Slow Growth to Major Growth: The Marketing of an Online Degree Program

1. Slow Growth to Major Growth: The Marketing of an Online Degree Program Dr. Roger Von HolzenMs. Darla Runyon Center for Information Technology in EducationNorthwest Missouri State UniversityMaryville, MO

2. The Failure to Thrive • Many online programs feed off traditional student enrollment • Problem has its basis in three major areas: • lack of a strategic plan • lack of fully developed online degree programs • lack of marketing*

3. NorthwestOnline • Spring of 1998 Northwest focused in on the emerging online Associate in Applied Science business degree programs • Articulated 2+2 programs • Bachelor of Science degree program in Business Management • BS in Accounting program devised later*

4. The Articulated Program • Unique aspects of these articulated programs: • up to 82-85 credit hours from the community college may be transferred into Northwest • some courses are transferred into Northwest at the junior or senior course level • Became basis for online degree completion programs* Example

5. Signed Agreements • Colorado Electronic Community College • Kansas City Kansas Community College • Metropolitan Community Colleges of Kansas City, MO • Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, IA • Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, NE • North Central Missouri College, Trenton, MO • Tulsa Community College, Tulsa, OK*

6. The Virtual Web Site • Developed NorthwestOnline.org web site • Developed in cooperation with eCollege.com • The course management software for the online courses • Support desks for faculty and students • Virtual campus services were up and running over a three month period • Facilitated and organized the internal marketing process*

7. The Virtual Web Site • Areas involved: • admissions • registration • course catalog • student services • financial aid • academic information • Helped move the campus bureaucracy very quickly into the digital, web-based era* Web Site

8. In the beginning... • NorthwestOnline.org launched in August 1999 • No one came--at least, very few • Few students signed up for the courses simply because few students knew about them! • We had forgotten to market*

9. Devising a Marketing Plan • Fall 1999 semester • Organized effort undertaken to market the online courses • Quickly became evident that beyond external marketing, additional internally marketing was also needed*

10. Internal Marketing • Focused on academic and administrative groups and departments • Goal was to streamline the bureaucratic processes for online students • Minimize number of forwarded e-mail messages and telephone calls • One stop shopping as the ultimate goal*

11. Internal Marketing • Significant challenge: Getting personnel to forgo past procedures and to devise new and innovative means of tackling problems • For example, campus network account usernames and passwords*

12. On-Campus Marketing • Promoted the availability of online courses for off-campus students during the summer trimester • Encouraged the taking of online courses as a means of shorten the time to graduation*

13. On-Campus Marketing • Marketing program focused primarily on four tracks • Track One: Need for a separate listing of the online courses in the student course offerings publication • This was in addition to the departmental listing of the courses • Helped to focus student attention on the variety of courses that were available online • Encouraged some students to sign up for more than one online course*

14. On-Campus Marketing • Track Two: Informed Northwest faculty advisors of online options • Get faculty to advise students to sign up for online courses to get around scheduling conflicts*

15. On-Campus Marketing • Track Three: Campus-wide student spam • Announced the availability of the online courses • Web address pointing to further information • Proved to be a very effective marketing technique • Option has been curtailed by the administration due to the spamming abuse* Spam

16. On-Campus Marketing • Track Four: Print advertising • Ads in the student campus newspaper • Large ads, often humorous, were placed on a weekly basis in the newspaper running up to and through the student registration period • Placement of advertising tent cards in the Union and library* Ad 1 Ad 2 Tent Card

17. Regional and National Marketing • Goal: to tap into the huge population that has not been traditionally serviced by the university*

18. Regional and National Marketing • One targeted group were high school students who were interested in taking college courses beyond the dual credit option • Posters and fliers were sent out to high schools in the University's 19 county service region • Enables students to get a head start on their college careers by enrolling in online general education courses* Poster

19. Regional and National Marketing • A second target group were Northwest alumni • Articles and announcements were placed in the alumni publication • Emphasized the option for Northwest graduates to "return to school" through the online programs in order to enhance their backgrounds or to change careers*

20. Regional and National Marketing • Posters and fliers geared to adult learners were sent out to 500 regional businesses • Addresses came from Northwest’s Career Services office • The businesses have direct links as employers of Northwest graduates • Ads were also placed in regional training publications* Poster Ad

21. Regional and National Marketing • Ads were placed in the Army's Stars and Stripes newspaper • Information about the online degree programs was uploaded to the major online search engines and online education portal web sites • Requires periodic monitoring and updating*

22. Co-Marketing • KC REACHE Consortium--8 members • Target 1,500 largest businesses in Kansas City • Spot advertisements on public TV • The co-marketing of online degree programs to AAS graduates with our articulated community college partners • Get students to return to the community colleges to take more general education courses and then transfer to Northwest to complete their BS degrees* Video Poster ePostcard

23. Enrollment Management • Northwest Online virtual campus site hosts an inquiry link allowing visitors to the site the opportunity to find out more about online courses and degree programs at Northwest • This online inquiry form is submitted electronically to the Admissions office at Northwest*

24. Enrollment Management • Once these inquires are received, a key contact person in the Admissions office replies individually to each e-mail message • Information from the inquiry forms is entered into a database of prospective online students*

25. Enrollment Management • Online inquirers are mailed: • a cover letter with a viewbook, which fully describes Northwest and its students services • a brochure which summarizes the online degree programs • Once a prospective student has been admitted to the university, he/she is connected with an online advisor to assist in the development of his/her online academic program*

26. Effectiveness of Marketing Effort • Followed a comprehensive, integrated approach to both the internal and external marketing • Targeted students who had not been traditionally serviced by the university • Led to both a steady increase in the number of courses offered online and in the number of students enrolled • Marketing budget: 0.42%-1.25%*

27. Number of online courses offered through Northwest Online

28. Students enrolled in Northwest Online courses

29. Ad

30. Dr. Roger Von Holzenrvh@mail.nwmissouri.eduMs. Darla Runyondrunyon@mail.nwmissouri.edu www.NorthwestOnline.org www.nwmissouri.edu www.nwmissouri.edu/~cite/