COLLEGE GUARANTEE? GOOD MARKETING PLAN

Money-back guarantee? It is a common enough practice at many stores. Manufacturer and retailers with new products find such a promise entices first-time customers.

But a college in Overland Park, Kan., has taken the pledge a step further. The president of this community college made this remarkable pledge to students: satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

This bold initiative should not only help keep students, but should boost enrollment efforts. Other colleges and universities should consider jumping on this band wagon. Or are they confident enough?

Johnson County Community College offers a tuition reimbursement if graduates are unable to transfer credits to certain four-year schools or who find their training program didn't teach them the skills needed for a job in their field.

The new policy takes effect this fall.

Sure, it's a marketing ploy, but it's a dandy. The guarantee proclaims to current and potential students that the college is ready to stand firmly behind its educational product. To do so, it must have the utmost confidence in both its curriculum offering and faculty.

And there's always an element of risk. You have to be ready for the chance that someone will ask for his money back. But this community college didn't undertake the project without considerable thought and study. It examined how well graduates have done once they landed jobs or transferred to four-year institutions.

This Kansas community college is not alone. The pledge is patterned after those adopted in recent years by community colleges in Denver and Dayton, Ohio.

The Kansas community college also came up with some alternatives in case the unthinkable happens. The school has agreements with state universities in Kansas and some private colleges. If these institutions refuse to accept credits, Johnson County Community College will offer an acceptable alternative course, tuition free.

In addition, if a graduate finds his training doesn't prepare him for a job, the college will provide nine tuition-free credit hours of additional training.

And the ultimate guarantee is complete tuition reimbursement.

This is not a guarantee universities and colleges can take lightly. It could be potentially costly to some institutions of higher learning. But such an assurance would certainly catch the eye of potential students and their parents.