Marketing a Mathematics Laboratory to Faculty and Students

1. Marketing a Mathematics Laboratory to Faculty and Students By Mark Rokhfeld, Ph.D. Director, Mathematics Laboratory Barry University, Florida Math Lab Conference, August 6-7, 2009 Bowling Green State University, Ohio

2. The Presentation Overview • What is marketing? • A brief overview of developing marketing as an academic field • Is Marketing a Math Lab a Necessity? • Students’ preparedness for college • Increased demand for tutorial services • The Math Lab Marketing Model • Outcomes of marketing the Math Lab

3. Barry University • A co-educational Catholic International University located in South Florida • First opened its doors in 1940 • Over 100 undergraduate, graduate, professional, and doctoral programs • Student-faculty ratio is 13:1 • Student population is about 10,000 students

4. Defining “Marketing” • Marketing refers to the procedure that is used to design and deliver appropriate products to satisfy customers • “Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to customers” (Keefe, 2004) • According to the American Marketing Association (2007), marketing is defined as an activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large

5. Marketing and Advertising • Marketing is the systematic planning, implementing, and controlling of a mix of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for an advantageous exchange of products • Advertising is the presentation or promotion of products or services to existing or potential customers. It includes the process of developing advertising strategies such as ad placement forms and the frequency of advertising

6. Service Marketing Before 1970: interest concerned industry- specific applications The growth of service marketing as an academic field between 1970 and 1990 By 1990, service marketing became a fast-growing discipline Service marketing filled a need in the marketing process (Berry,L. & Parasuraman A., 1993)

7. Social Marketing Development of social marketing in 1971 Kotler P.& Zaltman G. (1971). Social marketing: An Approach to planned social change. Journal of Marketing Social marketingis the systematic application of marketing, along with other concepts and techniques, to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good (e.g.: health, sustainability, and recycling) (National Social Marketing Centre, 2006)

8. Social Marketing Social marketing was developed in relation to health promotion campaigns (e.g., anti-smoking campaign in 1988; campaign to prevent skin cancer in 1988) Listen to the needs and desires of the target audience Research and evaluation form the cornerstone of the social marketing process ‘Social marketing’ vs. ‘Commercial marketing’

9. Marketing the Math Lab as a Service Marketing and Social Marketing • Service Marketing: • Marketing the academic services • Social Marketing: • Helping students improve study and math skills, develop efficient learning processes, become independent learners of mathematics, and prepare them for future employment

10. Math Education as a ‘Social Good’ Excellence in math and science education in the U.S. has a direct correlation with the country’s ability to successfully compete, prosper, and feel secure in the global community of the 21st century The top 15 highest-earning college degrees required math skills(NACE, 2009)

11. Components of a Marketing Process Producers and customers Evaluation of customers’ needs and desires Design and delivery of appropriate products Research and evaluation again

12. Marketing the Math Lab Indirect Direct

13. Is Marketing a Math Lab a Necessity ?

14. Addressing the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities of the New College Student Generation Increasing demand for academic tutorial services In Barry University, (2008/09 a.y.) 772 out of total 2,169 students (35.6%) were enrolled in developmental math courses 28 % of entering freshmen enrolled in one or more remedial reading, writing, or mathematics courses in public and private 2-year and 4-year institutions (NCES, 2004) Community colleges: 42% (Wilson, 2004)

15. Defining “Preparedness” for College • The term “Under-prepared student” refers to a student whose academic skills fall below those determined to be necessary for college success • College readiness skills include the use of strategies that lead to effective study, problem solving, and critical thinking in order to progress satisfactory through college-level course work Dzuback, C.M. (2008)

16. In Your Opinion, How Well Prepared Are Your Students for College Work in Math? • Very Well Prepared • Well Prepared • Not Well Prepared

18. Mathematics Preparedness for College • Only 21% of students performed at or above proficient achievement on the new 12th grade mathematical assessment (NCES, 2006) • The majority of students enrolled in college are not prepared for college-level mathematics

19. ACT-Tested High School Seniors Taking Core Curriculum, 1993-2003

20. Involvement in College Preparation Programs

21. Math Anxiety • General and recent research on factors influencing students’ performance in mathematical studies consistently identified a student’s mathematics anxiety and his or her attitude toward mathematics as major influential components of student academic performance (Ashcraft, 2002; Perry, 2004; Tobias, 1993; Zaslavsky, 1994) • Mathematics anxiety is a widespread phenomenon • Understanding the causes and implications of mathematics anxiety and finding a way to decrease it is the key to improving academic achievement for many students (Sean, 2007)

22. Behavioral Changes and Student Learning • Significant changes have occurred in adolescents’ behavior during the last 10-15 years • Impact on students’ willingness to learn and their expectations about classrooms, teachers, and their own academic performance ►

23. Degree-Granting Institutions Enrollment (NCES, 2009)

24. Assisting Under-prepared Students • Assessment of skills • Advising • Developmental Education • Academic support services

25. The Mathematics Laboratory • Academic support • Positive learning environment • 12 professional tutors and 6 student-tutors • Developmental math through pre-calculus, calculus, statistics, physics, and computer programming

26. The Mathematics Laboratory and Marketing • Recognizing the need for marketing • Passive student participation in Math Lab activities • Low enrollment in the SI courses • Need for new tutorial programs

27. The Math Lab and Marketing Since 2006, marketing has become an integral part of the Mathematics Laboratory’s management activities Goal: not only to offer students and faculty a number of tutorial programs, but also to ensure the effectiveness of these programs and the optimum use of them by all students – service marketing Mission: by embracing the core values of diversity, learning, integrity, fellowship, collaboration, access, and the spirit of inquiry, to assist university students in developing their abilities to assess a learning task, set goals, identify strategies to accomplish the task, monitor the progress, and adjust strategies and behaviors to produce successful learning outcomes- social marketing

28. THE MATH LAB MARKETING MODEL • MARKET RESEARCH • External • Literature Review • Publications • Internal • Surveys • Faculty Feedback • Student Comments • COMMUNICATION • The Math Lab Staff Meetings • Faculty Meetings • Faculty Seminars • PRODUCTDEVELOPMENT • Tutorial Formats • Math Lab Hours of Operation • Math Lab Website • Handouts • Computer Software • MULTICHANNEL ADVERTISING • Flyers • Student Web • Freshman Seminars • Class Presentations • Web Advisor • Info for Prospective Students • Service Fairs • Word of Mouth • ASSESSMENT • Math Lab Attendance • Participation in Math Lab Activities • Surveys Next

29. Defining the Marketing of the Math Lab The marketing of the Math Lab is a process of identifying students' needs for tutorial services, collaborating with faculty, working on meeting students’ demands within the means available, developing tutorial formats, advertising them through different channels, and evaluating the outcomes

30. Market Research • External • Literature Review and Current Publications • Internal • Surveys • Faculty Feedback • Student Comments Back to Model

31. Communication • The Math Lab Staff Meetings • Faculty Meetings • Faculty Seminars Back to Model

32. Product Development • Tutorial Formats • Math Lab Hours of Operation • Math Lab Web Site • Handouts • Computer Software (Minitab, SPSS, PhSTAT, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008) • Real-time online assistance using the Smart Board Back to Model

33. Multichannel Advertising Flyers Student Web Freshman Seminars Service Fairs Web Advisor Info for Prospective Students Class Presentations Word of Mouth Back to Model

34. Assessment • Math Lab Attendance • Participation in Math Lab Activities • Surveys Back to Model

35. Outcomes of the Math Lab Marketing • Built a strong positive working relationships with University faculty and staff • Increased student attendance to the Math Lab • Improved student attitude towards mathematics • Decreased students’ level of math anxiety • Improved students’ performance

37. Enhanced self-esteem and confidence Increased motivation and self-direction Improved learning experience (Rokhfeld, 2008) Students in remediation courses are more likely to persist in college in comparison to students who were not required to take the courses (Bettinger, E.& Long, B.T.,2005) Math Lab, Developmental Math, and Student Attitudes Toward Mathematics

38. New Educational Challenges • President Obama’s American Graduation Initiative - $12 billion over the next decade • $9 billion to improve the dropout rate • $500 million toward online education • An additional 5 million community college graduates by 2020 • The development of new measures of community colleges’ success

39. The Role of Marketing in Dealing with New Educational Challenges • Focuses on the needs of students and their expectations • Targets a larger student population needing academic assistance • Involves more individuals in solving complex educational problems • Helps avoid duplication of efforts • Makes better use of academic resources

40. Is Marketing a Math Lab a Necessity ? If you want to provide effective tutorial services that reflect students’ needs, if you want to serve a large student population, if you want to have strong positive working relationships with the faculty and staff, my answer is definitely “yes” Helps under-prepared students prepare, prepared students advance, and advanced students excel

41. Thank You !

42. References • Berry L.L. & Parasuraman, A. (1993). Building a new academic field- the case of services marketing. Journal of Retailing, 69 (1), 13-59 • Croft, A.C. (2000). A guide to the establishment of a successful mathematics support centre. International Journal of Mathematics Education in Science and Technology, 31(3), 431-446. • Different perceptions of student preparedness for college. (2006, Marh10). The Chronicle of Higher Education. • Dzubak C.M. (2009). What skills and whose standards: Why are students under prepared? Synergy Volume 1.Retrieved June 10, 2009 from http://www.myatp.org/Synergy_1/Syn_1.pdf • Keefe, L.M. (2004). What is the meaning of marketing? Retrieved July 12, 2009 fromhttp://market.haloso.net/upfiles/20060527022543.doc • Lovelock,C., & WirtzE. (2004). Services marketing: People, technology, strategy. Retrieved July15, 2009 from: http://www.lovelock.com/associates/images/news/SM5ScottsdalePresentation.pdf

43. References Madhusudhan, M. (2008). Marketing of library and information services and products in university libraries: A case study of Goa University library. Library Philosophy and Practice. RetrievedOctober 14, 2008, from http://webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/madhusudhan.htm Moncrief W.C, & Cravens D.W.(1999). Technology and the changing marketing world. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 329-332. National Center for Educational Statistics( NCES, 2004). Retrieved July 20, 2007, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch Wilson C.D. (2004). Keeping America’s promise. A Report on the Future of the Community College. Retrieved July 5, 2009, from http://www.league.org/league/projects/promise/files/promise.pdf Wu, M.,& Hsieh (2008). A study for university library marketing indicators model in digital age. The Business Review, Cambridge, 10 (1), 165-170.

44. Round Table Discussion Best practices in marketing a Math Lab? Obstacles to providing effective marketing of academic services? How would the presented methods apply to and benefit your institutional setting?

45. Services Marketing Model Berry, L. & Parasuraman A. Building a New Academic Field: The Case of Services Marketing, 1993 Back to Market Research

46. Models of Working Relationships Model A: Networking and Coordination Model B: Cooperation/Partnerships Model C: Integrated Instruction Back to Model

47. Tutoring Formats • One-to-one tutoring • Seminars and workshops • SI courses for MAT 152 • One assistance through e-mail • Final exam reviews • Tutorial for nursing students • Tutorial sessions for GKT preparation • Tutoring for advanced math courses and physics • Tutorial for computer programming • Real-time online assistance using the Smart Board Back to Product Development

48. Service Fair Back to Multichannel Advertising

49. Publications Targeting, acquiring, and retaining the right customers is the core of marketing. The objective is to build working relationships and to develop loyal costumers who will do a growing volume of business during a long period of time (Lovelock C. & Wirtz J.,2007) Building effective working relationships with the university faculty and staff (Rokhfeld, M., 2005) Back to Market Research

50. Seminars Faculty seminars help to: Get feedback from the faculty about tutorial services Analyze the effectiveness of tutorial programs Offer new tutorial services Help to collaborate with adjunct faculty • Back to Model