modify research paper
1
Student name
DePaul University
Office at DePaul
date
Final Draft matrix will be used to
evaluate the final paper…..
Possible grade Actual grade here
Background 5
Environments 10
Marketing Mix 10
Swot 5
Benchmark/Goals 15
Plan 25
References 10
Exhibits 20
Total =
100 100
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I. Background
Introduction to the DePaul University Office
The Office of _____ is a division of Student affairs that focuses in on the adult
population of students. They work with various resources to help adult students
transition from their lives into the academic space. They are there to provide a
helping hand to students above the age of 24 pursuing any degree at the University.
The three primary methods this office utilizes are Programs, Advocacy, and Services.
By offering these three essential methods of support, this office hopes to ensure
success to all and any Adult Students who seek it.
DePaul University has built a name on diversity and a personable experience to
learning. To help assure that all populations of students are serviced, the University
has allocated many departments. The DePaul Office not only services adult students,
but leads a joint effort to provide for Veteran Students as well as Commuter Students.
Thus this Department is known as the Office of Adult, Veteran, and Commuter
Student Affairs. Each wing uses their own coordinators and resources to provide the
best experience for their populations.
II. Environments Affecting Higher Education For Adult Students
A. The education industry is vast. This specific market of education would be
considered higher education. This encompasses colleges, universities, specialty
programs, and any sort of higher learning. It larger than a 10 billion dollar
industry and growing every year. Competition for the education industry is the
work force or services where possible students begin working or enlist in
government programs. They also compete with households because many may
choose to be stay at home parents. The Higher Education Industry has many
subsets of programs and offices that help enhance the education experience for
Students. Advocacy programs compete with athletics and other inner school
departments. They also compete with hobbies such the gym or outside clubs with
no affiliation with the school. The amount of students seeking higher education is
a market of about 21.6 Million projected to be about 24 Million by the year 2020.
31% of Undergraduate enrollments are of Adult students (Aslanian 4). These are
adults seeking higher education through undergraduate, graduate, and professional
training programs.
B. Technology is a huge aspect of higher education. Industry trends show that the
education system is moving towards further collaboration with technology. Online
classes and workshops are just the beginning as more and more technology is
brought into the classroom. Technology such as online infrastructure, databases,
Comment [sk1]: Use headings in syllabus for each section in Environments
Comment [sk2]: Should discuss if other universities have similar offices, in detail.
Comment [sk3]: Follow syllabus: use number in reference page, no name needed.
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profiles, video classrooms, data sharing, E-Learning, etc. all will help the industry
grow and move in the right direction. As more and more technology is introduced
it finds its way into the classrooms and helps to enhance the learning process
(Mitra 3). According to an Aslanian Market Research study, 9.9 Million students
have taken at least 1 online course. And 3.3 Million go to school exclusively
online. On- Line training has become prevalent in most workplaces and has even
reached secondary education. On-Line course enrollment is still has three times
the growth rate of traditional enrollment (Riedell 2). In turn it shapes the
landscape of what students must deal with to obtain their education. Therefore in
the Student affairs scope to provide student support and advocacy it is essential to
understand how technology affects the education process and how it can in turn
be used to communicate and reach the Students. To be able to provide support to
students in the education industry, technology will be a necessity.
C. The economy plays a significant role in many industries of business. The higher
education industry is heavily influenced by the economic turns. Every year the
prices of education increase on an average 5% (Bidwell 2). So it is becoming
more and more difficult for students to afford a higher education. One individual
in the Industry quoted “Possible graduate students are turning away from recruiter
because they simply can’t afford the rising tuitions.”(Stewart). As the economic
times fluctuate and prices rise or fall it takes a direct toll on how many students
pursue a higher education and how much they get involved with the programs at
their universities. So the industry is actually fairly price elastic in the sense that it
will directly change the landscape. Pricing of universities drives this notion that as
students, specifically Adult students seek education the price they have to pay will
impact that decision. So in this case both universities and the industry as a whole
are price elastic.
D. Legal and Political factors play a role in Higher education as well. Legal and
Political policies effect government funding and financial aid. These are essential
tools for Higher education to be an option for many students. Political decisions
affect payrolls and development in many parts of the country. Those decisions
ultimately shape the opportunity students may have to pursue a higher education.
Some Adult learners may be in search of certain credentials through education
programs. Often times Legal or Political landscapes shape the necessity of
qualifications and credentials. Outside of that it does not directly influence the
Student affairs or advocacy.
E. Trends in this industry are the higher rate of Adult students returning to school.
This is a huge shift in people returning to school after they have worked or are
working. The basic buying behaviors of students are moving towards
diversification of the student body. Diversification in the sense that various types
of students are now joining various types of programs. With money playing a
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factor many students are turning to online degrees where they can obtain their
education from the comfort of their home. The demand for higher educated
positions in the job market directly related to how many students are returning to
school to pursue or finish degrees. In 2020 it is projected that Minority students
will outnumber white students on college campuses. Most high school students in
the near future will be exposed to online education. After an in depth study into
Adult Student traits, the Aslanian Market Research team found some great
insights. They found that Adult Students today tend to be females who have
families and juggle multiple jobs. It is important to note that adult students come
from many walks of life, thus having a wide variety of motivations to continue
education. 30% of Adult learners return to school in order to change their career.
23% of them return to advance in their current career. So over 50% of Adult
students are in school for progression in their professional lives. An interesting
stat was that 9% if these students are returning for personal reasons not related to
their career (Aslanian 16). Learning Patterns show that Adult Learners are seeking
degrees, certificates, licenses, and the lowest percentage are those just seeking
specific courses. The ethnicity of Adult Learners seeking higher education tends
to vary. Though there are distinct patterns that show a majority are White with
Hispanic and African American both displaying high growth rates. Adult students
are attracted to Hybrid study programs that move at a fast pace. Social elements
also influence this process because there are many social pressures to be educated
in terms of quality of life.
III. The Office of DePaul University Marketing Mix
A. The Target Market for this Office is very specific. They target Degree seeking
students at DePaul University who fall into the Adult Category. This is defined by
an age range that is above 24. Regardless if they are pursuing an undergraduate or
graduate degree, they can be serviced by this office. They also target Veterans
who have served as well as Commuter students. Now at first this may seem like a
very wide spread mix, and truthfully so it actually is. But the key here is
recognizing that the true target audience is those who seek help transitioning into
a traditional structure of education but come from a nontraditional background.
The total number of Adult Undergrad Students enrolled at DePaul is 3,887
students (IRMA).This makes up 23.67% of the Student body. The schools within
the university within the highest concentration of Adult Students include the
School for New Learning, CDM, Commerce, and LAS. This is a very internal
market because the DePaul Office is not responsible for bringing or attracting new
students to DePaul. They focus their efforts on retaining and supporting the Adult
Comment [sk4]: Use Marketing mix headings
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Students enrolled in the university. This niche market is 7,955 Students counting
Undegrad and Graduate programs. Of those Students the Office has been able to
reach 48.50%.
B. The office offers a combination of services. Through Programs, advocacy, and
services, this department focuses on how to provide the best services for their
target audience. They also offer the Adult Student center as a place where
students can go to study or read which is exclusive to Adult Students. They offer
Adult friendly hours at the Center as well as the events. See Exhibit C as an
example of one such event.
C. The DePaul Office does not charge money for its services. The costs are covered
by budgets supported by university funding. So truthfully the Students pay for the
services that this Office provides through their tuition. In some rare cases they
may charge for specialty events but those revenues only cover the costs of the
service, and are not used as profits.
D. The Students can obtain the offerings and services by attending the events,
coming into the Adult Student Center, or using resources shared online via
websites and social media. The Adult Center can be visited anytime from 8am-
8pm during weekdays. Events are held at various locations on either Campus or
even outside of Campus. The Office also has a presence online where students can
gain resources on the website.
E. Currently the Office uses multiple channels of Marketing to reach the Adult
Students and inform the general student body. The primary Channel would be
offline advertising in the form of Posters and Signs. The Marketing team heavily
focuses on creating flyers and posters to place and mass market across campus.
See Exhibit D as an example of these. There is also some Personal selling mixed
with Public relations involved as Coordinators from the office travel to various
outreach fairs to educate students about the office and the services it can offer.
That way they are directly approaching the audience and giving a personal touch
to the office as well as creating a great image. An important channel is integration
of the office with other university offices that can leverage Adult Student
involvement. Social media is a huge outlet for their marketing mix as well. Since
most of these students are always on the go or managing hectic schedules, the
presence they build online is very beneficial. With Tweets and Facebook updates
they share information, resources, and events directly in the hands of the
consumers. Other universities hold events for their Adult students as well but
quality and personable experience is what gives DePaul the competitive
advantage. The Structure for Marketing to Adult Students is event based and
communication based. The office Markets events on a timeline before and after
said events. The office also does continuous marketing through a consistent online
and social media presence. While Schools like UIC and Loyola offer Adult
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Programs, DePaul offers help on three platforms not including an entire center
dedicated just to helping their population of students. Refer to Exhibit E for shots
of how this helps the students.
IV. SWOT Analysis
After analyzing the DePaul Office there are many things worth considering as far as
the SWOT is concerned. The strengths really come out strong when one examines the
benefits provided by the department. The office offers various programs, services,
advocacy, and a center. Putting all of these together one of the strengths the possess is
the fact that they have a unique offering. They are winning on two levels here, both
on quantity and quality. They offer daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly programs each
catering to a specific niche need in the market. Some examples of these would be the
graduate thesis conference, wine and cheese receptions, relaxation therapy,
scholarships, personal financial counseling, and of course free coffee at a quiet study
spot. Individually these may not be considered strengths because many other
universities and departments can offer such programs. But since this department
combines many of those services into an all in one “go-to” experience it becomes a
strength and a unique offering. Another great strength of this office is the strong
University backing. The Director and Assistant Director are very keen on staying in
tune with the Values of the University and gaining full support. Students can come to
DePaul with a sense of trust and guarantee that they will receive a quality experience.
The quality is carried top down from department to department and the DePaul Office
can definitely leverage such a strong University name in its operations. A very unique
strength displayed by this office falls in its advocacy. Now as mentioned many
programs and universities hold events for Adult Students. The strength that DePaul
can leverage is their commitment to advocacy: The fact that any student can walk in
on any day and obtain guidance on any subject matter. With training in counseling the
Directors in this Office are certified to help students in many different ways. Every
person and student has their own journey through life and education, the office stands
as a helping hand of support for Adult Students to succeed. Many students take pride
to be a part of community centered on the efforts of this office. These are just a few
strengths that really help position the office in the area they would like to thrive in.
Weaknesses exist in all aspects of business and the best way to deal with them is to
recognize them. The DePaul Office has a few weaknesses that would need to be
addressed. The first would be an over extension of resources. In short they are spread
too far wide and cannot focus in on their numerous target markets. The ranges of
Adult, Veteran, and Commuter Students are way too broad to be joined into one. This
Comment [sk5]: USE SWOT headings in this section
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is a weakness because then no one group can get the best services or special focus. A
simple restructuring where each population gets their own director and acts as their
own business unit would help the blurring of lines. Another weakness is lack of brand
recognition. Most Students are not aware that such an Office exists and is there to
help, therefore they fail to use the resources provided for them. Brand Recognition is
a huge weakness because without the students the services will fall through.
Opportunities are what help businesses grow and reach higher levels. The DePaul
Office has a few very key opportunities to act upon. One such opportunity would be
the support of the Graduate School. Currently there is not much collaboration
between the office and the Graduate Programs. Cross Marketing may be a solution to
help the Office gain students and the program gain a marketable asset. Almost all of
the students who are in the Graduate programs at DePaul would fall into the target
market. Therefore a joint venture with them would result in great resources and brand
awareness for the DePaul Office. Currently there is an adequate degree of interaction
between other academic offices, if this were to increase and assets were pulled
together, perhaps there could be a mutual benefit. This would be an opportunity to
help the Office grow its population and refine its resources. Another opportunity
would be an investment in technology. The education is being shaped by technology
and it would be highly beneficial for this office to allocate its resources to doing the
same. Adult Students especially may not always have the liberty to come physically
to school. If the Department would invest in making more of its programs online or
using technology to connect them together, it would be highly beneficial and
rewarding. These are just two opportunities worth addressing; there is always room
for refinement and growth.
Many businesses fail or lose share because they aren’t proactive and are blindsided by
a threat they never expected. Therefore it is very essential for a business to recognize
threats in the marketplace or industry that could hurt them. Threats for the DePaul
Office exist as well. The increasing prices in tuition across the globe for education
pose a massive threat to the operations of this office. As tuition prices rise it becomes
more and more difficult for Students and particularly Adult Students to afford going
to a University. This reduces the population this office is chasing and makes future
strategy difficult. This can be considered of the greater threats. The others as based
upon trends that seem to be creating risk in the marketplace. Please Refer to Exhibit F
for the full SWOT diagram.
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V. A Statement of the Benchmark and Marketing Goal
The DePaul Office is doing many great things and helping students in various
respects. After some analysis it would be accurate to say that they are capturing
somewhere around 25% of their target audience of students of attend DePaul. A
marketing goal to set here would be an increase of 10% so to be able to capture 35%
of their audience on a consistent basis. This means of the 3,887 Adult Undergrads
they should be able to reach and retain 1,360 of them. Gaining an additional 10% of
the population will help the network and community grow. 10% increase would be an
additional 388 Adult Students to reach and have on the database. It will also provide
great insights for the office to help strategize. Lastly, it will help an additional 10% of
students who may not have known they could be receiving such help. Again this
office does not directly recruit students to DePaul. The most they can do is help create
a desirable environment for the students already enrolled, so by increasing that reach
10% the affects can foster that environment.
VI. The Solution to reach the Goal
In order to hit 35% of the Adult Student Body and gain their loyalty to the Office
there are various steps that must be taken. In order to execute a marketing goal of this
caliber the office must go back to the basics and build up. This plan is entirely
focused on retention of students. The Steps are fairly clear:
1. Focus Groups
2. Awareness Campaign
3. Restructuring of Programs
4. Execution of Events
5. Data Collection and Strategy
The first step is based in focus groups. In the constantly changing environment of
communication it is important to use valid consumer insights. The DePaul University
currently uses very outdated consumer insights based on invalid data. Therefore to
begin a revamp of the marketing tasks it is essential to gather new qualitative and
quantitative data. This will be done by conducting focus groups to have discussion on
communication and collect insights on the best ways to communicate. These would
be gaged through 5 basic questions:
Who do you want communicating to you?
Comment [sk6]: Good these benchmarks and goals are numeric, measurable.
Comment [sk7]: This is the Plan, not rehash of facts from earlier…..
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What do you want to be communicated?
Where do you wish to be reached?
How often do you wish to be reached?
When is the best time to reach you?
Once these parameters have been addressed it would also be beneficial to gain
insights on the behavior of the target audience. What their interests, hobbies, etc. are.
These types of answers will help the department gain a better understanding of their
students and help them create content that is relevant. There would have to be
multiple focus groups each dedicated to a specific population of students. These
students would have to be pulled at random from a large pool of quality candidates.
They would have to be held in small groups to avoid group think and ensure original
results. These insights would have to be documented and then shared with the
directors to plan a new strategy.
The next step is an awareness campaign. This campaign will use aspects of guerilla
marketing to spread the word of the Office and their goals. The way this will be
communicated would be a use of the insights gained from the focus groups. For
example let’s say that the Population preferred email newsletters from the office
twice a week with content about upcoming events and school news. Then the
campaign would highlight and create buzz about how these new newsletters will be
released. The key will be to create a new brand image showing that the office is
invested in created a personable experience for all Adult Students. This would be a
multi-channel campaign with presence online as well as physical ads and personal
selling. This Campaign will feature hashtags like #WeKnowAdultStudents to
highlight the research done to revamp the strategy. The following step will then be to
actually re-approach the strategy.
The third step is the restructuring of programs by the DePaul Office. This means that
using the insights the success of the awareness campaign the office will now roll out
their programs featuring a revamped communication/ marketing strategy. Now that
they have been re-strategized, they are much more appealing and digestible for the
target audience and they will be more likely to engage. They will take a close look at
all the services and programs and make sure they all fit into the new strategy based
upon the insights. It would be very possible that some programs do not. For example,
they may learn that twice a week meetings are not desirable and once a month
meetings are the optimal option. So it will be about adjusting all of the offerings of
the office to fit the strategy and marketing goal, which ultimately is to increase
penetration to 35% of the adult student body.
Comment [sk8]: Research design is good, but not the plan.
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The fourth step is actually running these programs and events. Once everything is
restricted and augmented to fit the right strategy, it is ready to be rolled out. This step
will be the timely execution of the offerings of the office. Adult Students are
prompted to enroll in the Database at events. They can register for these events
through orgsync or other DePaul friendly services. Once these are executed the Adult
students will be able to directly engage with the brand. This will gain their trust and
show them the quality services that they can gain. This execution will entitle all of the
promotional mix. Product and pricing do not directly apply since the Product has been
optimized in the previous step and there is no price for these services. However
Distribution and promotion will be essential factors to draw in the additional 10% of
the Adult Student body.
The final step is data collection and analytics. This step will ensure that the efforts
being implemented on the new strategy are heading in the right direction. This can be
done through post service surveys to be filled out by those consumers who have used
offerings. Once real time effects of the new strategy are collected they can be logged
and analyzed. Those analytics will be essential to tracking how well the new strategy
is working and will help guide any changes that must be made. Measurable results
will be key to reach a 10% increase in penetration. This step involves constant
tracking evaluation of success. Therefore it must be very clear to the entire
department what the goals are and how they will be reached. Once this step becomes
regular, the others can follow in a 2-3 year cycle. These will ensure quality results
from well-planned strategy. This plan will create an agenda on how exactly to attract
students to the Office of Adult Students. Various research tactics can be implemented
but at the end of the day the answer is consumer research. In order to build a strong
following the Office has to invest in educating itself on the students it is chasing.
These insights are essential to the survival of this program.
Comment [sk9]: Finally, got to fairly extensive steps for your plan. Not perfect, but great start.
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VII. Reference Page
1. Aslanian, Carol. "Adult Learner Enrollment Management." Education
Dynamics. Aslanian Market Research, 16 July 2013. Web. 28 May 2014.
2. Baum, Sandy. "Trends in Higher Education." Trends in Higher Education.
The College Board, 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
<https://trends.collegeboard.org/>.
3. Bidwell, Allie. "Rise in Tuition." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 24
Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/10/24/the-rise-in-tuition-is-
slowing-but-college-still-costs-more>.
4. DePaul. "DePaul University." DePaul University. DePaul University, 2014.
Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.depaul.edu/Pages/default.aspx>.
5. “Investigating the Influence of Standards: A Framework for Research in
Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education." Investigating the
Influence of Standards: A Framework for Research in Mathematics, Science,
and Technology Education. The National Academies, 2001. Web. 30 Apr.
2014. <http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10023&page=71>.
6. Mitra, Sramana. "The Future of Education: 10 Trends To Watch." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sramana-mitra/the-future-of-education-
1_b_4617335.html>.
7. “Public Resources." Institutional Research & Market Analytics. Trans. James
Stewart. DePaul University, 2014. Web. 04 June 2014.
8. Riedel, Chris. "THE Journal." 10 Major Technology Trends in Education --.
Ed-Tech Group, 03 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
<http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/03/10-major-technology-trends-in-
education.aspx>.
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9. Silber, Jeffrey. "EIA - Education Industry Association." Industry Trends/Data.
Education Industry Association, 21 Aug. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.educationindustry.org/industry-trends-data>.
10. Stewart, James. "Adult, Veteran and Commuter Student Services - Welcome."
Adult, Veteran and Commuter Student Services - Welcome. DePaul
University, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
<http://studentaffairs.depaul.edu/adultstudentservices/>.
Comment [sk10]: Very nice job on researching the industry and issues.
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Exhibits (Figures)
Exhibit A – Divisional Chart
Source: DePaul Student Affairs
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Exhibit B
DePaul Adult Student Statistics
Exhibit C?? Comment [sk11]: This information should really be helpful in developing plan to get to the specific students.
15
Source: IRMA DePaul Data
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Exhibit C
Help offered to the students at hours of convenience
Source: Adult Student Media
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Exhibit D
Examples of Posters used to promote events
Source: Adult Student Media
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Source: Adult Student Media
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Exhibit E
Online Presence of the Office
Source: Adult Student Facebook page
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Exhibit F
SWOT Chart
Source: Adult Student Affairs Communications
Strengths
Unique Product Offering
Strong University Backing
Personal Touch
SWOT
Weaknesses
Mismanagement of Resouces
Lack of Brand Recognition
Internal Communication
Opportunities
Graduate Program
Technology
Shift in Adult Students
Threats
Tuition Prices
University Resource Allocation
Online Programs
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Exhibit G
Adult Learner Market Data
Source: Aslanian Market Research