What Trustees Need to Know About Advocacy

1. What Trustees Need to Know About Advocacy Influencing policy before Congress and the Administration

2. What is ‘advocacy’? All actions intended to influence lawmakers’ positions • Letter-writing • Direct meetings • Phone calls • Social media contacts • Advertising campaigns • Public meetings or hearings When is advocacy appropriate? • Enhancing and protecting community colleges • Bringing pressure to lawmakers for good of community • Establishing positive two-way relationships

3. Why we advocate • Legislators have many competing interests • Special interests can obscure the public voice • Sharing experiences from the inside is helpful and informative • Democratic process provides many opportunities to engage policymakers • Sometimes being in the room is half the battle

4. What do we advocate about? • Funding and resources are primary • Majority of community college funding comes from state and local • BUT: federal student aid and workforce programs remain significant sources of institutional operating revenue (outside of tuition) • Legislation • Regulations, guidelines, reports, and commissions

5. Federal Student Aid is like a Three-Legged Stool • Each leg of the higher education stool represents an important part of federal assistance offered to enhance student access. Federal Loans – Stafford, Grad, PLUS, Perkins Grants – Pell, SEOG Tax Credits – AOTC, Section 127, Coverdell, SLID

6. Impact of Federal Student Aid on Your Campus

7. Why trustees? • Set the mission of the college • Carry out the board’s duties and responsibilities • Lay citizen, representative from the community • Politically connected • Ideal representative/advocate for the college

8. Areas of trustee expertise • Academic programs • Fiscal management • Personnel • System planning • Admissions requirements • Tuition and fees • Graduation, achievement rates • Rules and regulations

9. Elements of effective advocacy • Learn the basics of the legislative process • Know the issues • Create a consistent message that is clear and relevant • Support and encourage the president’s role as influential advocate • Attend the ACCT National Legislative Summit • Visit your Senators and Representatives in DC • Invite legislators to visit the campus • Build relationships with policymakers and staff • Continual conversation and dialogue

10. The Key to Effective Advocacy:A Common Message • Simple, short, relevant, and clear • Consistent message • When advantageous, trustees and presidents should have same message • Help legislators know they are making a positive decision • Visibility • Backup advocacy with public and media relations • Develop long term relationships with policymakers

11. The Hill Meeting Know your legislator • Their district – major cities and economic centers other than your college • The name of the Congressional staffer you may be meeting with • Have they visited your campus? • Representative’s educational background • Committee assignments Know the process • Bill numbers, content, status • Necessary steps to moving policy

12. Successful Meeting Tips • Be on time, flexible, friendly, and brief • Arrive early and be willing to wait. • Ask for support • Gauge a member’s level of support for community college priorities • Ask about your member’s priorities • As with any good relationship, it is give and take • Collect business cards • Remember to leave behind your business card and college information • Send thank you note • Establish a long-term relationship

13. Action Items Face-to-face communication is best • Be visible - Attend fundraisers, grassroots support • Invite your legislator to small social functions with college officials • Invite your legislator to speak at graduation • Encourage use of college facilities for town meetings/forums • Invite legislative staff to tour campus • Never hold a public event without inviting your local public officials

14. Importance of Persistence • Goal: ongoing, second-nature support • Two-way relationship • “Community colleges? You bet we support them, they are a top priority for Congress!” • Things to remember: • Representatives and Senators relate to their localcolleges • Congress must understand the role and priorities of the community college system

15. ACCT Advocacy Toolkit www.acct.org/advocacy • Worksheets • Op-ed template • Letter to state legislators template • State advocacy press release template • Customizable state advocacy advertisements • Glossary, Key Policies, Links and Articles for Advocacy Capitol Connection and Latest Action in Washington (LAW) Receive email updates: publicpolicy@acct.org • Breaking news:follow and friend us:

17. Contact Information Jee Hang Lee Vice President for Public Policy and External Relations 202-775-4450 jhlee@acct.org

18. Thank You