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Administering and marketing your program Lessons from MAS-Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. Richard Norris, Chair: MAS in Marine Conservation and Biodiversity. Scripps Institution of Oceanography Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. MAS Year-Round Calendar. 2.
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Administering and marketing your programLessons from MAS-Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Richard Norris, Chair: MAS in Marine Conservation and Biodiversity Scripps Institution of Oceanography Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation
Values to UCSD • Increase number of: • Interdisciplinary courses • TAs • Resources for other UCSD students • Increase University reach into non-traditional career paths • Build capacity in international settings • Feedback into fund-raising, awareness of brand, research collaborations 3
Business Plan • Market Analysis • How many students are there for your program? • Determine market for students • Who wants your students? • What skills do they need? • Evaluate competition to determine: • Pricing • Program features • What is your niche? • Use Market analysis for recruitment 4
Program Goals • Define measurable objectives • A ‘three year” plan for growth, structure, and quality • Use external evaluation to practice adaptive management • Align Program & Institution Goals • What are funds intended for? • How to engage Faculty? • Shared Vision • Steering Committee • Rewards for teaching, Capstone advising, leadership 5
Marketing & Planning • Web site is key element describing: • Affiliated faculty • Research programs & groups • Courses • Alumni stories • But, different audiences may respond to different messages/approaches 6
Administrative Organization • Autonomy is key to remain nimble • MAS programs are not like typical MS or Ph.D. program • Are much more competitive • Need defined program home • For advertising • Set up interdisciplinary partnerships • Foster links to NGOs, agencies, & business • Academic chair reports to Steering Committee 7
Administrative Roles • Program Representative • Academic Chair • Academic Coordinator • Instructors (including lecturers) • Marketing Specialist • Financial Management • Keep separate books 8
Leadership • As in any successful business, need committed leadership • Empower faculty & support staff decision making by providing some autonomy • Give credit for: • teaching • committee service • advising • Need new mechanisms for credit in interdisciplinary programs • Provide monetary rewards 9
Consistent Course Structure • Students need to know what they are paying for, so…. • Have consistent, published, course schedule • Set-up appointments a year in advance • Students begin to look at programs then • To simplify administration, run same course structure repeatedly 10
Admissions • Don’t take just anyone: • Bad students damage your brand… • …And are a lot of work • Have transparent process to maintain faculty support • Like a steering committee with rotating membership • Use fellowships to capture the best students • Avoid a two-tiered system of graduate education • Both MAS and Ph.D.s can learn from each other 11
Develop Placement Track Record • Track alumni • Return alumni to talk to current students • Engage market for students with: • Internships • Capstone Research • Offers to interact with students in: • Classes, • Telling life stories, • Explaining business goals 12
Develop strong feedback mechanisms • Faculty Chair and Program coordinators need to meet regularly with students to get ‘real time’ feedback • We use the “MAS Forum” for this • Then practice ‘adaptive management’ to fix problems • Hold “mixers” to engage: • Faculty involvement • Links to Ph.D. program • Links to NGO/business/government world 13