate the college’s claims and commitments in programs, services, and operations: By aligning our messaging with our actual offerings, we build trust and credibility with our stakeholders.
• Promote the benefits that resonate with target audiences: Our marketing efforts focus on the most relevant aspects of our mission that will attract prospective students and community partners.

Let’s take a closer look at how each positioning pillar reflects the college’s mission, operations, and benefit to create value for their communities.

1. Quality Education 

Also known as the commitment to high academic standards.

Beyond being accredited, community colleges offer multiple programs with developed and approved curriculum from well-trained professionals and academics that is often informed by local employers. 

For instance, community colleges focus on having exceptional faculty who are not only teachers, but often are industry professionals. 

If you find your college continually battling #ccstigma where your community perceives a community college degree as less valuable, then evaluate your quality education benefits by asking these questions: 

• • • • Are we continuously enhancing our academic programs to meet student and workforce needs?
      • Do we have qualified faculty who are committed to student success?
      • How do we ensure that our curriculum remains current and challenging?

2. Inclusive Culture

Also known as the commitment to equitable educational opportunities.

This is all about accessibility, which seeks to remove barriers to education for all individuals. Community colleges are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment where education is affordable, flexible, and easily available to their diverse communities.

By offering various ways to engage such as online courses, evening classes, financial assistance programs, community event spaces, community education, and more, community colleges are an easy access campus.

When it comes to inclusivity, focus on what you can control versus what you cannot. Ask yourself: 

• • • • Are our programs designed to accommodate the needs of all students, whether they are working, a parent, or commuting?
      • What measures do we take to ensure that education is affordable and accessible?
      • How do we promote an inclusive environment that supports all learners regardless of age, race, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status?

3. Comprehensive Support

Also known as holistic support of students. 

Community colleges recognize that academic success is closely tied to personal well-being, and therefore, offer a range of services designed to address the varied needs of students, such as computer loans, food pantries, free haircuts, child development centers, tutoring, and gyms (to name a few). This includes accessible academic advising, mental health resources, and career counseling, all aimed at supporting and empowering students. By prioritizing student success and well-being, community colleges create a nurturing environment that encourages persistence and achievement.

Support for each student will look drastically different depending on their circumstances. To identify benefits, ask yourself: 

• • • • What support systems do we have in place to assist students academically and personally?
      • How accessible are our resources, and do they meet the diverse needs of our student body?
      • Are we actively promoting these services to ensure all students are aware of their options?

4. Outcomes

Also known as the alignment of education with career readiness.

Positioning is anchored around achieving measurable outcomes that reflect the effectiveness of educational programs, including job placement, transfer and building skills. Community colleges are dedicated to preparing students for success in the workforce, aligning their curriculum with current job market demands.

By fostering partnerships with local employers and integrating practical experiences like internships and apprenticeships into educational programs, community colleges enhance students’ employability. This focus on outcomes guarantees that graduates are not only job-ready but also equipped to contribute meaningfully to their communities.

Going to college is a commitment of time and money that needs to have a clear benefit.  Ask yourself:

• • • • How do we measure the success of our graduates in the workforce?
      • Are our programs effectively preparing students for current job market needs?
      • What partnerships can we establish to enhance practical learning opportunities for students?

If we were to promote the benefits of one program, the benefits may be: 

• • • Quality Education: Highlight industry alignment and expert faculty involvement.
    • Support: Accessible resources like childcare, clubs.
    • Inclusive Culture: Flexibility with online/hybrid options.
    • Outcomes: Career success, job placement, salary increases.

If you’re looking for a simple formula to determine benefits from these positioning pillars, read: From Hidden Gems to Market Leaders: Strengthening Community College Propositions.

Adapting Positioning

It shouldn’t take a 75-slide presentation to capture the core value of a community college. Yet, too often, we become overwhelmed by the multitude of messages we’re trying to wrangle and the internal feedback we’re processing. We know the benefits we provide—affordable classes, flexible learning, clear career pathways—and we see how they change lives. But if we can’t communicate the benefits with simplicity and agility, we risk losing that clarity in a world that’s always shifting.

This is simplified through the community college positioning framework. It’s more than repeating our mission or listing features; it’s about aligning our message with specific, meaningful benefits for our students, employers, and community partners. And this clarity doesn’t just impact how we communicate—it shifts how we operate. By seeing and sharing our value with fresh eyes, we create room to examine our processes, focus our efforts, and change our tactics so they align with our mission.

As we continuously refine our messaging to highlight why our work truly matters, we’ll find our operations follow suit. When everyone—from admissions to career services—is engaged in the same narrative, it fosters collaboration, optimizes resource use, and creates a student experience that resonates at every touchpoint.

By bridging the gap between what we do and why it matters, we’re not merely fulfilling a role; we’re establishing a new standard for access, empowerment, and impact by focusing on delivering value—transforming ourselves from a college into a true catalyst for change and progress.