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
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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
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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”
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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
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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
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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
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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 fastgrowing discipline
Service marketing filled a need in the marketing
process
(Berry,L. & Parasuraman A., 1993)
Social Marketing
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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
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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
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Service Marketing:
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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’
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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
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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
Direct
Students
Indirect
Faculty
Is Marketing a Math Lab a
Necessity ?
Addressing the Changes, Challenges,
and Opportunities of the
New College Student Generation
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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
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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
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Only 21% of students performed at or
above proficient achievement on the new
12th grade mathematical assessment
(NCES, 2006)
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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
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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)
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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
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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
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Assessment of
skills
Advising
Developmental
Education
Academic support
services
The Mathematics Laboratory
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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
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Recognizing the need for marketing
Passive student participation in Math Lab
activities
 Low enrollment in the SI courses
 Need for new tutorial programs
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The Math Lab and Marketing
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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
Formats
 Math Lab
Hours of
Operation
 Math Lab
Website
 Handouts
 Computer
Software
Next
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
Defining the Marketing of the
Math Lab
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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
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External
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Literature Review and
Current Publications
Internal
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Surveys
Faculty Feedback
Student Comments
Back to Model
Communication
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The Math Lab
Staff Meetings
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Faculty Meetings
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Faculty Seminars
Back to Model
Product Development
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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
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Flyers
Student Web
Freshman Seminars
Service Fairs
Web Advisor
Info for Prospective Students
Class Presentations
Word of Mouth
Back to Model
Assessment
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Math Lab Attendance
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Participation in Math
Lab Activities
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Surveys
Back to Model
Outcomes of the Math Lab
Marketing
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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
COMPARISON OF STUDENT VISITS TO THE
MATHEMATICS LABORATORY 2001-2009
13,921.00
13,326.00
14,000.00
12,000.00
Comments: The
attendance in the
2008-2009
academic year
increased 4% over
the previous year.
Over a 5 year
period, the visits
increased by 84%.
10,783.00
10,000.00
7,535.00
7,785.00
7,825.00
2004-2005
2005-2006
8,000.00
6,056.00
5,578.00
6,000.00
4,000.00
2,000.00
0.00
2001-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
Math Lab, Developmental Math, and
Student Attitudes Toward Mathematics
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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)
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New Educational Challenges
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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
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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 ?
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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”
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Helps under-prepared students prepare, prepared
students advance, and advanced students excel
References
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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/SM5ScottsdalePresentatio
n.pdf
References
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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
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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 Model
Berry, L. & Parasuraman A. Building a New Academic Field: The Case of Services Marketing, 1993
Back to Market Research
Models of Working Relationships
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Model A: Networking and Coordination
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Model B: Cooperation/Partnerships
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Model C: Integrated Instruction
Back to Model
Tutoring Formats
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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
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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)
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Building effective working relationships with the university faculty
and staff
(Rokhfeld, M., 2005)
Back to Market Research
Seminars
Faculty seminars help to:
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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 25
5:00 – 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
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The Math Lab participation in the math
placement testing
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Developing the math placement test
Administering the placement test
Advantages:
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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.)
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The top 15 highest-earning college degrees have one thing
in common-math skills
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(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
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Male: 37%, Female: 63%
Working students: 63%
First student generation:
82%
Preparedness for College:
73%
34% - preferred lectures
42% - preferred class
discussions
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Most common approach:
lectures -74%, class
discussions - 20%
Student Affairs Administration in
Higher Education ( NASPA), 2008
Profile of Today’s College Student
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Laptop computer - 83%
Active use of the Internet
(3-5 hours per day) - 43%
Electronic course
management system
(Blackboard and/or
WebCT) - 82%
NASPA
Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, 2008
The Mathematics Laboratory(cont.)
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Worksheets, instructional
materials, handouts
The Math Lab Website
200-300 students visits
per week
20 computers with
Minitab, SPSS, PhStat
The SMART Board
system
Today’s College Students’
Characteristics
(Dzubak, 2009)
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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
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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
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Improves market research
Provides Instant
communication
Use of e-mails for
advertising
Internet excess to the
Math Lab materials
Use of technology for
assessment and surveys
Conclusion
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The 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