We exist because schools must constantly advance
Gowan Group is unique to the enrollment management and marketing world for independent schools and higher education institutions. We are joined and supported by an extensive list of experienced professionals across the country who represent several of the best consulting firms in the business, both strategy and design. Our focus is to offer a comprehensive approach to your enrollment management and marketing needs, some of which are listed below:
- Demographic Studies
- Marketing Audits
- Communication Audits
- Image Reports
- Admissions Guidance using MBA skills
- Research and Strategy
- Enrollment Management Coaching
- Marketing Material: print and digital
- Website Design
- Comprehensive Social Media Strategy
- Professional Development Sessions
- Speaking Engagements
As President and Founder of Gowan Group, I am a life-long educator, strategist and researcher, I recently began my third decade of school leadership having held leadership positions at schools such as Harbor Country Day, The Independence School, Hackley, Rye Country Day and Tuxedo Park School. A skilled communicator and visionary practitioner, I have led my schools through strategic and long-range plans, programmatic paradigm shifts, enrollment challenges and community divides. I bring a wealth of practical, theoretical and consultant experience to the table; I am stickler for data and detail and will make an otherwise arduous task seem like a ton of fun.
Over the years I have worked closely with trustees, faculty, parents, students, alumni, admissions and development offices. I speak on a national level on topics such as social media, marketing, admissions training, crisis management, professional development and board training.
Gowan Group will assist you in crafting the precise story that properly reflects your school’s mission, values, heritage and ethos. Through a detailed and thorough demographic study, position report and marketing/communication audits, we will assist you in marketing that message to the right audience so your school can achieve its enrollment goals.
Let’s discuss why I decided to build Gowan Group. Those of us who are deeply entrenched in the lives of schools and colleges are currently seeing a paradigm shift in the admissions office. The schools that are interested in making a change in how they attract prospective students to fill vacancies are swiftly moving from the traditional admission procedure to strategic enrollment management. We will walk you down the critical path of enrollment management to fill your vacant seats and create school solvency and resilience against any economic downturn that may affect your enrollment. The answer lies in strategic enrollment management not traditional admissions practices.
How can substantive change happen? Don’t get caught in the age-old trap of refraining from employing new strategic practices because your admissions office is stuck in their routines and ruts.
Affecting positive school change demands a bifurcated approach by creating an inclusive community and supporting changes with pertinent data. A successful and inspirational school consultant uses a combined approach to illustrate both the story behind the change as well as the supportive, quantitative data. By using this combined approach, one is allowing different types of learners to engage and synthesize critical information by targeting both sides of their brain. The first approach appeals to the theorists or the storytellers, but the analytical in all of us appreciates data! The story you share is the lifeline of your school; it’s a story of the people. Further, research tells us that schools are becoming more data-driven because data provide a history of performance, trends and a road map to create attainable and realistic benchmarks. So, climb on board and partner with us. You can join your colleagues and competition by ramping up your enrollment management strategy.
As a former school leader of 23 years, my head of school instincts can kick in at any moment. Thinking like a school head and relying on decades of sound, practical experience working with all school constituents certainly gives our informed perspective an advantage over some of the other consultants with whom one could partner.
It would be our distinct honor to have the opportunity to consult with your school on strategic enrollment management and introduce myself and some of my experts on staff. I would be excited to help solidify your community by collaboratively embracing your school’s shared vision. I am intrigued with the prospect of becoming a passionate advocate on its behalf, and I am drawn to the possibilities of becoming its newest biggest fan. Let’s begin with an initial phone conversation to discuss both your short and long-term enrollment goals and I can tell you some more about Gowan Group’s strong entrance into the independent school consulting world.
