An Institutional Communication Plan for PAREF Southridge School

Abstract

Despite its unique education offers and longevity, PAREF Southridge School still confronts difficulty attracting enrollees. The school reveals that the enrolment figures have been declining and it has not been meeting its expected numbers. External stakeholders’ surveys and social media surveys were utilized to explore the causes of this difficulty. Findings revealed that the school is not well-known among the public compared to other similar top-tier institutions, and stakeholders do not have easy access to adequate information about the school that is relevant to them. In fact, more than half of the participants did not know about the school and were uncertain about its reputation. Meanwhile, among those who answered that they were somewhat or fully familiar with the school, they became aware of its existence mainly because of the word-of-mouth; and associated the school commonly with the terms like "exclusive" and "all-boys." On top of that, the school paints a weak online presence. Hence, this paper outlines the proposed institutional communication plan to mainly raise the visibility of the school, with communication goals such as: (1) creating a school image; (2) developing a culture of communication; and (3) promoting social responsibility and public image. After that, monitoring and evaluation tools shall be used to measure its effectiveness. The plan should be fluid and not be regarded as a final document. If it is determined to be followed, it should be reviewed and adjusted when goals are met, as new communication issues arise.