Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.80.1.35-40

Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

A Collaborative Effort at Marketing the University:
Detailing a Student-Centered Approach
Judith H. Washburn & Susan M. Petroshius
To cite this article: Judith H. Washburn & Susan M. Petroshius (2004) A Collaborative Effort
at Marketing the University: Detailing a Student-Centered Approach, Journal of Education for
Business, 80:1, 35-40, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.80.1.35-40
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.80.1.35-40

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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A Collaborative Effort at Marketing
the University: Detailing a
Student-Centered Approach
JUDITH H. WASHBURN
University of Tampa
Tampa, Florida

T

he marketing literature is replete
with numerous examples of experiential learning projects as well as discussions on the value of engaging students in hands-on assignments. Often

these projects involve “real-world”
clients or are designed around cases and
situations created by the instructor.
Despite the growing importance of marketing in successful recruitment by
today’s public and private colleges and
universities, few researchers have
reported on a school administration’s
use of its faculty members’ and students’ expertise. In this article, we
describe a project conducted by marketing students to assist the admissions
office of a major public university. The
project not only provided valuable
information and suggestions to the
director of admissions but also engaged
students in an experiential project in a
real-world scenario.
University Marketing
Strategic planning and the development of marketing plans are increasingly important tools for public colleges
and universities that expect to survive in
these years of decreased state support
and escalating tuition rates (Sevier,

1996). Although state tax revenues once
provided almost 100% of instructional
costs, it is common today to find public

SUSAN M. PETROSHIUS
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio

ABSTRACT. In this article, the
authors describe the use of an experiential team-based project in a capstone
marketing management course. In the
project, students worked with the university administration to develop a
marketing plan for the Admissions
Office’s Tour Guide Program. The
authors discuss why such marketing
activities are important to colleges and
universities and report on a successful
collaboration between an academic
program and a school administration
in designing such a program. The

authors conclude by discussing the
benefits that such collaborations offer
to both the students and the university.

universities receiving only 20%–40% of
annual expenditures from state tax support (Robst, 2001; Wallace, 1993). As a
result, tuition increases in public 4-year
residential colleges and universities
already have exceeded the cost affordable for low- and lower-middle income
families, and these costs are expected to
escalate. In fact, over the past 20 years
college tuition has increased almost
twice as fast as the overall cost of living
(Cavanaugh, 2002; Larson, 1997; Wallace). Tuition increases are the result of
a complex mix of factors including (a)
continued state budget cuts stemming
from declining tax revenues and changing resource allocation models; (b)
shrinking private endowments caused
by poor stock market performance and
an unstable economic environment; and

(c) rising faculty salaries resulting from
changing market conditions, particularly among business faculty members
(Merritt, 2002; National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2002;
Popper & Mandel, 2002; Robst, 2001).
Given these trends, which are likely to
persist in the foreseeable future, colleges and universities are experiencing
increasing competition for prospective
students.
One of the major issues in student
recruitment is understanding how students make decisions and the factors that
influence those decisions (Sevier, 1996).
Although the cost of higher education
certainly has an influence on these decisions, so do the perceived benefits associated with attending a particular institution. These benefits include not only
academic quality but also attributes such
as location, facilities, image, curriculum,
and quality of the students (Sevier, 1994,
1996). It is critical that the university
admissions personnel understand how
students perceive costs and benefits and

be proactive in communicating the benefits to the students. Given that universities have limited control over costs, the
communication of benefits is especially
critical because prospective students will
weigh the benefits against the costs to
assess the value of attending an institution. Those engaged in student recruitment are responsible for showcasing the
September/October 2004

35

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value of a particular college or university
(Sevier, 1988).
One mechanism that admissions
offices typically use to communicate
information and showcase the university’s benefits is encouraging prospective students to visit campus. These visits, and the perceptions that the students
and their parents take away from them,
are often critical to students who have
not already decided which institution to
attend (Sevier, 1992). One study found

that 58% of respondents ranked the college visit as very influential in their
school selection process. Only academic reputation, student/faculty member ratio, and access to faculty members
were reported as being more important
(Sevier, 1987). These facts highlight the
critical role of the campus visit, walking
tour, and the campus tour guide. Studies
have shown that students quickly form
their impression of an institution on the
basis of the actions of the campus tour
guide, who in some cases completely
“turns them off” (Moll, 1994; Sevier,
2001). The message delivered by the
tour guide can be an important determining factor in the critical collegechoice decision.
Experiential Approach
Under intense public scrutiny, educators have been called on to reexamine
their pedagogical methods for purposes
of continual improvement and to ensure
that students are prepared to enter the
work world (McCorkle et al., 1999).
Although knowledge of the chosen discipline’s subject matter is important, so

too are the support skills (McCorkle et
al.). According to the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business
(AACSB), business leaders have concerns about today’s business students’
lack of skills in areas such as teamwork,
team leadership, and communications
(Wright, Bitner, & Zeithaml, 1994).
More recently, the AACSB/EBI Student
Satisfaction Project (AACSB, 1997)
identified teamwork, written communication, and presentation skills among
the skills that today’s students need to
become future business leaders.
Pedagogical approaches that have
been proposed to facilitate the development of these skills involve active learn36

Journal of Education for Business

ing (Peterson, 2001) and experiential
exercises (Wynd, 1989). Researchers in
educational psychology have found that
student learning is enhanced when there

is active involvement with the problem
(Goodsell, Mayer, & Tinto, 1992; Hite,
McIntyre, & Lynch, 2001). Experiential
learning projects are becoming increasingly popular in response to criticisms
that business professors leave students
unchallenged by relying heavily on lectures as a pedagogical method (Bridges,
1999; Graeff, 1997; O’Hara & Shaffer,
1995; Peltier, Schibrowsky, & Kleimenhagen, 1995). Traditional methods such
as lectures are criticized because of the
passive role that they impose on the student and their lack of realism (Lantos &
Butaney, 1985). Experiential exercises,
on the other hand, engage students in
real-world situations (Wynd, 1989).
In addition to experiential projects
per se, a survey of the literature has
shown that team projects increase
knowledge of the subject and improve
both communication skills and student
motivation and develop teamwork skills
(Goodsell, Mayer, & Tinto, 1992; Hite,

McIntyre, & Lynch, 2001). Seventythree percent of organizations reported
using teams for some work (“Trends:
Workplace Issues of Interest,” 1996),
and employers are seeking employees
able to work in teams to maintain their
competitive strength (Andrews, 1995).
There seems to be agreement among
academicians and practitioners alike
that there are benefits to group projects
even when students vary in background
and skills (Bowen, Clark, Holloway, &
Wheelwright, 1994; Hewett & Hardesty, 1999; Michaelson, Watson, &
Shrader, 1985; Schaffer, 1995; Strong &
Anderson, 1990). Accordingly, group
projects have been reported in a variety
of courses including consumer behavior, marketing research, and personal
selling (de los Santos & Jensen, 1985;
Haas & Wotruba, 1990; Humphreys,
1981; Richardson & Raveed, 1980;
Titus & Petroshius, 1993).

Project Conception
This project arose from the author’s
(Judith Washburn) participation on the
Undergraduate Admissions Advisory
Committee as an instructor. As a mem-

ber of this committee, the instructor
became familiar with the challenges
faced by the admissions office of a
major state-supported, 4-year university
whose goal was to recruit 3,700 incoming students each year. The director of
admissions was seeking ways to
increase the university’s attractiveness
to high-quality applicants while maintaining increasingly higher targeted
enrollment figures. The course instructor, the director of admissions, assistant
director of admissions, and head admissions counselor collaboratively selected
the university’s Tour Guide Program,
which provides tours to more than
10,000 prospective students and parents
annually, as the focus for this project.
Not only would an assessment of the
Tour Guide Program be useful in
improving the services of the Admissions Office, but the project also could
be completed within the short 6-week
time frame dictated by the summer
schedule. Overall, the collaborative
approach between the instructor and the
admissions staff, from the conception of
the project and throughout its development, was instrumental in making this
project a success.
Course Structure
The project was completed within the
confines of the required capstone Marketing Management course, which consisted of 22 senior marketing students
enrolled in a 6-week summer session. In
addition to assigned readings from a traditional marketing management textbook, course requirements included
weekly quizzes and a series of in-class
exercises. The students were required to
read supplementary materials on university marketing to gain the requisite project background and insight into the
application of marketing in a nontraditional area. Finally, they were required
to complete exercises and readings on
group dynamics and the “how to’s” of
writing a marketing plan.
The instructor split the class into four
teams of five or six students on the basis
of their answers to questions about
demographic characteristics and group
behavior. The instructor’s goal in
assigning students to teams was to
achieve balance—that is, the right mix

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of qualities, gender, and skills for
enhancing team creativity, efficiency,
and success (Cooper et al., 1990; Hackman, 1995). The student teams elected a
team leader and recording secretary in
addition to coordinators for the research, written project, and presentation. In Table 1, we detail the responsibilities for each team role. I gave credit
for the timely dissemination of weekly
progress memos to team members and
the instructor. Students were asked to sit
with their team members in every class
period to encourage rapid group cohesion and facilitate group communication and coordination.
During the first week of class, the
head admissions counselor and supervisor of the Tour Guide Program (TGP)
led an information session for the class
on the background, objectives, and challenges for the TGP. Along with a group
of prospective students and their parents,
the class attended the 1-hour formal
slide show presented by another admissions counselor. All students were
required to attend the 1.5-hour campus
walking tour within the first 3 weeks of
the session. Once a week, a staff member(s) from the Admissions Office
attended class to answer questions and
provide information. These visitors included the director of admissions, the
assistant director of admissions, the head
admissions counselor, the supervisor of
the TGP, and two head tour guides. In
addition, the TGP supervisor was designated the primary contact for the class
and provided background information,
such as the TGP handbook and current
promotional materials. In Table 2, we
summarize the course structure.
Students were required to develop
a comprehensive marketing plan for
the Campus Tour Guide Program by following a standard marketing plan outline. The plan involved conducting a
situation analysis that included a thorough strength/weakness/opportunity/
threat (SWOT) analysis and developing
a marketing strategy. Consistent with
the mission of the TGP, teams developed specific marketing objectives for
the program and associated strategies to
meet those objectives, with consideration given to the financial limitations.
Teams submitted two copies of their
written marketing plans during the last

TABLE 1. Student Roles
Team roles

Responsibilities

Leader

Primary team contact for admissions staff and
instructor. Calls meetings. Runs meetings. Informs
instructor of team problems/questions. Delegates
tasks.

Recording secretary

Takes minutes at all meetings. Types up minutes
and disseminates them to team members. Sends
weekly business style team memo to instructor.

Presentation coordinator

Coordinates preparation of marketing plan presentation. Primary responsibility for consistency and
accuracy in PowerPoint and/or other visual aids for
presentation. Ensures handouts are properly prepared and available. Coordinates with instructor for
proper equipment.

Written project coordinator

Coordinates preparation of written marketing plan.
Primary responsibility for organization, editing,
consistency, and accuracy. Ensures project is properly copied and bound.

Research coordinator

Coordinates primary and secondary data collection
for project. Ensures that information is collected in
an efficient and accurate manner. Clearing house
for research information. Coordinates with research
librarian and instructor.

TABLE 2. Course Structure
Week 1

Provide project requirements
Complete information for team assignment
Form teams
Select team positions
Meet with Admissions Office staff
Participate in presentation and campus tour

Weeks 2–5

Q & A with admissions staff
Out-of-class team meetings
Assign activities and tasks to individual team members
One in-class team meeting per week

Week 3

Interim peer reviews due to instructor
Mandatory team meeting with instructor

Week 6

Submit written marketing plans
Make presentations to admissions staff
Feedback given to teams from admissions and instructor
Prizes handed out to teams

Note. In a regular 15-week semester, these activities would be spread out over a longer time frame.

week of class. One copy was maintained
by the instructor, and the other was
delivered to the director of admissions
for dissemination. In addition, each
team made a formal presentation of its

marketing plan to an audience that consisted of the assistant director of admissions, the supervisor of the TGP, the
head tour guide, the course instructor,
and the other class members.
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37

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Project Recommendations
Upon submission of the team projects
to the Office of Admissions, the instructor prepared a written summary of the
plans, reviewing them for consistent
themes and recommendations. Overall,
the marketing plans focused on three
areas: (a) selection and retention of tour
guides, (b) creation of a positive and
consistent image for the tour guide program, and (c) revision of the program
and tour to make them more relationship oriented. The teams suggested that
because these three areas are interconnected, selection and retention of tour
guides would lead to a more professional and consistent delivery of the
tour and the program. This improvement, in turn, would lead to a more positive overall image of the tour and the
program.
The teams made the following recommendations for improving selection
and retention of tour guides: better
training (e.g., provide a longer training
period), retention (e.g., decrease number of tour guides to allow more hours
and higher wages per tour guide), incentives (e.g., provide a priority registration
and/or internship credit for tour guides),
and reporting (e.g., provide a clear
organizational structure hierarchy).
Many recommendations focused on
improving the on-campus image of the
TGP and included suggestions relating
to consistency (e.g., standardizing tour
routes), image (e.g., naming the TGP
and providing a budget for updated uniforms), and creation of a database to
track tour guide evaluations and visitor
response cards. Finally, the teams
offered a number of recommendations
that dealt with tactics to build relationships with prospective students, such as
beginning the tour with a “meet and
greet” session and providing name tags
for visitors. We summarize the student
recommendations in the Appendix.
Project Evaluation
All concerned parties considered the
project successful. The students commented both orally and in written evaluations that the project was one of the
most beneficial experiences in the
marketing curriculum because of its
38

Journal of Education for Business

hands-on, client-based nature. Students
thought the project entailed a great deal
of work, especially considering the
short, 6-week time frame. Nevertheless,
they recognized the value of working
with a client and on a team. The students were particularly positive about
working on a project that would benefit
their soon-to-be alma mater and that
involved a topic with which they were
very familiar.
The Admissions Office staff was very
positive about the value of the students’
proposals for its future planning and,
within months, implemented many of
the student recommendations. For
example, the following changes were
made:
1. The Admissions Office updated
and revised the pretour presentation,
2. Tour guides now have business
cards that include their contact information to hand out to campus visitors,
3. A database has been set up that
records tour guide evaluation scores and
visitor information, and
4. Tour guides follow up each campus
visit by sending the prospective student
a postcard that shows a colorful picture
of the campus and tour guide group.
The TGP is in the process of acting
on further recommendations such as
naming the group and selecting new
tour guide uniforms. Copies of the student projects were disseminated by the
director of admissions throughout the
administration, including the Office of
the Provost and the Office of Marketing
and Communications for the university.
The project was also successful in accomplishing course goals and carrying
out objectives set forth by both college
and departmental planning documents.
Specifically, the project addressed students’ written, oral, and analytical skills,
as well as furthering students’ ability to
work in teams and develop critical thinking skills. Students appeared to take
their role as “consultants” seriously.
They conducted themselves with a high
degree of professionalism in their dealings with the admissions staff and
seemed to recognize that this type of
real-world project required a higher
level of personal commitment and
integrity than do the typical academic
projects that they are assigned.

Benefits and Costs
The benefits of the project to the participating students were numerous and
diverse. First, students were able to see
the application of marketing in a nontraditional context. Class examples typically focus on the development and
marketing of traditional consumer products and/or services. As a result, students rarely consider the value of marketing in such areas as higher education,
health care, and nonprofit organizations.
The nature of this project allowed the
students to expand their notion of a
“product” and to recognize the value of
applying marketing principles in nontraditional contexts. Second, participation in a group, hands-on project provided the students with all the benefits
previously discussed that have been
found to prepare them to function better
in small groups in the workplace. Third,
students gained valuable experience in
memo writing, conducting meetings,
and managing time, skills that are necessary for completing a complex project
in a limited time frame. Finally, many
students found the experience of working with a client and acquiring the necessary diplomacy invaluable.
Although there were no costs per se
for this project, it required a sincere
commitment from the instructor. In
such client-based projects, the instructor runs the risk of delivering completed projects of marginal quality because
he or she must allow teams to develop
the marketing plans on their own, with
only minimal instructor input. Furthermore, the instructor must deal with the
limitations and problems inherent in
group projects, including free riders,
potential negative group interaction,
and variable levels of commitment from
team members.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
Participation in the Tour Guide Program Marketing Plan Project was a
win/win/win/win experiment in experiential learning. Students won by gaining
invaluable real-world learning. The
Admissions Office won by receiving
high-quality consulting services at zero
out-of-pocket cost. The fact that many

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of the suggested changes have been
implemented is evidence of the quality
of the recommendations. The instructor
won by gaining additional feedback
regarding what works well (or not as
well) for future client-based, hands-on
projects for students. Finally, the university benefited from the collaboration
between an administrative department
and an academic one in creating a
student-focused learning experience
that benefits the university overall. This
type of collaboration strengthens the
sense of community that is important in
a progressive university environment.
Furthermore, it encourages outgoing
students to recognize that through both
intellectual and monetary contributions,
they help to further the success of their
university. This type of collaboration
benefits all concerned and should be
encouraged and nurtured by departments, colleges, and administrations.
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APPENDIX
SUMMARY OF STUDENT
MARKETING PLANS FOR TOUR
GUIDE PROGRAM (TGP)
Selection and Retention
of Tour Guides
Training
• Increase required shadowing time
for new tour guides
• Provide longer training period
• Provide series of guest speakers at
monthly training meetings (e.g., communications experts, deans, etc.)
• Improve tour guide communication
skills
• Teach guides to “sell” the university
• Train guides to bring closure to
their sessions
• Train guides with more information
about campus activities and university
traditions/lore
• Require guides to “specialize” in
2–3 colleges
Retention
• Increase number of required tours/
other activities to provide more working
hours per tour guide
• Decrease number of tour guides
• Implement strict/consistent evaluation procedure
• Implement rating system or score
cards
September/October 2004

39

• Increase wages to $8/hour or sliding scale
• Be more selective in hiring tour
guides

• Monthly raffles for tickets, etc.
• Tuition reimbursement
• Priority registration
• Selection of fashionable tour guide
clothes
• Score cards
• Fun events for tour guides as a group
• Vouchers for free summer classes
• Gift certificates to local businesses
• Book scholarships
• Internship credit
• Class credit

• Name TGP playing off university
slogan or mascot
• Create an accompanying logo that
appears on all clothing, business cards,
letterhead, etc.
• Create a new video or consider
showing parts at different points
throughout the tour
• Agree on a mission and key selling
points, allowing all decisions to revolve
around these two things
• Provide more and consistent literature
• Revise pretour video message that is
currently targeted to parents, not students
• Create budget to provide for clothing, training, activities, etc.

Reporting

Database

• Clear organizational structure giving more authority/supervisory tasks to
head tour guides (e.g., scheduling, training, etc.)
• Set up offices/committees among
tour guides (e.g., assistant tour guide
leader, social chairman)

• Tour participants for the purpose of
cross-filing with applicants/enrollees
• Tour guides’ schedules, ratings, etc.
• Answers to response cards/comment cards
• Additional research

Incentives

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Image

Creation of Positive and
Consistent Image of TGP
Consistency
• Hire guides across majors (quotas)
• Require guides to provide consistent tours
• Focus on university’s key selling
points (i.e., technology, College of Education, friendliness)
• Specific tour stops for informal
conversation with guide—chance to
build rapport with students/parents
• General tour with short tour options
for specialized areas

40

Journal of Education for Business

• Have smaller tour groups
• Personalize the interactions with
tour guide
• Provide business cards for tour
guides to hand out
• Require guides to do follow-up
phone calls, e-mails and/or personal
post cards to individuals on their tours
• Hand out university pencil/pen and
folder with information and incentives
• Make the tour an “experience”
• Develop a series of follow-up steps
• Use phone center for follow-up calls
• Provide audio system—head phones
or loud speaker
• Provide tapes for additional selfguided tours of specialty areas
• Get word out to university community
• Give prizes (university paraphernalia) for participants (e.g., guest who
traveled the farthest, who correctly
guessed famous alumnus, etc.)
• Require guides to hand out comment cards with drop box provided and
incentive to guest to complete
Route

Revise TGP to Be
Relationship Oriented
Relationship Management
• Meet and greet with parents, prospective students, tour guides, and admissions officers
• Provide name tags for guests and
guides
• Find out area of interest prior to tour,
and match with appropriate tour guide
• Arrange for shuttle bus to/from
parking
• Provide snacks/drinks
• Provide campus maps with tour
route indicated

• Show more/better dorms
• Have a consistent route that shows
more highlights of the campus
• Focus on technology
• Incorporate a snack/break
• Provide maps for tour guest highlighting the tour route
• Compensate students for showing
dorm as real, lived-in dorm rooms
• Show virtual rooms or incorporate
rooms from other dorms into video presentation
• Arrange longer/shorter tours
• Plan more specialized options
• Provide free residence-hall meal
tickets to all guests