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Trumpeting area's virtues may prompt them to stay
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Monday, Feb 16, 2009
Is a Northeast Ohio college student more likely to stay in town after graduation if she's fallen in love with the park system, built fond memories at area entertainment venues, finished internships with local companies and created ties with people off campus?
A new Web site will test that theory.
Today, Cleveland Plus Marketing Alliance launches PlusCollege.com at http://www.pluscollege.com, aimed at 180,000 students attending 25 institutions.
The content is simple enough. A calendar of events, discount offers, and information on local internships were the top three requests of students surveyed by the site's designer, Boston-based Collegia.
Users can identify their school and get more personalized news and features, weather and links to a more localized schedule of everything from sporting and campus events to the bus schedule.
But making all of that information easily accessible can increase the chances that a student will explore the world beyond the school's borders, Collegia President Todd Hoffman said.
''If they are isolated on campus and have no reason to connect with region or city, it's almost automatic that they would choose to leave,'' Hoffman said.
His 10-year-old company has been connecting colleges and communities to improve the economic well-being and vibrancy of both in places like Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
But PlusCollege is ''the most advanced site we've done,'' he said.
For instance, the calendar uses an algorithm that takes a database of 100 activities and spotlights the ones most likely to appeal to the targeted age group.
Hoffman said the desire to keep young professionals at home is not unique to Northeast Ohio.
''Every region feels they could do better,'' he said.
But aggressive regionwide efforts to do something about it is a new trend, and Northeast Ohio is ''in the front end of the wave coming across the country,'' he said.
And because college students are ''very influenced by what they read, by what they think is a cool city,'' Hoffman said, then a Web site that helps them find a comfy coffee shop, an electric night life or valuable internships will help them see the grass is green on this side.
The George Gund Foundation provided $40,000 for the project.
Rick Batyko of Cleveland Plus said the site has the support and input of the area's college presidents, and will use a grass-roots student council to help manage the site.
Meanwhile, Cleveland Plus is confident that a Web site launched last year to attract talent to the region is making an impact.
In the past two weeks alone, ClevelandPlusLiving.com has had 1,328 unique visitors, Batyko said.
The most popular page after the home page: ''Finding a Job.''
The site was created so that recruiters, real-estate agents and human resource departments could send potential job seekers and clients to one site that would answer all their questions about what it's like to live in Northeast Ohio.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
Is a Northeast Ohio college student more likely to stay in town after graduation if she's fallen in love with the park system, built fond memories at area entertainment venues, finished internships with local companies and created ties with people off campus?
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Lorain, oh
Posted 07:13 AM, 02/16/2009
good effort, but unless this website can create good paying jobs it won't keep our graduates in Ohio
Posted 09:22 AM, 02/16/2009
For the type of person that this site is targeting, they should have no problem getting a job. Northeast Ohio has good opportunities for college grads in many fields. The unemployment rate among college grads, while higher of late, is sill MUCH lower than compared to non-grads. This is why we need to stop making excuses for not educating the youth of the Akron area.
Posted 09:33 AM, 02/16/2009
Mattvj5, that is such a close-minded view of the possibilities here.
I feel the main reason that graduates leave the state is because the mindset in Ohio is not one of innovation and entrepreneurship. Ohio trails several other states in those categories, and we therefore do not create more jobs with start-up and growing companies and firms.
The beauty in job creation is that it doesn't take major companies to provide tons of jobs. A culture of motivated, innovative people creating new ways to solve problems--even on a small scale--is enough to spark several new jobs. If something like this website can help accomplish that, new jobs can be created.
Unfortunately, it seems many residents in Ohio are embedded with the notion that the only possibility of job growth is major companies expanding (ie: Big Brother Union watching out for you). Those large factories may provide jobs, but they don't train their employees well enough for the employees to take those skills and create something bigger and better with them. That's why our union-based, assembly line factories shut down and end, while employees of IT-based companies can use their knowledge to build new companies with similar logic.
Posted 11:49 AM, 02/16/2009
I was born and raised in Akron. I am a Zip Alum. After graduating, I fled from Akron and have NEVER looked back. All of my classmates that stayed (there aren't many) lead gloomy existances because they chose to stay. The evidence is overwhelming in my eyes...GET OUT, or go down.
Front Line, KC
Posted 11:56 AM, 02/16/2009
I would have to agree with william.
I also am an Akron Alum, I was out of the area, came back for family reasons. Was the biggest mistake I have ever made. I have told my kids they should get out as soon as they graduate. When the last one leaves college in 4 years, I will be out with them.
Posted 12:50 PM, 02/16/2009
Akroudy, why not tell your kids to get out of the area now. Why should we pay to educate your kids then they will flee and go elsewhere.
Honestly, William and Akroudy are part of the problem. They spread their Akron (or NEO) sucks bit to everybody. I know many people that are happy here in NEO. They have good jobs and enjoy the area. But to some there are "no opportunities" so they decide they will leave as soon as they can. Once they have sucked a free education and other things out of the communiity.
Posted 01:02 PM, 02/16/2009
I was born and reared in the Akron area and I am a class of 1983 Akron East High graduate. I left the Akron area in 1985 because there were little if any opportunities to make any living wage. Two weeks after moving to the Dayton OH area, I found work at a local Sears store. At the time and even now, this was a work that I did not even dream I could find in the Akron area. Through the years, I have had a bit of luck and made my way through college, got married and we have a home and two sons. I am pretty happy with my lower middle class lifestyle. Since leaving the Akron area,I have kept my eye out for opportunities to bring me back home. Unfortunately, no opportunities have come by to seriously lure me and my family to live back in my hometown. I would like to live in the Akron area, but from what I have experienced, I will stay in the Dayton OH area. In addition, from what I have seen and heard from family and friends back home, it is just as well to stay down here in the Dayton OH area. So for me, the bottom line was and is that there is little if any adequate work for me to live in the Akron area. In addition, I am saddened by this because I really would like to be back home.
Posted 01:04 PM, 02/16/2009
Although I understand what they're saying, I agree that those kinds of attitudes are part of the problem. The biggest complaint I have for the region is there seems to be an overwhelming perspective that we can't build anything ourselves, we need Big Business, Big Government and Big Brother to do it for us. This is caused by generations of Union families that were told that their entire lives.
A large percentage of our population was raised believing that they need to graduate, work at a local tire headquarters where their father and grandfather worked, and everything will be OK for the rest of their lives. Upon losing their jobs, they had no clue what to do because there was no other large company requiring that kind of work, and they had learned no skill sets from their previous employer.
While other places may provide more opportunities or a better atmosphere and general outlook, I don't feel that fleeing Akron is the best answer, any more than I feel fleeing to Canada is the best way to cope with a president you don't like.
To William and Akroudy, I'm sorry that you feel that way, but thank you for admitting that you have done nothing to make the situation better.
Akron, OH
Posted 01:05 PM, 02/16/2009
ROFLMAO....
Stow, OH
Posted 02:20 PM, 02/16/2009
@ Steve and clover, obviously spoken by people who have never left this area and lived in a city or area that was booming. You don't think you need big brother or a big corp. to bring jobs ?? Go live in Boston for awhile a take note what having 30 major universities and 20 or so major hospitals brings to the area in jobs and big payrolls .I lived there I know ,you are lucky to find a hotel room during the week let alone on a weekend because of all the meetings and medical conferences that come to town .This area of NE Ohio is so anti business and over taxed that no one wants to invest here .
Broaden your horizons guys and go see how other areas do things and then you will see why people leave .
Richfield, OH
Posted 03:49 PM, 02/16/2009
Jobs. Ohio needs to shrink gov't and become the most pro business state. Then when the good jobs are here - the kids will stay after college.
Richfield, OH
Posted 03:51 PM, 02/16/2009
I grew up here and I've lived around the US. This area is nice but the gov't and tax structure are among the worst in the country. To top it off, there are so many people that are negative and expect someone to help them. Ohio needs to regain it's can do spirit - that needs to be addressed first and foremost.
Posted 04:00 PM, 02/16/2009
Wile, that's not what I was referring to. Spirit, that is.
Wile: It's not a matter of big corporations so much as the mentality the union assembly-line positions create. Big corporations obviously bring jobs. I'm not ripping those. I'm talking about the people who feel that Goodyear, Timken, Firestone and Hoover were the end all be all in the local workforce.
Spirit: You are correct regarding the negative people that expect someone to help. That's the mentality I am referring to in referencing the people who were too adjusted to their union jobs.
Lorain, oh
Posted 01:16 AM, 02/17/2009
I grew up in Akron, worked in Akron/Ohio, and also in another state for several years, but recently came back to be closer to family.
I currently own my own business in Ohio and the tax structure of this state has opened my eyes. I don't hear fellow Akron alums looking for someone to help...they just want good paying jobs, and Ohio generally does not have them.
rootstown, oh
Posted 08:54 AM, 02/17/2009
every time i go on vacation(out of state),i wonder why i even come back.ohio is a swirling toilet going down the drain.two more years and i am out!
