Join the College Marketing Network today
For just one annual college membership, all members of your marketing team can access all our free services and discounts. As a member college of CMN, you can network with colleagues, keep up-to-date and refresh your skills, much of it without leaving your desk. And when you can join us for an event, take advantage of our networking meetings, early bird rates and discounts ONLY available to CMN members.
“I was involved in National Apprenticeship Week and tasked with gathering assets; I just wanted to let you know that having all of this in one place on the members’ SharePoint was a Godsend! Thank you, you’ve saved me hours!
Ade Collins, Senior Communications Officer, LTE Group
Our member benefits include:
FREE online training events – Workshop Wednesdays are an ongoing programme of FREE training which cover trending topics in education and marketing.
Members Sharepoint site – access to a central site containing event information, resources to support your marketing and recommended suppliers from fellow college members, plus loads more useful resources.
Private group email – chat with other CMN members, share your challenges and expertise with colleagues across the country and get support while sitting at your desk!
Member sub-groups for Heads of Marketing – you’ll be in a group with 10-15 other member colleges who are not your immediate competitors, so you can speak freely and access advice and support from fellow marketers, share ideas and know you are not alone! Sub-groups meet online half-termly and also chat via group email with a focus on strategic issues.
Hot topic sub-groups – meeting online half-termly, plus email groups to communicate between meetings, these groups are demand led by members. Currently we have sub-groups for: Website Development, Internal Comms, Keep Warm Strategy and CRM systems.
Team membership – once you join as a CMN member, all of your marketing team can have access to our resources, so if you have specialists within your team they can connect with fellow specialists from other colleges.
Mentoring and professional support scheme – free peer-to-peer support between members on request.
FE First Awards – there are 14 award categories to choose from which are free to enter for CMN members and there is no limit on the number of entries. Members also get a discounted ticket rate to attend the awards gala dinner.
CMN Conference – early bird and discounted rates only available to CMN members.
Join anytime – you don’t have to wait until the start of the year or until your budget starts. Your membership will run for 12 months from the point you join.
Advertise job vacancies – share your marketing vacancies with the network and across the CMN social channels.
“The sub-groups are a great way to share thoughts and bounce ideas with like-minded marketing professionals who understand the sector.”
Sarah Cooper, Marketing Manager, Dudley College
Membership Fee
| Membership Bands | Price |
| Sixth form colleges, UTCs, academies | £345 |
| FE and specialist colleges: Band 1 (annual income up to £15m) | £495 |
| FE and specialist colleges: Band 2 (annual income between £15m and £40m) | £565 |
| FE and specialist colleges: Band 3 (annual income between £40m and £55m) | £605 |
| FE and specialist colleges: Band 4 (annual income between £55m and £65m) | £675 |
| FE and specialist colleges: Band 5 (annual income over £65m) | £725 |
Please note we are zero-rated for VAT so these figures are the total costs of membership. College income figures used as published by the Skills Funding Agency
“I’ve found real benefit from being a member of the CMN.
“The online workshops cover hot topics and trends in the sector and if you can’t make the session, they are available on the members SharePoint site which has lots of other useful resources.
“Being able to meet with other sixth forms and colleges in the online sub-group meetings, who aren’t direct competitors, is really valuable. We share experiences and best practice, discuss hot topics and it’s a good way to find out if trends we are seeing are just local to us or happening elsewhere.
“We scooped Gold for Team of the Year at the FE First Awards 2022 and that was a great boost to the team. Sixth form marketing teams do some amazing work and as a sector we need to get better at shouting about it! The FE First awards are the only awards that solely celebrate marketing in further education and it’s great to be a part of that.”
Carolyn Kirby, Head of Marketing Operations & Strategy, Queen Mary’s College, Dudley College