So, here we go...

In looking for some answers to these big questions, I figured, why not just ASK!

Statement of the problem:

1. On-campus BSRT program experiences the most distinct shifts in applicants.
Rationale?: Economy is doing well, so enrollment rates in general are down?
Experiencing some leadership shifts in local hospitals that may be affecting enrollment numbers

Numbers in the online BSRT program look consistent, but there are unique issues in the retention of those types of students.

You can start to freak out and when you do that, you think... Marketing... I'll throw some money at it, and maybe that'll help. BUT- It's not like we have a ton of money to waste.. SO, we need to be smart about how we spend that money and I thought...

WE CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONES...

Surveyed approximately 192 CoARC accredited programs

Response of 25%

I wanted to know this:

Because... how do we advance the profession if we can't get students into our programs?

Most entry-level programs were cohort based

Most DAP programs had rolling admissions. This makes sense, given the types of students applying. DAP programs need to be flexible to accommodate working professionals.

MSRC programs (N=2) 1 was cohort based, one was rolling admissions.

There are strengths and weaknesses to both models.
At Boise State our on-campus BSRT is a cohort model, the RRT-BSRT DAP is a rolling admission model and the MSRC is a cohort.

Accreditation:
CoARC accreditation comes into play when students are looking because it is currently the standard of quality control for our academic programs.
Most respondents indicated that their entry-level program was accredited but that the DAP program(s) were not. This is fairly common; however, programs should seek accreditation, especially if students are required to attend an accredited program as part of a tuition reimbursement program


Enrollment:
Most entry entry-level programs: 11-25
>25 (18 resp)
However, number of students in BSRT (4resp) and MSRC (2) DAP programs dropped to 0-10 students enrolled
This is a clear indication that students are not advancing their degrees. As we've discussed throughout this conference (and beyond) finding channels and avenues to get students to progress their degrees should be a priority of Respiratory Care organization.

Application Numbers:
Entry level:
Most (21) respondents said they receive 0-25 applications
12 said they receive 26-50 applications
9 said they receive 52-74 applications
5 said they receive >75 applications

BSRT DAP:
All 5 said 0-25 applicants

MSRC DAP:
Both said 0-10 applicants

SO- DAP programs are struggling to transition people into those programs. However, what was NOT asked, is what is the capacity for these programs. Human and financial resources limit not just the marketing budgets, but the operating budgets as well.

Speaking of budgets:
Funding for most programs was described as being provided entirely or in portion by the institution.
Only 9 programs described the financial burden of marketing falling solely to the program or department being marketed
This is likely one of the biggest issues as most respondents (24) reported their budget for marketing falling between 0-$500 annually.
13 programs reported their budgets as between $500-$5000 annually (a big range)
Only 3 programs reported spending >$5000 annually on marketing

This means that for the most part, we are all in the same boat… Marketing on shoestring budgets. SO how do we make the most of this and what is the impact?

What are we doing as a profession? Are we on the same page?

CoARC Mission: The mission of the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) is to ensure that high quality educational programs prepare competent respiratory therapists for practice, education, research, and service.
CoARC Vision:By 2020 the CoARC will be recognized as the leader in advancing respiratory care education across the spectrum of programs offered (e.g. associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degree programs).

CoBGRTE: What is our mission/vision?

AARC Mission: The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) will continue to be the leading national and international professional association for respiratory care.
AARC Vision: The AARC will encourage and promote professional excellence, advance the science and practice of respiratory care, and serve as an advocate for patients, their families, the public, the profession and the respiratory therapist.

If you are trying to send a message to potential students(consumers), you must first understand what that message is. This is a problem right now throughout the professional spectrum. This ambiguity makes it difficult to guide students forward... If we don't know what we're selling... how can we sell it?

Once you understand what message you are providing, you start to look for those who will be receptive to that message and that's where marketing comes into play...

Once you identify what you're offering, and why. it's about getting the message across.


Understanding student priorities:
What is important to them?
How can you align your goals with their goals?
Understand the WHY NOT's as well as the WHYs
This will help you build your brand by better aligning student need and program objectives.

That's where knowing your audience comes in.

As we heard yesterday, generational influences impact the social landscape. Educational environments needs to take note of generational nuances that shape how potential students interact with their environment and what they're looking for out of a career.

Baby Boomers:
Generation defined by their work ethic. Basically 'live to work'
Typically not used to technological advancement and hesitant to change
In 2017 made up 25% of workforce
Some late baby boomers may be interested in advancing their degrees


Generation X:
Have been in the game a little longer.
Range from 2nd degree/career to those wanting to advance career
DON'T want to waste their time
Most cost effective and relevant approach to objective
Flexibility due to commitments. As of 2017 made up 33% of the workforce
These people are comfortable with change and are flexible. They work to live, are comfortable with technology and are self-reliant.


Millennials and early Gen Z: (born after approximately 1995): account for 26% of the population- and as of 2017 accounted for roughly 38% of the workforce.
This generation represent greatest period in history for disruption, innovation, prosperity, and advancement

What sets them apart:
Diverse
True digital natives
Short attention span (8 seconds)

What do they want?
Flexibility
Value and meaning
Concerned about Growth and impact to priorities, but not dedicated to longevity if priorities are compromised
an impact on the world- convey integrity
They don’t want to be ‘pursued’- ‘snackable’ content is better than big ads
Visual platforms that are short
Embrace Skype, FaceTime
Interactions must be honest, intuitive, and brand must be on-point with priorities
Want to hear about first-hand experiences
Feel the connection to something larger- they do not want to feel like a commodity.

Marketing strategies need to reflect the interests of the audience. What will speak to a Gen X-er may not work for a millennial. Keep this in mind when thinking of what platforms to spend both time and money on.

As we heard yesterday, generational influences impact the social landscape. Educational environments needs to take note of generational nuances that shape how potential students interact with their environment and what they're looking for out of a career.

Baby Boomers:
Generation defined by their work ethic. Basically 'live to work'
Typically not used to technological advancement and hesitant to change
In 2017 made up 25% of workforce
Some late baby boomers may be interested in advancing their degrees


Generation X:
Have been in the game a little longer.
Range from 2nd degree/career to those wanting to advance career
DON'T want to waste their time
Most cost effective and relevant approach to objective
Flexibility due to commitments. As of 2017 made up 33% of the workforce
These people are comfortable with change and are flexible. They work to live, are comfortable with technology and are self-reliant.


Millennials and early Gen Z: (born after approximately 1995): account for 26% of the population- and as of 2017 accounted for roughly 38% of the workforce.
This generation represent greatest period in history for disruption, innovation, prosperity, and advancement

What sets them apart:
Diverse
True digital natives
Short attention span (8 seconds)

What do they want?
Flexibility
Value and meaning
Concerned about Growth and impact to priorities, but not dedicated to longevity if priorities are compromised
an impact on the world- convey integrity
They don’t want to be ‘pursued’- ‘snackable’ content is better than big ads
Visual platforms that are short
Embrace Skype, FaceTime
Interactions must be honest, intuitive, and brand must be on-point with priorities
Want to hear about first-hand experiences
Feel the connection to something larger- they do not want to feel like a commodity.

Marketing strategies need to reflect the interests of the audience. What will speak to a Gen X-er may not work for a millennial. Keep this in mind when thinking of what platforms to spend both time and money on.

Thinking of a program like a 'product' may help a little... that is, what are you offering students within the boundaries of your resources. The overarching goal of marketing is to facilitate best matches between student need anb program objectives.

Building a brand means picking a message and staying on target. What is your mission? How do you go about that?

In order for any type of genuine marketing to work, your brand must be evident to those looking for it.
If we know working millennials seeking to advance their education want flexibility to achieve work/life balance-we should be emphasizing the aspects of the program that meet that need.

Second, What's your niche within the market? This will matter to students.... are you an AELRT? Can they complete curriculum, confidently sit for boards, and apply for a job in in an accelerated way? IF that's the niche you fill... own it. Be realistic about where you fit in the community and be transparent about what you are able to do for the student. Your role in the grand scheme of professional development would be to get the student in the door- but you should be emphasizing the 'next step' for students... where will they go from there? How can you help them get there?

Consider innovative ways to build your community. Your immediate foundation will be your alumni and current students. Focus on addressing their needs first and let the satisfaction work for you in a positive way. If you are an AS program, what are you options for articulation agreements with a DAP? Can you work together to identify clear career pathways for students to help them achieve larger goals?

One thing that most students have in common is that they want to feel that they are a part of something larger- they seek purpose. You are marketing a feeling of purpose and you can find ways to convey that message. Let's look at this video:

Link to Video: https://youtu.be/Q1ecNAvdpv4

Respondents to my survey indicated that they had tried at least one of these options in the past year.

Me too... Me too.

Social media marketing is often a go-to because you can identify a focal group of people who will most likely respond and you can set a budget and adjust it accordingly.
Facebook and Instagram are the most common. These options may benefit because its more subliminal than LinkedIN or Google. That means, you may catch people who weren't specifically looking to find you, but are interested in similar things.
Facebook platform may be better for 'older' prospective students where instagram may be better for targeting younger students. The benefit here is opening an account and managing it is free, it only costs if you do advertisements. You can also boost specific advertisements. That means that you can assign $100 to an ad to run for a specified amount of time, but boost the ad near a deadline by indicating more of the budget to be applied to a specific time frame. Marketing experts recommend doing this around the time of an event.

Institution or community specific advertising is great because it can be relatively inexpensive, but the reach is often limited, unless your institution will foot the bill for a larger campaign. As we'll discuss soo, word of mouth remains the best mode of advertising. Using your institution and community networks to build your brand and communicate your mission is wise. Things like alumni events, high school outreach, university career fairs, guest lecturing, community partnerships are all great examples about how to extend the reach of your brand beyond those who may be looking specifically for you.

Profession specific advertising... Well that's expensive and given what we saw was the budget range for most programs, this is fairly unrealistic for most programs. Although the reach is targeted to your specific population (DAPs), the cost is not conducive to continual marketing campaigns. For example, the 'best value' marketing campaign outlined in the AARC's 2019 Media Campaign was a 1 time print ad in either Times or Journal and 1 newsletter ad... for $3500. Smaller one-time ads do range from $700/ appearance. The cost to have a booth at congress was approximately $5000, ranging upwards of $70,000. As you can see, these options are not targeted to academic programs.

TV and Radio may again capture those who weren't really looking for you, and may even impact word-of-mouth referrals, but are often expensive and limited in range. This may be an option for a one-time push prior to a deadline.

Word of mouth continues to be the most impactful mode of marketing. Again, this is why building your network and fostering a sense of community is so important.

Share Guidelines

The power of the @ and the #... Consider your posts and what platforms may benefit from your content. Where can you draw those parallels with potential students. How can you say 'hey! look at us!?

This is an example of one of my posts yesterday... As you can see, I tagged several of our university accounts and linked to some relevant content.

The two that are the most worrysome to me are the #respiratorytherapy and #Saferspaces

When I search #Respiratorytherapy

These are the top links that come up. You can see that the top one #respiratory has 64.4K posts. Thats a lot, which is tempting if you're only thinking of exposure, but remember that anything you link to will be associated with your brand. It's important to look at the content linked to make sure that its consistent with your mission and brand before linking to it.

This was a # that I knew nothing about, but given the content of the lecture I was posting, it seemed appropriate. I have to ask, am I OK with associating @boisestaterespiratorycare with content about providing safe spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals? That is something you'll have to ask.

Given our mission and brand- Yes

From a marketing perspective, several people who may never have been exposed to ANYTHING respiratory care related may see my post because it's associated with creating a 'safe space'. This is another reason why you want to be genuine in your linking.

This is why you investigate your @ and #.

This is the # for aarc! Clearly content that is neither relevant nor appropriate to link to! This would have impacted our brand!

SOOO- my adventures in tagging and linking... did it work?

Well- our account has had a TON of increased activity by way of likes....which translates into exposure. All this exposure cost our department was a little bit of time... SO yes, it was worth it

Although admittedly, it is time consuming!

Build your brand, but not at the expense of institutional or programmatic values.

Relay your message constantly and look for ways to link relevant content

Be careful what you 'like', 'tag', or 'link' to. These impact your brand.

Number of strategic interactions is actually quite high. In a 24 hour period, it's recommended that you post 2-4 times on your timeline and 10-20 stories.... Think about that... But, it makes sense when you think about attention spans and 'take away messages'.

Consistent messages from YOUR point of view are important. If you're purely academic and professional, be that. If you have an occasional relaxed tone- great! Careful of abrupt changes in tone.

Tagging and linking is how you build the community using online marketing. When you @ a handle (@boisestateuniversity) that account is notified of the tag and will look at the content. IF they follow you, their followers are more likely to see your content as well.

When you use a #, you link your content to all other content using that same link. This is something that needs to be understood and used carefully. You have to protect your brand, so research hashtags and links before you use them (#aarc, for example)

Pay as you go, set budget and timeline

This is still the way we're getting most of the inquiries into our MSRC

Think about 'word of mouth'-- someone tells you something, you Google it for yourself. Then you go down the google hole.

Losing students is detrimental to programs.

One thing that I've heard repeatedly is 'if you're not losing students, you're too easy.' However, Mistaking ALL attrition as a signal of rigor is a HUGE mistake.
If you have a cohort of 10 and lose 1 student, that's a loss of 10%... it's a slippery slope.

Identifying students better matched for your program requirements and supporting them to success is likely a better strategy than accepting attrition.

In my survey:
16 respondents said they experienced a rate of attrition 22 indicated that attrition accounted for between 5-20% of students
5 programs indicated a rate of attrition >20%

Academic issues and financial issues were among the top reasons for attrition in entry-level programs. With time-management being a close 3rd reason

Respondents for BSRT and MSRC DAP programs indicated that attrition was Loss of interest in the field was also indicated as a reason for attrition in the MSRC programs.

Bottom line: Attrition can damage your brand, affect word of mouth, and should be addressed proactively.

This should be our goal:

I was thinking of calling this slide 'keeping students' when I realized that I don't want to keep students.... I want to accumulate alumni. I want these students to graduate, to get jobs, to advance the field.
How Can I Help.. Should be the first question any educator asks.

Again, understanding student goals prior to enrollment is key.
Marketing means very little if you are marketing something that you're not providing simply to put bodies in 'seats'.

Most of the conversations I have with students looking for a MSRC degree revolve around what they're career goals are and whether a MSRC is too narrow.

Students, like any of us, are looking at a degree like currency. What will the exchange of money and hard work get them in the long run? In order to best answer these questions, you must be transparent. How much will it cost, how long will it take, what if something happens to me while in the program? What are your policies? All of this information is fair game and should be presented honestly. This should be part of your brand.

Looking at costs. Just because something costs more, does not mean that it's better. When we were doing a needs assessment for our MSRC, cost was the number one barrier for clinicians interested in advancing their career. At this time, there is NO collective guarantee that advancing to a BSRT or MSRC will result in a pay raise. Therefore, asking students to invest in a degree that they may never be able to pay for is unfair. I urge you to look at the costs of your programs, if you can, to see what you can do about lightening the burden for students.

As we discussed, building a brand and creating a community are essential for any sort of marketing to be effective. Students need support and resources should be built into your brand, especially for distance students.
1. Time. There should be people available and dedicated to answering questions and assisting students in the navigation of academic organizations
2. Academic resources. One of the biggest issues I'm seeing in our MSRC is the glaring gap in preparedness for graduate work. How can we help students prepare and navigate the gap between clinically-focused undergraduate education and the broader strokes of a graduate degree? GradPrep is a program I developed to help students understand the reading and writing expectations of our MSRC prior to starting in the program. This is the first year, so hopefully our next cohort will feel more prepared than the last. Look into ways to partner with your institution's library, ecampus center, or other programs to see if you can partner up to provide resources to your students.
3. Flexibility. As much as I thought I would be a hardass when it came to due dates, deadlines and other things of the like, the reality is that when you're dealing with non-tradititional student (Whatever that means anymore), you're going to have to deal with their lives also. This means that there needs to be a sense of shared responsibility between program faculty and the student as to where some 'give and take' is available. When students feel overwhelmed, chances are, education is the first thing to be pushed off of the plate.
4. Conveying confidence and pride. These students are trusting you and your program with their future. They need to know that you view them as a worthy investment also. That means celebrating the little things and shouting about accomplishments... probably on social media!