Creative Direction for a Project Spanning 15 Community Colleges
Messaging and launch communications for Massachusetts’ Credit for Prior Learning program.
When staff at Massachusetts’ community colleges described the adults they wanted to reach, they used words like apprehensive, confused, and academically insecure. These were adults with years of work or military service, and the colleges wanted them to know some of it might count toward a degree.
The 15 colleges were about to share one website for Credit for Prior Learning, paid for with a $20 million federal grant, and there was no messaging. Over three months we set the creative direction and developed the content.
Services provided:
Creative Direction
Messaging Strategy
Website Content
Stakeholder Feedback
Finding the Message
It was crucial to let visitors know their life experience was valuable. We used targeted prompts to help them immediately self-identify. “Haven’t been to college before? Been years since you’ve even been in a classroom? You’re not alone.”
Beyond the copy, we directed how each page should be laid out, down to the headline on each homepage image. Staff wanted the site to be honest that credit isn’t guaranteed and that some colleges charge fees, so both were clearly communicated. We wrote the wizard questions and the emails students got as their case moved forward the same way.
Getting 15 Colleges Behind One Launch
Each college had to upload its own program and credit information before the site could open, and its CPL staff would run every student’s case through the site once it did. We were on calls with the colleges’ CPL leads throughout.
We wrote the rollout messages for two audiences. College presidents and senior leaders got a short note asking them to encourage their teams. The staff handling the uploads got the deadline and an offer of help. When the beta opened, the announcement to specialists said the site had been built with their input at every step and that all 15 colleges could now share portfolio review resources.
Launching MyExperienceCounts
After a beta with college staff, the site launched as MyExperienceCounts.mass.edu. The grant that paid for it has since ended, and the site now runs on state funding.