Sustaining RelationshipsBuilding Credibility and Developing Legislative

Champions

Chip Bergstrom, Bay State College, VP of Marketing Carl Spatocco, Education Affiliates, VP Regional Manager

Targeting LegislatorsUse your time wisely – identify individuals on

relevant committees and prioritize in terms of leadership

Remember which political party is in controlYou have some strategic decisions to make in terms

of who you targetResearch – bio, archived articles, religion, political

party, postsecondary education, previous employment and any alliances you should be aware of

Be prepared and cautious of what you sayFigure out what’s important to them – they will

probably listen better to you and you will be better prepared to make remarks

Identify Legislators on Relevant Committees

Education CommitteeAppropriations

CommitteeVeterans CommitteeFinancial/Banking

CommitteeChairmen and

Ranking Minority Members

Focus on Leadership, Committee Chairmen, and Ranking

Minority Members Senate

President, Majority Leader, Majority Whip, Minority Leader, Minority Whip

HouseSpeaker, Majority Leader, Majority Whip,

Minority Leader, Minority WhipChairmen and Ranking Minority

Members control the agenda/issues for their respective political caucuses

Cultivating RelationshipsReach out – target key members to meet withBe thorough in your research to find out what is

important to them, their causes, read any articles referencing them, and gather information about what they’ve championed in the past

Support your friends and their causesSupport financially for political campaignsSupport their friends’ campaigns (especially if

they are in leadership)Support their charities, causes, etc.Follow-up – always send thank you letters and

remember to provide more detail about issues covered or any requests from the meeting

Educating Members Build credibility by educating members through

coalitions and third parties Student Groups Local Businesses and Employers Policy Foundations

Educate - Arm them with statistics, data, success stories and allow them time to meet your students

Give our Legislative Champions the tools to explain why Career Colleges are such an important part of higher education

Student Groups

Students for Academic ChoiceDeveloped a leadership team, created by-

laws, collected 32,000 signatures opposing Gainful Employment, and now building database of positive student experiences

The power of this group speaks for itself!!

Business and Economic Organizations

Coalition BuildingMake sure that CEO knows that employees are our

studentsRecognize employers through scholarship fundsCreate partnerships with economic development

organizations Chambers of Commerce

Point out employers during Chamber MeetingsCoordinate with Workforce Boards

New York Workforce Investment BoardCoordinate charitable efforts with local, community

businesses

Profiles: In-depth view of who they are

The Hon. Tim Bishop (D-1st, NY)

From Southampton, NYFormer College ProvostMarried (Kathryn)Two daughters

(Megan/Molly)CatholicFirst elected in 2002

Profiles: In-depth view of who they are

Glenn W. Thompson, Jr (R-5th, PA)

From Bellefonte, PAPenn State GraduateMarried (Penny)ProtestantFirst elected in 2008Former career as a

Rehabilitation Therapist

Treat Legislative Staff as you do the Member

Staff are the key to the Members – be courteous, helpful and respectful

Staff will likely have a deeper knowledge of issues or legislation

Invite the staff to your campus; provide them with school “give-aways”, provided the law says you can

Follow-up with thank you notes and any other information or details requested

Remember names of staff and build a database with contact information to help you remember

Meet with Congressional District Staff

Many relationships formed with the district staff are long-term and will help you access the DC office

Educate them about your students, the local community, local workforce needs, and the number of career students and employees in the District

Invite them to tour your campusExample: Art Kennedy

District COS for Cong. Alcee HastingsBest friends with Cong. Elijah

Cummings

Cultivating Champions for our Students

Champions must trust you Be honest, provide factual data

and always be student-centered Educate and listen to them, and

know what is important Get to know and become a good

resource for staff Full commitment

Campus tours and broad-based support (employers, physicians, advisory board members, veterans)

Fundraising Be respectful and have

professional courtesy even when you disagree

Follow-up with thank you notes and other information requested

Recognition – provide exposure in venues they care about

Develop Tools and ResourcesTake a student-focused approach in your public

comments and any communicationWhen you meet have a one-page document

which covers your issues and any specific action needed or requested by you

You can leave other types of documents which will help in your advocacy: white-papers, brochures, data pieces, and any media clippings or newspaper articles

Use letters of support from employers, community leaders, or other businesses to show broad-based support

Power of data – Guryan Study

How to Duplicate your Success State vs. Federal

Use student-centered approach Identify key legislators on relevant committees Build relationships and leverage those relationships Remain on message: be clear and concise Be courteous to all Members and their staff Coalition building: become a main-stream player so other groups

will defend you Conduct fundraisers, host Members to your campus and visit them

in DC Know state rules and federal rules and what differences there are Continue to build credibility of our sector through articles, letters

from employers, and demonstrate accountability and performance Differences

Legislative tracking (Knowlegis, Roll Call, CQ) Politics Enlarged universe – if you are meeting a Member not from your

state, you need to know about the career college sector in their state and which schools are located there

Legislative staff vs. Committee staff, longevity, and # of staffers and issues vastly increases in Washington DC

Culture between your state capital and Washington DC