Week+5+report

**A report by Nancy Kogin, Celeste Scholz & Nandhini** **Padmanabhan** ** Introduction ** Peter Drucker, a leading management theorist, says that "the aim of Marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells himself” (Kotler, 2009). LEEP is a very good example of such a marketing model. In this paper we examine some of the marketing issues related to LEEP. ** Recruitment **  GSLIS's Master's of Science degree program is highly competitive and continually receives more applicants than they have space to accommodate. Hence the school is in a position to turn away qualified students. Hence it is evident that there hasn't been a pressing need for an organized marketing effort. Four or five years ago there was an online open house that gave everyone a chance to find out what GSLIS was doing. However that has now been folded into the yearly ‘Research Showcase’ initiative. The Research Showcase is a one day event that usually takes place in April and is purposefully aligned with GSLIS's recruitment cycle and advertised by the Publications and Communications office. Faculty and students make presentations highlighting their scholarly work. The happenings are also recorded and archived on the Internet. This event is open to campus and the general public and helps draw interested candidates to get more information about the happenings inside the school. Very little main-stream advertising is done with print media with the exception of a brochure that GSLIS faculty take to conferences to give to prospective students. ** Marketing (Viral/Internal/Relationship/Branding) ** Najmuddin Shaik (in Demiray & Sever, 2009), reports that GSLIS does not use mass advertising to recruit students, but rather uses //viral marketing//, defined by Wikipedia as "marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of virus or computer viruses." In this regard, when students receive a quality learning experience at GSLIS, all the stakeholders (faculty, staff and former students) create a marketing campaign amongst themselves by word of mouth. The goal then is to create a quality learning experience for the GSLIS/LEEP students. This is done through //internal marketing// strategies which help staff in all areas including advising, orientation, website design, help-desk, departmental offices and IT support, to name a few, to understand that they are part-time marketers contributing their services so the students have a quality experience. (Kotler & Keller, 2009) In addition, the Office of Academic Outreach designed a student relationship management system (SRM) called Service Desk to track and streamline processes to provide consistent, personalized, and efficient student services. //Relationship marketing// strategies refer to activities used to create and maintain long-term relationships. In the education sector, this refers to "transforming students into loyal alumni" (Shaik, 2005) and Shaik concludes that GSLIS has a proven track record in this regard. Dr. Montague confirms this by calling GSLIS's alums "great ambassadors" for their programs. The University of Illinois, a traditional bricks and mortar institution, is an internationally recognized //brand//. Shaik (2009, 147) notes that it is ranked among the best universities in the world, while GSLIS's master's of science program is ranked number one in the nation. LEEP, the online scheduling option of the program, is not a separate program and therefore LEEP students use many of the bricks and mortar portions of the University and GSLIS that traditional on-campus students use and for which the university is traditionally recognized. Hence, the brand value created by the University is automatically inherited by LEEP. An example of another bricks and clicks strategy is the formation of the WISE (Web-based Information Science Education) consortium, a partnership with the information science programs at other well-established universities to broaden the range of courses all LEEP students can take. Emery noted in 2001 that "Most successful online programs are those offered by established brick and mortar schools," and this may still be true today, ten years later. ** Marketing Strategy ** Since LEEP was born, more due to a known demand and an assured target audience, a formal market feasibility study and analysis was not done at inception. Rae-Anne Montague, assistant dean for student affairs, describes the GSLIS’ strategy for promoting the program as three-pronged. First, the school works at maintaining its national reputation for teaching and research. Second, the school has developed a strong web presence to make sure information about the school and the work of faculty and students is accessible to the target audience. Third, the school cultivates its long term relationship with the alumni network. Alumni serve as “ambassadors” to the program, identifying and directing potential students to the school. In developing its marketing strategy, GSLIS has focused on the aspects of the program that give it considerable competitive advantage. LEEP is an award winning online program with ALA accreditation and part of the Nation’s number one master’s program for Library and Information Science. Another aspect of the LEEP program that makes it highly marketable, especially among its target audience of non-traditional students who lead “complicated lives,” (Montague, interview, February 10, 2011) is the flexibility it offers in terms of scheduling. LEEP students may study full or part-time and create their own schedule by selecting from a menu of both online and on campus classes. Along with flexibility, LEEP also offers students variety. According to the program’s website, “many master’s students and recent graduates cite the opportunity to design their own programs of study as a major advantage at Illinois.” LEEP and GSLIS’ participation in the WISE consortium allows the school to provide a rich course selection to students which let them create a better fit with their career goals. Overwhelmingly, it is these aspects of the program that students highlight in their testimonials posted on the school’s website. Featured testimonials, which represent the diversity of the GSLIS student body, also emphasize the support and strong sense of community in the LEEP program. However a small amount of traditional marketing does take place. The approaches include announcements placed in relevant list servs, web pages describing the program, entries in directories of distance learning programs, targeted mailing of brochures to employing organizations. GSLIS faculties also make presentations about the program in professional conferences (Bourne & Moore,2000). ** Marketing Team ** The School does not have one person who is dedicated to marketing and promoting the LEEP program. According to Dr.Montague, it is a group effort (Montague, interview, February 10, 2011). The school’s associate dean, assistant dean for student affairs, assistant dean for communication, assistant dean for advancement and alumni relation, and the director of publications and media relations make up this group. Strategy decisions for promoting the program are made collaboratively. The School’s communication department oversees promotion efforts, which includes sending out press releases about upcoming, developing and maintaining the website, and managing publications. Marketing teams from Academic Outreach and the Graduate College provide a secondary level of marketing and promotion for the LEEP program by attending educational fairs and providing information on the program to potential students. At the University-level, U of I Online provides general marketing for all online programs offered at the University of Illinois. However, this marketing is targeted to the undergraduates interested in liberal arts courses and does not match the profile of GSLIS students (Montague, interview, February 10, 2011). ** Student Retention Issues ** Student retention has never been an issue for the LEEP program. The school has maintained a retention rate of 95% or higher, according to Shaikh (2009, 185). While there is no formal process to track and analyze student attrition/retention rates, it is found that most students who join the program do manage to complete the program, most within the first year. If however there is a drop out, the reasons are mostly personal (deciding to pursue another field or career, experiencing financial difficulties or health problems) and cannot be attributed to their dissatisfaction with the program (Duffy, & Kirkley, 2004). LEEP faculty and staff constantly monitor the progress of the students and offer counseling if need be (Montague, interview, February 10, 2011). The barriers that students usually face and struggle with are juggling multiple responsibilities, lack of technology knowledge, students having difficulty understanding the concepts of online learning etc (Montague,2006). These are barriers students face in any online setting and LEEP faculty help students with their personal issues in order to help them complete the program. ** Conclusion ** Marketing is a critical component of the e-learning management process. The current ranking of the program, awards received by students and faculty and a strong web presence provide intrinsic marketing for LEEP. Future marketing initiatives will concentrate on increasing diversity within the program and enhance recruitment opportunities for its students. (Montague, interview, February 10, 2011).
 * LEEP Online Program - Marketing and Promotion Issues **

** Resources by section ** **Introduction** · Selling quote - Kotler, P. Keller, K. (2009) A framework for marketing management integrated with pharmasim. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. p 3. **Recruitment** · Research Showcase archives -[] **Marketing** · Explanation of GSLIS viral marketing - Demiray, U. Sever, S. (2009) The challenges for marketing distance education in online environment: An integrated approach, in Chapter 4: Marketing Strategies for Distance Learning Programs: A theoretical framework by Najmuddin Shaik. Published by Anadolu University. pps 147-160. http://www.midasebook.com/ dosyalar/ebook_marketing.pdf# page=153 · Internal marketing - Kotler, P. Keller, K. (2009) A framework for marketing management integrated with pharmasim. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. p 16. · Wikipedia definition of viral marketing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing · Relationship marketing - Shaik, N. (2005) Marketing distance learning programs and courses: A relationship Marketing Strategy · Emery cited in Granitz, N. Greene, S. C. (2003) Applying e-marketing strategies to online distance learning, //Journal of Marketing Education//, Volume 25, p 20 · Montague, Rae-Anne. Interview with Nancy, Nandhini, and Celeste, February 10, 2011 **Marketing Strategy** · Marketing strategies used in LEEP - Bourne, J., Moore, J.C.(2000) Learning effectiveness, Faculty satisfaction, Cost effectiveness, in Part II : Faculty satisfaction in LEEP: A web-based Graduate degree program in Library and Information Science by Linda C.Smith. pps 87 – 108. [|http://books.google.com/booksid=e7cATsVZHvoC&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=gslis+leep+retention&source=bl&ots=NoiD58XBzy&sig=GDVZW800VW0BbvFbW186TRy3fe4&hl=en&ei=xndRTbCBJMaqlAfWjtW3Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAg#v=snippet&q=leep%20retention&f=false] · Montague, Rae-Anne. Interview with Nancy, Nandhini, and Celeste, February 10, 2011 **Student Retention Issues** · Student retention issues -Duffy, T.M., & Kirkley, J.R. (2004). Interaction and engagement in leep : undistancing distance education at the graduate level. In K. Ruhleder (Ed.), //Learner-Centered Theory and Practice in Distance Education// (pp. 71-90). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., Publishers. · Demiray, U. Sever, S. (2009) //The challenges for marketing distance education in online environment: An integrated approach//, in Chapter 4: Marketing Strategies for Distance Learning Programs: A theoretical framework by Najmuddin Shaik. Published by Anadolu University. pps 147-160. [|http://www.midasebook.com/%20dosyalar/ebook_marketing.pdf# page=153|http://www.midasebook.com/ dosyalar/ebook_marketing.pdf# page=153] · Barriers faced by students - Montague, Rae-Anne (2006). //Riding the waves: A case-study of learners and leaders in library and information science education//. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Graduate College, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,IL. · Montague, Rae-Anne. Interview with Nancy, Nandhini, and Celeste, February 10, 2011