"Colorado Mesa University's new Featherstone University spoof takes aim at elite school stereotypes, ending with the line "We care about who you are, not who you know." Days later, The Wall Street Journal profiled High Point University in a turnaround story built on private wealth and exclusivity. Its campus features etiquette lessons, manicured gardens and an airplane cabin for networking drills."
"Colorado Mesa University's "Welcome to Featherstone" flips elite-school marketing on its head. The parody ends with a challenge: "We don't care about who you know. We care about you." For a public university serving rural, first-generation, working-class students, the message fits. CMU has built its brand on affordability, access and trust by cutting tuition, growing CMU Tech and guaranteeing free tuition for Colorado families earning $70,000 or less."
Public trust in higher education is fragile, driven by concerns over cost, access and free speech. Two marketing playbooks have emerged: anti-elitist authenticity and elite-adjacent experience. Colorado Mesa University uses a Featherstone University parody to reject elite-school stereotypes and emphasize affordability, access and programs like CMU Tech, guaranteeing free tuition for Colorado families earning $70,000 or less. High Point University embodies an elite-adjacent turnaround funded by private wealth, offering etiquette lessons, manicured gardens and an airplane cabin for networking drills, preparing students for advantage-based social capital. These divergent strategies target different student segments and respond to skepticism about higher education's value.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
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