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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