PORT ANGELES — When prospective college students flip through the two college editions of US News & World Report, they will see a full-page ad featuring Peninsula College.
Although the national news magazine does not rank community colleges as it does universities, it has stringent criteria for allowing community colleges to place advertisements, President Tom Keegan said.
The magazine evaluates community colleges based on several national databases that include student, faculty and community statistics, he said.
And Peninsula College passed with flying colors, he said.
“I am so proud on behalf of the college, Keegan said.
“We don’t seek this outside recognition.”
The Peninsula College advertisement was in the Sept. 1 and Sept. 9 editions of the weekly magazine.
It cost about $4,500 per spread.
It is one of several recent opportunities to highlight the strengths of the college, he said.
In the spring, Keegan spoke to the Virginia Community College System and as part of a group of 20 college presidents for the Workforce Education on innovative approaches to education.
The discussion with the 20 presidents will later be published, he said.
Meanwhile Keegan hopes that being spotlighted in US News & World Report will let area students know about the college.
The ads are part of the annual marketing campaign.
One of the primary things that US News & World Report was looking for was diversity, Keegan said.
“To sum it up in one word, what they had to say about us as a college was: diversity,” he said.
“We are diverse not only in students and faculty, but also in the programs we offer and the diversity of partnerships we have.”
Keegan also praised the community for its support of the college.
“I think this is a reflection of those on the board and those on the foundation board, which is what allows us to have such broad diversity,” Keegan said.
“We could not do this without the full support of the local community.
“I think that it is because of that we were selected.”
The advertisement highlights the location as well as the research opportunities available, particularly in the natural sciences.
