we searched for the words stracciatella and pizza

Is Stracciatella A Soup Or A Cheese? Formulating The Right Questions To Get The Right Answers

August 20, 2015
, , The Art of Research

Pizza Pizza!

A few weeks ago, a brand new artisan pizza place opened around the corner from our offices on Walnut Street. A review of their menu showed a delicious selection of pizzas using fresh ingredients – not your typical mozzarella – most of which were in Italian.

The consultants at The Melior Group are curious by nature and enjoy good pizza. So it probably isn’t a surprise to learn that we researched the heck out of the ingredients, and discovered a new word for many of us: “stracciatella,” which was presumed a cheese, since this was a pizza place.

Using our trusty friend Google, we typed “stracciatella” into the search bar…and received surprising results. The first entries listed were for SOUP – not cheese – or anything remotely related to pizza.

A Deeper Dive into the Deliciousness of Italian Food
Other kinds of people (you know who they are) might have stopped there and given up, but the consultants at Melior are not quitters…especially when it comes to pizza. We dove deeper into the results only to find various recipes for gelato and roman-style egg-drop soup (which looks delicious).

Using clever thinking, we searched for the words “stracciatella” and “pizza” together and we finally got the results we hypothesized… some delicious looking pizza! Much lower on the list was a recipe for a homemade stracciatella – a soft, fresh cheese. Ah ha! [It turns out the word is from the Italian “stracciare”, which means to tear or shred – think shredded cheese]. This new pizza place makes its own from scratch.

What Does Seemingly Obscure Cheese Have to Do with Melior?

This whole pizza cheese search exercise reminded us of why we do what we do for our clients: we are experts at asking the right questions to get the right answers from the right people. But we also are sufficiently flexible to change our research patterns when the information we uncover doesn’t exactly makes sense or meet our objectives. And we don’t stop until we find what we’re looking for.

If you learn anything from this week’s post, it’s that stracciatella is more than just a cheese and Meliorites will always take a deeper dive to get to the right answers.

We encourage readers to google their favorite recipes and then send their results to us for a taste test (all in good research, of course). Buon appetito!

About the Melior Group:
The Melior Group was founded in 1982 to bring the disciplines of marketing research to service industries. Today, Melior is one of the region’s leading research-based consulting firms, serving organizations in the non-profit, healthcare, government, leisure, tourism, financial services/ insurance, and education sectors.

For more information or to request a proposal, please contact The Melior Group at (215)-545-0054 or [email protected].

LInda McAleer named 2015 Brava Award Winner

Smart CEO Brava Awards Honor Linda McAleer

August 7, 2015
, , , , The Art of Research

We are so proud that our President, Linda McAleer, has been named a 2015 Brava Award Winner!

As part of their July/August issue, SmartCEO Magazine honors the region’s top female business leaders. The Brava Awards program honors female CEOs, nonprofit leaders and high impact executives who combine their irrepressible entrepreneurial spirit with a passion for giving back to the community. This year’s 40 CEO and executive winners collectively generate $626.5 million in annual revenue and employ more than 7,000 individuals in the Philadelphia area.

Each winner was asked to share her thoughts on what aspiring leaders should be thinking about today. Below are Linda’s thoughts on the current state of the workforce and the rise of a new type of consumer.

Workforces have changed and customers have changed… from a workforce perspective, we are looking at multigenerational workforces who have to work together and support each other to achieve their objectives. Managing a workforce that has… learned differently, that communicates differently, and that has different work styles and goals… takes a special kind of leader who can inspire and listen and adapt.

From a customer perspective, we are now looking at an often-invisible customer… someone who interacts with a product or brand via an electronic device much more often than in person. How, then, to deliver a customer service experience that allows these invisible customers to be loyal takes an accomplished leader that will think past the today and into the tomorrow.

“Brava winners possess hallmark qualities of successful leaders — vision, passion, compassion, dedication, perseverance. Each winner in this year’s class exhibits these qualities in all facets of her life, from running her business to tending to her family and donating time and resources to philanthropic initiatives,” says Jaime Nespor-Zawmon, president of SmartCEO Events.

Congratulations to Linda and all the female CEO and executive winners!

Linda McAleer with fellow Brava Award Winner, Dianne Semingson

Linda McAleer, left with fellow Brava Award winner, Dianne Semingson, right.

Linda McAleer with Sponsor Shechtman Marks Devor PCI at 2015 Brava Award Ceremony

Thank you to our sponsors, Shechtman Marks Devor PC! Chuck Shechtman, right, with Linda, middle, and Susanne Shuster, left.

For more information about Linda’s SmartCEO award click the links below:
Linda’s full winner profile:
Brava Winners Group Videos:

About the Melior Group:
The Melior Group was founded in 1982 to bring the disciplines of marketing research to service industries. Today, Melior is one of the region’s leading research-based consulting firms, serving organizations in the non-profit, healthcare, government, leisure, tourism, financial services/ insurance, and education sectors.

For more information or to request a proposal:
Please contact The Melior Group at (215)-545-0054 or [email protected].

melior education higher education marketing

College Brochures (And Traditional Marketing Strategies) Do Not Cut It

June 26, 2015
, , , , , , Higher Education, The Invisible Customer

Is your marketing to prospective students modernized? The answer might be “Yes” if it involves much more than just brochures. I recently watched a webinar on marketing strategies for prospective students. Aimed towards admissions professionals and delivered by a data collection firm specializing in enrollment marketing and information for printed materials, it was no surprise they presented the brochure as the central focus of a college marketing campaign.

However, the overarching conclusions were simple – and known to smart marketers for some time:

  • Colleges that want to maintain or increase their admissions and enrollment numbers need to think like marketers.
  • The mentality of “build it and they will come” and “of course they’ve heard of us” no longer applies.
  • It’s important to take stock of your institution’s strengths and its reputation/brand identity, the landscape of prospective students and the factors that impact both of these.
  • Colleges that are using multiple channels (i.e. more than brochures) to reach prospective students see a higher ROI than those that use a single channel.

In essence, the webinar presenters noted what The Melior Group has been seeing for the past five years — with budgets being slashed and demands to meet admissions and enrollment targets increasing, traditional marketing strategies no longer cut it.

  • Broad-based generic messages in all formats (brochures, mailers and across social media) only work for institutions with large budgets and little regard of ROI.
  • ROI on segmented and targeted marketing strategies is much higher, but it means getting more sophisticated in how various marketing techniques are used.

I was reminded of the adage “know your customers.” In this case, it’s “know your prospective students,” but it still applies.

  • Understanding the type of student your institution attracts is critical. But even more vital is understanding the type of student you want to attract and ensuring you develop strategies to recruit them specifically.
  • Parents’ opinions are very important to millennials and colleges should have targeted strategies to reach this audience. We wrote a blog post about this just last year. Some colleges have created “parent-to-parent” groups on facebook and other social media that will allow prospective parents the chance to ask questions they might not get the answers to from their children or from a brochure.

The webinar did provide a few interesting statistics I thought I would share.

(source:InfoTrends)

The prospective college student’s attention span is decreasing while channels increase:

  • The average attention span for a high school student is 8 seconds… down from 10 seconds just five years ago… so there’s less time to make that all-important first impression than before!
  • High school students tend to have more than one email address (typically 3-5!) and they don’t use email all that frequently; but social media reigns supreme… and if you’re not using social media to target prospective students (and parents) you’re missing a huge opportunity.

Marketers of prospective students fall into three big categories:

  • One-third of college marketers have a segmented approach to marketing.
  • Another third used personalized marketing or communications plans.
  • One third are still using a mass marketing strategy to reach prospective students and are likely missing out on opportunities.

For years, The Melior Group has been supplying in-depth information and working with university clients to help them to think strategically about their marketing efforts.

We have found that marketing strategies are most successful when they include: assessments of brand equity and reputation among key audiences, intelligently designed research to develop messaging that will resonate with prospective target segments and critical insights on how to target and attract the students they want.

To learn more about our work with colleges and universities, visit our Education page or please contact Elizabeth Foley at [email protected] / 215-545-0054 x111 or Linda McAleer at [email protected] / 215-545-0054 x104.

Community Policing

President Obama Commends Camden: This “City Is On To Something”

May 15, 2015
, , , , , , , , Community Studies, The Melior Group Results

In The Melior Group’s line of work, it’s always encouraging to see the results of our research put into action by our clients. It’s even more gratifying when just two years later that President Obama is touting your client for its innovative policing model.

Such was the case, when President Obama visited struggling Camden, New Jersey, to commend the community policing model that the relatively new Camden County Metro Police have been using for the better part of two years. This new model was implemented when the County replaced the city’s police force with a new county-run force.

Before moving forward with hiring the new force, The Melior Group engaged with Camden’s residents, civic leaders, and area law enforcement to learn what was working relative to policing in the city and what wasn’t – and how they could envision the members of the new police force interacting with members of the community. Our work contributed to the community policing model – the results were incorporated in a hiring plan for new Metro police officers, emphasizing themes of cultural awareness and sensitivity, community engagement, and compassion.

See more about our work:  Case Study:  This City Is On To Something

A sitting U.S. President last visited Camden in 1940 – when Camden was in its prime. Now the city has given our current President a reason to return and pay closer attention to the city that, for decades, has been in trouble. Its issues are numerous, among them an aging infrastructure, failing schools, and broken relationships between police and the community. Despite the challenges, Camden has started to address these issues and is repairing police-community relations, to national recognition.

Take a look at two recent articles for more information:

This City Is On To Something – Philly.com May 2015

Obama To Recommend Camden Policing As National Model – Philly.com May 2015

 

For more information on our work, please visit our Government/Civic page or contact Elizabeth Foley at 215-545-0054 ext 111/ [email protected] or Linda McAleer at 215-545-0054 x104 / [email protected].

Alumni Pitfalls And Cleanup: Steps To Avoid Costly Mistakes.

May 14, 2015
, , , , Higher Education, The Art of Research

The Pitfalls Of Alumni Engagement 

Wait. What? There are pitfalls when alumni are engaged with their alma mater?

The utopian view is that university development/engagement offices are brimming with requests from alumni who want to be actively involved with their alma maters. Reality is a completely different story.

We Shudder To Think That Sometimes Alumni Can Hurt Rather Than Help

At a higher education conference I recently attended, and after talking to a few professionals, I noticed some interesting and similar stories were starting to emerge. It was pretty clear that some alumni who – at first – seemed eager to impart their wisdom and work with current students – had acted of their own accord with unintended consequences and damaging effects as a result.

  • A colleague talked about alumni who agree to advise groups, but who don’t make the time to meet with the students or take their roles as advisors seriously; leaving students ignored at exactly the time they expected assistance.
  • Volunteer alumni advisors were “helping” students by teaching them how to circumvent university risk management policies so they could still hold a previously unapproved event.
  • Despite efforts that a university was making to rebuild its brand and reputation and improve the quality of students admitted, well-intentioned alumni, remembering the “good old days” were inadvertently sabotaging the school’s efforts at recruiting events by perpetuating the old stereotypes (of a non-academic party atmosphere)… leaving students puzzled and administrators wondering how to bridge this gap.

Be Proactive To Mitigate Or Eliminate Their Mistakes In Advance

Of course, alumni are valuable to every university – they enhance small and large-scale development efforts and under the right circumstances can be great marketers for a university. BUT, as the examples above illustrate, alumni can be detrimental or counterproductive to efforts without proper oversight.

The good news is that there were a number of lessons that came from these situations that will allow a university to train, manage and monitor valuable alumni volunteers.

  • Attain buy-in on branding/re-branding efforts so alumni can be effective marketers
  • Train alumni volunteers and student advisors to encourage healthy student-alumni relationships and prevent risk management issues, have back-up plans in place.
  • Know your alumni and suggest the best engagement strategy for individuals
  • Use alumni engagement surveys and student surveys about their experience with Alumni as an excellent tool for learning – and monitoring – their shared experience
  • Redirect alumni efforts when things go sour, to help resolve a situation, but not lose the goodwill of the alum

Proactive university staff are looking to engage alumni in constructive ways and they’re learning how to effectively straddle the line between help and hurt. The Melior Group works with large research institutions, regional public universities and small private colleges to improve alumni relations.

To learn more about our work with colleges and universities, visit our Education page or please contact Elizabeth Foley at [email protected] / 215-545-0054 ext 111 or Linda McAleer at [email protected] / 215-545-0054 ext 104.

College marketing logo

Who Manages The Relationship With Area Employers? Hint: It’s Not Always Career Services

April 24, 2015
, , , , , , , , , Higher Education, The Art of Research

In our previous post in the series – “Closing The Perception Gap: Are Students Trained to Put Theory Into Practice?”- we briefly touched on the importance of advancing communications and partnerships with employers to improve the general perception about a college or universities ability to deliver on career preparation. The focus was primarily on strategies that enable students to put theory into practice. When you consider developing partnerships at the executive level, doors can open that lead to true innovation.

While internships, hands-on training and job placement opportunities are vitally important to hiring rates and alumnae career trajectories, this aspect of the employer to institution relationship is largely handled in career services departments and is almost entirely student-focused. If this is the only way the institution is engaging employers, it’s likely that significant longer-term growth strategies have been missed.

Especially important to regional public universities and small private colleges are the following questions. What local or regional challenges exist that your graduates may be highly qualified to resolve? Will they be able to develop specific skills or knowledge that give them the competitive advantage in the hiring process?

Put Market Research To Work

The Melior Group worked with a quasi-urban school district in helping them to develop and enhance partnerships with universities who, with some tweaking, could develop programs that would deliver top-notch teachers who were ready to step-in and work in the type of environment where the district is located. A true partnership, the school district worked directly with faculty to make a direct and significant positive impact on area schools.

Along the way, The Melior Group made an informed pivot in their research design and adjusted geographic parameters to discover that there were nearby rural area school districts that could also benefit greatly from the same innovative techniques. The graduates, armed with the know-how to handle challenges perceived to be urban would also be well suited to assist specific rural populations.

Original Innovation Serves A Second Purpose

Universities that are new to this type of partnership development will want to re-examine the relationships they currently have with area employers by proactively asking insightful questions. What are these employers looking for from a partnership with a university? What unique quality can the university offer an employer to make the relationship valuable?

Buy-in from the top of the administration – with accountability and responsibility at the Vice Presidential level – to develop healthy relationships with employers can significantly increase hiring rates, elevate the school’s image as an innovative partner and substantially improve the longer-term vitality of the community.

The Melior Group works with large research institutions, regional public universities and small private colleges to improve the perception of their schools’ effectiveness by discovering where gaps in perception exist and drilling into what strategic mix of programmatic, communication and partnership initiatives can allow institutions to more easily deliver on expectations.

To learn more about our work with colleges and universities, visit our Education page or please contact Elizabeth Foley at [email protected] / 215-545-0054 x111 or Linda McAleer at [email protected] / 215-545-0054 x104.

Insight and Analytics in the Age of Big Data

April 10, 2015
, , The Art of Research

Technology has enabled us to track vast amounts of data where we collect an overwhelming volume of response analytics, customer, and market data. Big data can tell us every move a customer or prospect makes. How do you use the data to make meaningful conclusions that can influence strategy and tactics?

On April 1st, we joined members of the American Marketing Association and the Marketing Research Association on the 45th Floor of the Comcast Center to grapple with this question.

After a short meet and greet, the group settled into a beautifully appointed conference room over looking the Philadelphia skyline. Event panelists included Kathleen Brunner, (President & CEO, Acumen Analytics), Jim Multari, (Executive Director, Market Planning & Research, Comcast), Aaron Maass (Founder & Owner, Maass Media) and was moderated by Lisa Dezzutti, (President & CEO, Market Connections, Inc.).

The panelists agreed that analytics should not be departmentalized and that traditional market research can lend significant insight and meaning to analytics. Jim Multari suggests that finding ways to collaborate across areas and combine resources can produce unexpected and valuable insights. For example, when you get people together across finance, acquisition, sales, user data, and they get to talking about research and analytics – new ways of thinking about the business can emerge.

Emily Nydick, Market Research Associate of The Melior Group, felt that each member of the panel provided great insight about how to move beyond “analysis paralysis.” By presenting complex research findings to clients in ways that breakdown information and highlight key points, the information becomes easy to understand and grasp for informed decision-making.

With a continually increasing data overload, it becomes ever more important to find the sweet spot at the intersection of analytics and traditional market research. Aaron Maass confirms it is hard to get good data – and the difference really comes from being able to ask good questions.

One of Melior’s hallmarks is presenting the research learnings in an easy-to-read format; we make sense of the data for our clients; and present information in reports that are easy to follow and are usually ready for distribution by our clients internally. We create user-friendly documents…and all are custom-created for the needs of each client.

While keeping business objectives top of mind, a proactive effort to marry market research with analytics in a way that distills down the information needed to tell the story – will produce the best results.

For more information or to request a proposal, please contact The Melior Group at (215)-545-0054 or [email protected].

Personalization

Are Students Trained To Put Theory Into Practice?

March 31, 2015
, , , Higher Education

How to improve perceptions and deliver on the promise of a valuable college education is a hot topic in higher education today. Through our experience working with employers and educational institutions, The Melior Group has learned that perceptions around this topic are often off the mark. At the crux of the research, The Melior Group has become aware of what could be called “An Exploration Gap.” In Part 2 of our series we explore the need for schools to help students put theory into practice.

Heavy Dose Of Real World Experience
We have learned that employers prefer candidates who can hit the ground running in their first professional job. What knowledge, abilities and experiences do employers expect this student to possess?

  • Ability to tie classroom knowledge to the professional environment
  • Have developed hard and soft skills such as such as project management, independent problem solving, clear writing and communications.
  • Diverse internship experience(s) working in a range of different areas of their desired industry.

Round Out An Individual’s Value To The Organization

With an increasingly competitive hiring environment and more cross-functional roles, employers want candidates who have been given meaningful opportunities for learning and growth. Academically strong students who have not applied classroom knowledge to the real world are at a disadvantage. Employers expect universities to assist students in obtaining internships and skill sets that help them:

  • Learn the basics of being a part of the workforce.
  • Understand how people problem-solve in a professional setting.
  • Use critical thinking skills that will contribute to their value in an organization.

Approach a new employer with a unique point of view (e.g. having interned with a competitor, a funding source, a client or a vendor.)

Today’s entry-level workforce needs a combination of softer project management skills, harder field-related skills and applied industry knowledge — and employers expect universities to deliver graduates with this combination.

Close The Gap With Communication and Partnership
Many colleges are perceived by employers to be missing the mark in preparing students for these challenges post-graduation. But, the good news is that employers welcome opportunities to learn more and discuss how graduates are being prepared for the workforce.  

In approaching employers, colleges need to demonstrate that internship programs offered are sufficient to meet the needs of both students and prospective employers. As well, the messages they’re delivering to prospective employers should showcase student internship success stories and the programs being offered (industry-relevant) and the successful outcomes from those programs.

Human Resource departments go to great expense but are often unable to find qualified talent that meets their needs. Employers actively seek to forge relationships with schools who are interested to develop students who can fulfill these roles. Colleges and Universities can take steps to develop partnerships that may include guest speakers, internship, training and job placement opportunities. Ongoing communications with employers are critical towards closing the perception gap.

The Melior Group works with large research institutions, regional public universities and small private colleges to improve the perception of their schools’ effectiveness by discovering where gaps in perception exist and drilling into what strategic mix of programmatic, communication and partnership initiatives can allow institutions to more easily deliver on expectations.

To learn more about our work with colleges and universities, visit our Education page or please contact Elizabeth Foley at [email protected] / 215-545-0054 x111 or Linda McAleer at [email protected] / 215-545-0054 x104.

Do Colleges Deliver On Career Preparation?

March 6, 2015
, , Higher Education

How to improve perceptions and deliver on the promise of a valuable college education is one of the biggest debates in higher education today. A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, In An Evolving Career Landscape, How Should Colleges Prepare Students? (see notes section below for full article,) has prompted The Melior Group to take a deeper look at this recurring and multi-layered topic.

“Closing the Perception Gap,” looks at several improvement scenarios that involve a strategic mix of programmatic, communication and partnership initiatives that will allow institutions to deliver on a series of pre-set expectations.

Through our experience working with employers and educational institutions, The Melior Group has learned that perceptions around this topic are often off the mark. That is to say, while it’s true that there is a gap between graduate preparedness and employer needs, this gap is not always as big as has been often stated in the media and there are ways to improve perceptions. While there is no single solution, The Melior Group has identified several key focus areas that can assist colleges and universities to improve the perception that an investment in higher education will in fact support a successful career.

Part 1: Messaging and Expectations: What Signals Are Being Sent Out?
In our previous blog posts and articles published nationally (see notes section below), The Melior Group has discussed work that has helped clients discover implementation strategies to close this perceived gap and improve communications about the overall value of a college education.

Included here are several of the many recent efforts that clients have taken to successfully use research to improve their reputation of delivering on the promises they make to constituents.

Track success and talk about it
Many schools do not meaningfully track graduate successes or they fail to act on the limited information they do track. While there are standardized alumnae surveys that track career type, salary and promotions at the 5-year mark post graduation, this is merely a good first step. The next step is to communicate successes to area employers, prospective students, parents and the community at large.

Additional measures to explore include:

  • Are employers pleased with the caliber of the graduates hired?
  • Are alumni sufficiently satisfied with their experiences such that they will recommend their alma mater?
  • What resources, workshops or internship programs directly contribute to hires?

Deliver a consistent brand message but focus on segmented priorities
A high-level brand message needs to consistently cross all channels and segments, but building action-oriented communications typically requires a different strategy for each audience. Understanding what each group is looking for and effectively implementing and can go a long way to closing the perception gap.

Questions to consider in developing a strategy include:

  • How, when and what is being communicated to the public and to what end?
  • Is there a disconnect between the messaging to parents/students/employers? How can this be addressed?
  • Are communications about the caliber of graduates effective? Where and how should information be shared about graduation rates to trigger more applicants?
  • Are alumnae needs supported and is an effort in place to transform them into ambassadors that will help promote the institution?
  • Is evidence of workforce preparedness clearly communicated to prospects?

The Melior Group works with large research institutions, regional public universities and small private colleges to improve the perception of their schools’ effectiveness by discovering where gaps in perception exist and drilling into how promises are perceived.

For more information or to request a proposal:
Please contact Elizabeth Foley at [email protected] or (215) 545-0054

NOTES:
Referenced Article: Chronicle of Higher Education Article
In An Evolving Career Landscape, How Should Colleges Prepare Students

Melior Article: Many points made by The Melior Group President and Founder, Linda McAleer, in her article published in University Business is still relevant today.
Meeting Today’s Workforce Needs

Recent and Relevant Melior Blog post:
Can Traditional Higher Education models survive 21st Century Expectations

Can Traditional Higher Education Models Survive 21st Century Expectations?

January 14, 2015
, , , Higher Education

Without the status of the Ivy League or a top 10 rank, institutions of higher learning are finally taking a hard look at the traditional higher educational model and asking; how will we survive? As many institutions struggle to reconcile finances with the decreases in federal and state funding, the search is underway for creative solutions that will sustain legacies for decades to come.

Among the many strategies considered is how to successfully integrate an online learning component. Through research done with large public and non-profit universities in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions, The Melior Group has found that there is a great need to reconcile traditional education models with the rapidly evolving expectations of students, alumni and employers.

Students today expect both online and traditional learning opportunities as part of their program of study. While it is still rare to find non-profit state sponsored colleges offering exclusively online coursework, universities exploring alternative revenue streams are finding online courses significantly more profitable than traditional models. Many are examining how to do more than just offer existing class work online and are considering strategies that integrate the old with the new, while still preparing students for the challenges of the workforce.

DEMOGRAPHICS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE PAST DECADE

One reason why online components are now an expectation: the demographics of college students have changed over the past decade. The rising numbers of non-traditional students attending college, combined with changes in student aid and considerations for how to pay for a college education, has pushed the topic of online education to the forefront. College students are older (over the age of 23), are often working at least part-time to help fund their education and don’t necessarily live on campus. Their needs are simply different compared to the typical college student of the past. In research we’ve done with this non-traditional student segment, we’ve learned that they expect the schools to be accommodating to their schedules, not vice versa. An online component to education is especially attractive to these students because it allows the student to fit schooling around their lives, rather than having to fit their life around a rigid school schedule.

MOOCs REPRESENT A SUCCESSFUL ONLINE MODEL

The success of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have finally shown universities that a successful online learning model is possible and the opportunities that arise from offering online curriculum (as part of a degree or free) can bolster an institution’s image, enhance the educational experience for students, and even encourage alumni engagement. [See the link for Colgate’s model below.]

There are now a number of institutions that have easily integrated online coursework in many academic disciplines. Yet, we recognize that the road to get there many have been a bit bumpy. Securing buy-in from key constituents (trustees, administrators, faculty, alumni), developing the technology, adjusting curriculum and teaching methods are just some of the bumps experienced. Understanding where potential sources of pushback may erupt can greatly reduce unexpected threats posed by administrators, faculty and alums who are resistant to change.

ACT FROM A SOLID KNOWLEDGE BASE

Armed with the right information, an institution can consider the factors that are likely to have the greatest impact on successfully implementing online offerings. Asking the right questions of key target audiences, and understanding how student expectations can impact program offerings before and during a reconstruction period, can bolster confidence in decision-making and support optimal use of resources.

For universities looking to reconcile a traditional education model with 21st century expectations, an investment in MOOCs may provide a competitive advantage. Upon initial consideration of an integrated program, it is critical to investigate internal boundaries, student expectations and employer preferences. This knowledge will provide a solid base from which to make the hard decisions and to craft a roadmap that fits the unique circumstances for each institution. With knowledge of the top factors that may present internal and external roadblocks, an implementation plan can include steps to cultivate internal buy-in as well as solve programmatic and logistical challenges along the way.

HAVE A QUESTION? Reach out to The Melior Group here for an answer at [email protected]

Take a look at Colgate’s Model here.

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