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Riverland Community College

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Communications Department Overview

Communications Department Mission

The Riverland Community College Communications Department will effectively communicate accurate messages with creativity, through collaboration, using dynamic technology. We support teaching and learning, inspire action and instill understanding and appreciation of our college.

Mission

Riverland Community College transforms lives through excellence in service, education, and career training.

Vision

Riverland Community College will offer the best opportunity for every enrolled student to attain academic and career goals in an ever-changing world.

Values

Cultivating student growth through service, collaboration, innovation, and respect.

Heart Statement

Riverland Community College is dedicated to our students, our employees and our region.

Department Overview and History

In 1999, former Riverland President Gary L. Rhodes moved to add the Public Relations component to the Marketing mix for Riverland Community College. This made a critical difference in how we approached our day-to-day operations. The department was officially named Marketing and Public Relations. As often happens, longer names tend to get shortened in everyday discussions and the department became known as simply “Marketing” as its nickname. Although this seemed appropriate, it limited the scope and perception of what the department actually did for the college. This was the first of many steps that lead to the Communications Department as we know it now.

In 2001, Administration assigned Web operations to the Marketing and Public Relations team. As the technology advanced, the decision to add a Web Developer became a necessity. Up until that time, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations ran a Web team hired independently to create the Riverland website, Since Web content was still relatively new, the was developed using Computer Technology faculty and a few students who wrote HTML code.

The team process moved slowly and the need for faster page development and daily maintenance became obvious. Web technology was advancing at an alarming rate. We evolved from approximately 20 standard Web pages in 2001 to thousands of dynamic, responsive and interactive pages today. This addition made the two-person department three.

The scope of the department integrated many components of marketing and public relations included but not limited to:

  • Public/Media Relations
  • Marketing
  • Web Development
  • Government Relations
  • Internal Communications
  • Administration Support
  • Social Media
  • Promotion/Events
  • Publications
  • Internal/External
  • Committees/Memberships
  • Public Information Officer (Incidents)
  • Sponsorships

During the last two decades, public and media relations became one of the department's most cost-effective ways to gain powerful third-party credibility through carefully placed messages and news stories. Efforts to establish relationships with electronic and print reporters became an important part of daily operations. Because Riverland's media market is a starting ground for many reporters with fresh journalism degrees, the department changed its name to “Communications” mainly to ethically separate advertising and marketing (sales) from editorial or journalistic reporting (news). It became important to establish the department as a college resource for reporters.

The Communications department further incorporated this division of advertising and media relations by creating the role of a public relations specialist that only dealt with editorial and news content, while the director of communications dealt with the marketing and sales aspects. In February of 2009, the college eliminated the public relations specialist and the role reverted to a single position.

During the tenure of College President Adenuga Atewologun, the Director of Communications took a more prominent role in the college. As his direct report, he renamed the position, Executive Director of Communications, Media Relations and Marketing in 2014 and added the position to the President’s Cabinet as a commitment to the role the department plays in daily operations and future strategy for all internal and external communications.

Other positions in the department evolved as well. The Web Developer position took on more responsibilities as SharePoint and the rest of the Office 365 suite took more prominence in college operations. A refreshed responsive website was introduced in 2016 to enable the Website to work responsively on all mobile devices. There has been a focus on Analytics, and the development of a “mini-CRM” to handle specific program page inquires.

As the emergence of New Media (online) gained prominence, Communications once again had to evolve. Through training, the department’s Graphic Arts Specialist took on more marketing and budget responsibilities and is now a Marketing and Graphic Design Specialist. He was instumental in developing the updated Riverland Brand and brand standards for the college. He also has been helping to brand areas of the college (Main Street, lounges, exterior signage, etc.). We also updated our processes to utilize technology on electronic billboards in our communities and internal messaging through displays.

We added an Interactive Media Specialist in 2021 to assist with program videos, college videos and enhance our presence on social media.

The department of four is housed on the Austin Campus but manages Communications, Media Relations and Marketing operations for all three of Riverland’s campus communities.

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