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

 

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

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

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

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

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)

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 marketing is 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)

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’

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

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)

Components of a Marketing Process

Producers and customers Evaluation of customers’ needs and

desires Design and delivery of appropriate

products Research and evaluation again

Marketing the Math Lab

Marketing the Math Lab

Students Faculty

IndirectDirect

Is Marketing a Math Lab a Necessity ?

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)

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)

In Your Opinion, How Well Prepared Are Your Students for College

Work in Math?

Very Well Prepared Well Prepared Not Well Prepared

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

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

Involvement in College Preparation Programs

No Involvement 82%

Slight Involvement 13%

Substantial Involvement

5%

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)

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

►

Degree-Granting Institutions Enrollment (NCES, 2009)

Assisting Under-prepared Students Assessment of

skills Advising Developmental

Education Academic support

services

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

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

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

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

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Tutorial FormatsMath Lab

Hours of OperationMath Lab

WebsiteHandoutsComputer

Software

MULTICHANNEL ADVERTISING

FlyersStudent WebFreshman

SeminarsClass

PresentationsWeb AdvisorInfo for

Prospective StudentsService FairsWord of Mouth

ASSESSMENT

Math Lab Attendance

Participation in Math Lab Activities

Surveys

Next

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

Market Research External

Literature Review and Current Publications

Internal Surveys Faculty Feedback Student Comments

Back to Model

Communication The Math Lab

Staff Meetings

Faculty Meetings

Faculty Seminars

Back to Model

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

Multichannel Advertising Flyers Student Web Freshman Seminars Service Fairs Web Advisor Info for Prospective Students Class Presentations Word of Mouth

Back to Model

Assessment Math Lab Attendance

Participation in Math Lab Activities

Surveys

Back to Model

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

Math Lab, Developmental Math, and Student Attitudes Toward Mathematics

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)

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

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

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

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

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. Retrieved October 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.

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?

Services Marketing ModelBerry, L. & Parasuraman A. Building a New Academic Field: The Case of Services Marketing, 1993

Back to Market Research

Models of Working Relationships

Model A: Networking and Coordination

Model B: Cooperation/Partnerships

Model C: Integrated Instruction

Back to Model

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

Service Fair

Back to Multichannel Advertising

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

SeminarsFaculty 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

Budget Seminar for Students, Faculty and Staff

Jun 25, 2009 Learn how to know where your own pennies go, and how to make a realistic budget

BUDGET SEMINAR

Thursday, June 255:00 – 6:00 p.m. Garner 107

All sessions will take place in the Math Lab at Barry’s Glenn Hubert Learning Center and are open to students, faculty and staff.

If you plan to attend, please bring your laptop if you have one and download the free trial version of the Budget Program beforehand from http://www.snowmintcs.com/ for either the Mac or Windows platform. We will also use the Excel program.

For more information, please contact Prof. James Poulos at (305) 899-4578 Go back

The Math Lab and Math Placement

The Math Lab participation in the math placement testing

Developing the math placement test Administering the placement test

Advantages: First contact with a first year student Let the students know about the Math Lab Partnership and collaboration with Math and

Computer Science Department

Mathematics Education and Global Economy (Cont.)

The top 15 highest-earning college degrees have one thing in

common-math skills (NACE, 2009)

The number of degrees awarded in the technical fields in many emerging countries has expanded faster than in the US, thus putting our nation at a potential risk at a potential disadvantage compared to the rest of the global market

Of the 2.38 million university degrees awarded in the US in 2002, only 335,00 ( 14%) were in natural sciences or engineering fields (NSF, 2002)

Profile of Today’s College Student Male: 37%, Female: 63% Working students: 63% First student generation:

82% Preparedness for College:

73% 34% - preferred lectures 42% - preferred class

discussions Most common approach:

lectures -74%, class discussions - 20%

Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education ( NASPA), 2008

Laptop computer - 83% Active use of the Internet

(3-5 hours per day) - 43% Electronic course

management system (Blackboard and/or WebCT) - 82%

Profile of Today’s College Student

NASPAStudent Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, 2008

The Mathematics Laboratory(cont.)

Worksheets, instructional materials, handouts

The Math Lab Website 200-300 students visits

per week 20 computers with

Minitab, SPSS, PhStat The SMART Board

system

Picture 379.jpg

Today’s College Students’ Characteristics (Dzubak, 2009)

Students are now increasingly visually and kinesthetically sophisticated

The visual sophistication of students is most applicable to multimedia, but not to printed materials that require substantial reading and comprehension

Students of today often demonstrate high self-esteem, but not high self-efficacy. That is, they maintain a strong self concept but lose sight of the fact that a successful outcome is based on, and consisted with, their effort and performance

The attention span of today’s adolescents is estimated to be between 10 and 15 min, as compared with 20 to25 min a decade ago

Current students appear to best prepared to perceive and process data, facts, and chunks of information

Today’s College Students’ Characteristics

Even when students find themselves engaged in the classroom that is interactive and fast paced, many struggle to remain alert and engaged in a classroom that requires extended concentration, listening , and critical thinking

Many students are extrinsically, rather than intrinsically, motivated and anticipate reinforcement for maintaining interest and successful performance, minimizing the role of student effort and time

First semester students increasingly prefer and expect a classroom to be active, interactive, and visual, in contrast with conventional college classrooms that are reflective and verbal

Technology and Marketing Improves market

research Provides Instant

communicationUse of e-mails for advertisingInternet excess to the Math Lab materialsUse of technology for assessment and surveys

ConclusionThe Marketing of the Math Lab:

Promotes an understanding of the Math Lab tutorial activities

Increases Math Lab student attendance Enhances student achievement Improves tutorial services Raises the level of tutors’ professionalism Raises the importance of the tutor’s job in students’

eyes