Temporary Contractors & Full-Time Employees:

Colleges and universities face an increased number of technology-reliant events and activities yet often do not have the in-house event services staff to meet the demand for technology support. Many institutions hire contractors temporarily to fill this gap, as opposed to hiring additional permanent staff. The issue with contracted labor is that such personnel are temporary, implying a perpetual state of newness. Contractors will not have the institutional knowledge of their permanent staff counterparts and will not be empowered to make the same decisions. Additionally, contractors will not have the same keys, access, or geographical knowledge of the campus. They will likely not be invested in the college community to the same degree as their permanently employed colleagues. Furthermore, institutions often cannot invest in temporary contractors in the ways they can with permanent full-time employees. Customer service, engagement, relationship building, and overall quality of service often suffer as a result. Customer engagement is an integral part of any higher education institution. The interface between staff and clientele within information technology services and event support is crucial to a college campus's successful operation and is cited in academic sources as among the most critical drivers of clientele satisfaction and student/customer retention. This research project aims to explore a primary factor impacting customer service within higher education information technology as well as the positive and negative effects that full-time employees and temporary contractors can have on the higher education customer experience.

Impact of US-China Trade War on Graduate School Selection

In 2018, tensions between China and the US became increasingly heightened through escalation of the US-China trade war. This case study examines the impact of this trade war on Chinese students’ desired study abroad location. Through surveying 596 Chinese students and interviewing 40 Chinese students planning to study abroad. The article examines to what extent the trade war influenced their decision regarding which country they desired to pursue further education. Additionally, the case study explores closely related issues designed to better understand how the student is affected by the Chinese media environment. Highlighted issues include whether the trade war will affect the students’ purchases of foreign-made consumer goods, how students obtain their news regarding the trade war, and to what extent students’ views differ from their parents. Findings indicate that these political events have not had a significant impact on educational preferences, but have influenced consumer good choices. The research also re-examines student motivating factors and suggests specific strategies to maximize Chinese student enrollment in foreign higher learning institutions.

It Only Works if it All Works: An Analysis of Integrated Marketing Communications and its Application for Enrollment Management Marketers

With the challenges presented by a constricting marketplace and shifting demographics, enrollment marketers are under increased pressure to improve recruitment outcomes. To recruit, enrollment marketers must navigate an increasingly complex media environment effected by, media fragmentation, cluttered media experiences, multitasking and evolving media-related consumption behaviors, disjointed customer journeys and shorter paths to purchase. Outside of the industry, this has sparked a renewed interest in integrated marketing communications and cross-channel synergies. Drawing on a review of relevant academic research and guided by enrollment marketing needs, the author offers insight and cross-media applications to strengthen integrated marketing efforts across consumer touchpoints. With an enhanced understanding of integrated marketing communications (IMC) and cross-channel effects, practitioners can develop more effective recruitment campaigns and produce better marketing outcomes.

Referral Marketing in Online Higher Education: a Holistic Snapshot of Strategic Initiatives, Effectiveness and Opportunities in a leading International Organization

Referral Marketing (RM) has only recently sparked the interest of marketers in the online higher education (OE) sector, with distinct gaps identified in the literature. This concept is closely linked with consumer brand engagement, relationship marketing and student loyalty. The researchers selected a for-profit multinational OE organisation, which offers tertiary UK programmes and implements an incentivised RM strategy. Given that loyalty behaviour is linked with consumer experience, integrated marketing communications throughout the consumer journey are also believed to impact RM. The aim of this case study was to broaden knowledge and understanding of RM in this unique sector by identifying sectoral trends and investigating constructs of consumer brand engagement, employee engagement (EE) and integrated marketing communications through the lens of the OE sector. Through a mixed-methods design, combining elements of grounded theory and a constructivist paradigm, two discovery-oriented studies were conducted – namely qualitative interviews with 22 OE executives, and quantitative surveys with 100 OE students. Template analysis and quantitative statistics were implemented with an interpretive approach and methodological triangulation to ensure validity and reliability. Findings suggested a student-centred, bottom-up approach to IMC could be most successful, with employee ‘Belief in Strategy’ as a unique element of EE impacting on RM success.

Digital Advertising and the Marketing Mix: A review of current literature and implications for Higher Education Marketers

By 2020, more than $117 billion will be spent on digital and mobile advertising in the U.S. As college bound populations shrink, shift and are out priced by some in-state rates, the need to increase higher ed digital marketing budgets will increase, as well. In order to improve marketing effectiveness, practitioners must develop a stronger understanding of how to maximize digital marketing’s place in the marketing mix. This paper culls current marketing effectiveness research and presents practical implications for higher ed marketing professionals.

Formulating a Case for the “Brand Encapsulation Model” and its viability within the Higher Education Sector

This study will make a case for the use of a new brand valuation model called the “brand encapsulation model”; this model will build upon research conducted by David Aaker and will be proposed for the higher education sector. A survey will include a presentation of a branded item and a non-branded item to prospective consumers of varying demographics. Perspective consumers will be asked which product they would likely consume. In order to prove the validity of the brand encapsulation model, the survey will require that all of the respondents choose the branded item.

Correlating the Relationship Between U.S. News & World Report Rankings and Social Media Efficiency of the Top 10 Ranked Private Universities at the State Level (Massachusetts), the United States and the World (U.S. News & World Report, 2019)

This analysis will provide an overview of the top 10 ranked (U.S. News 2019) universities at the state level (Massachusetts), U.S. national, and the world. For each of the universities being analyzed in this study, data will be collected from university-centralized social media accounts. The following types of social media channels will be represented: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This study will report on the gross number of followers for each of these channels along with total institutional operating expense. The rationale is to establish a baseline for return on investment (ROI) pertaining to social media efficiency/influence by drawing correlations to current (2019) university rankings by U.S. News & World Report. For the state level assessment, Massachusetts was selected simply based upon the proximity to where the study was being conducted, Boston College.

An Overview of the Current Trends on the Use of Gamification in Higher Ed Engagement and Recruitment

Gamification is defined as: the process of adding games or game-like elements to something (such as a task) so as to encourage participation. There are many examples of gamification in higher education; games have been shown to motivate students to engage more with their study tasks. Even though the use of gamification (as an engagement and recruitment strategy in higher ed) has been utilized since 1999 (Fairmont State), only a select few universities have leveraged gamification as a tool for engagement and recruitment over the last 18 years. The strategy overall has not garnered much research but since gaming culture is now more ubiquitous than ever (67 percent of American households own a device used to play video games) it is inevitable that more gamified-based recruitment strategies will start to take shape in the near future.