Northland Pioneer College’s Web site, www.npc.edu, and a fall registration postcard each won silver Paragon Awards from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) at the organization’s annual conference in Albuquerque, N.M., March 14 – 16.
Competing against entries from more than 250 community colleges and technical schools across the country, the awards recognize the dedication to excellence by NPC’s small, 3-and-a-half-person marketing department, which was up against colleges with much larger staffs and heftier budgets.
NPC’s Web site was transformed in less than five months from a hard-to-navigate repository of facts to an ever-expanding database of college information that is constantly being up-dated. The staff hopes to add departmental-level program pages to the site this summer, encompassing degree requirements, course descriptions and success stories about graduates from the programs.
The “Be Smart” postcard was mailed to nearly 51,000 postal customers in the college’s service area, reminding them of the start of fall classes.
The Paragon Awards competition recognizes outstanding achievement in communications at the nation’s community colleges and technical schools. It is the only national competition of its kind, exclusively honoring excellence among marketing and public relations professionals at two-year colleges.
Nearly 80 marketing and PR professionals from around the country donated their time to review and score this year’s Paragon entries. The judges confirmed the creativity, originality and unique approaches to problem-solving demonstrated by the winners.
NCMPR is an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The organization is dedicated to promoting the professional development of college communications staff in a variety of areas, including marketing, public and media relations, community and alumni relations, publications, enrollment management and special events coordination.