Tim Copeland's Blog on College & University Marketing and Enrollment Management

Five Emerging Trends in Business Education

What trends are shaping business education today?

I found an interesting read in the September issue of Sky, Delta’s inflight magazine. Writer Anna Befort identifies 5 trends including: 1) Interdisciplinary; 2) format; 3) competency-based outcomes; 4) “big ideas;” and 5) ethics.

1. Interdisciplinary

Paul Danos, Dean of Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business

“Globalization is a massive movement for the businesses that hire our students and the business schools in this decade. Technology allows us to reach the world and offer more services than we could before. For example, we are launching a program with the medical school to offer a Master of Health Care Delivery Science to people who are running hospitals and clinics around the world. We’ve created a program that’s multidisciplinary, international, done at a distance and allows people to work in teams but still be apart. It’s the first of its kind that I know of.”

2. Changes in Format

Anjani Jain, Vice Dean of MBA Programs, Wharton MBA Program,

University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School

“There is growing demand among our students for firsthand exposure to emerging business issues in different parts of the globe. During the academic year that just ended, our faculty created eight new mini-courses – from health care innovation in India to technology entrepreneurship in Israel – that they taught in different parts of the world. The courses were offered in an accelerated format, each occupying no more than a week. Many students said that they were some of the best courses they had taken in their educational careers and they could not have learned as much in a conventional setting.”

3. Competency-based Outcomes

Richard Lyons, Dean of University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business

“Almost all business school mission statements talk about producing leaders. But then the fundamental question becomes, what type of leader are you producing, and how? Different schools have different answers. There were 10 competencies we used in our curriculum, including experimentation, problem-framing and influence without authority. The top business schools going forward are less likely to differentiate themselves by choosing a particular function than by choosing a particular flavor of general manager or leader. Taking a stand on a leadership type and then delivering that is a macro trend.”

4. Big Ideas

Peter Henry, Dean of New York University’s Stern School of Business

“The major issues of our time – from fiscal sustainability to the economic rise of emerging markets – cry out for leaders who can think integratively and work collaboratively to harness the power of markets for the good of the world. At NYU Stern, our mission is to develop people and ideas that transform the challenges of the 21st century into opportunities to create value for business and society.”

5. Ethics

Christopher Puto, Dean of University of St. Thomas’s Opus College of Business

“After the latest financial debacle, there’s been a permeation of ethics across the curriculum. Students want help understanding their own values, recognizing whey they are in a values conflict and how to deal with that on the job. The Ethics and Compliance Officer Association has an annual ethics case competition, and we’re seeing a great increase in students wanting to participate. We see this as a really positive thing, and for us a very strong trend.”

The Plight of One Young College Graduate ... and a Personal Favor

Remember the hope and promise you felt graduating from college and entering the next phase of your life?  Within a few months of graduation, imagine securing a dream internship in your chosen field in a large, vibrant city. Think about taking your lunch break, walking to a nearby restaurant with a friend on a hot summer day.

Now imagine in a blink of an eye that this is the last ‘walk’ you will ever take.

This past July in midtown-Atlanta, in a senseless act of violence, a lone gunman shot and killed 26-year old Britteny Watts, and wounded Lauren Garcia, 23 and Tiffany Ferenczy, 24. Britteny tragically died at the scene of the crime. Tiffany was shot in her leg, while Lauren suffered a spinal injury leaving her paralyzed. All three women worked in the midtown Atlanta area at public relations and market firms, and had no prior connection with the shooter.

“This is upscale living, young and upwardly mobile people, high-end shopping,” said Volkan Topalli, an associate professor of criminal justice at Georgia State University's Andrew Young School. “It’s a shocker.”

The Long Road to Recovery

According to her doctor at the Shepherd Center, Lauren’s injury was so severe that she is not expected to ever walk again. The Shepherd center staff said that she has worked every day through pain.

“It changes the direction of her life, and with that is a roller coaster ride between being optimistic and hopeful, and there’s the bad moments, the bad days, the ‘why me?,’ the ‘why now?’ and ‘why ever?’” said Dr. Brock Bowman.

A Recent Marriage Proposal and a New Job

A recent marriage proposal from her long-time boyfriend, written in giant letters on the roof of the Shepherd Center’s parking garage was one of the good days, according to WSBTV in Atlanta. Lauren accepted, and doctors said her family and friends have stood by her.“She has great family support. Her fiance has been trained to help in her care where necessary, as have her parents,” Bowman said.

On Friday, I spoke with Joe Fowler, the Garcia family attorney. Mr. Fowler praised her employer MSL Atlanta as “one of the greatest companies on the planet.” Despite being on the job for only a few weeks as an intern, the company allowed for a worker’s compensation claim to help cover significant medical expenses. She was also recently given a full-time job as an account coordinator.

The Garcia family has established a trust fund to help cover Lauren's medical bills. If you enjoy reading this blog, consider this a personal favor and please donate.

Donations may be sent to:

Lauren E. Garcia Trust

6622 E. Broad St.

Douglasville, GA, 30133.

Old Media is Dead? Not So, Says Facebook

Online advertising is the economic engine of Internet power houses such as Google and Facebook. Their reach extends the planet earth with millions upon millions of eyeballs searching content, reading status updates, and watching video every day. Google processes an estimated one billion Internet searches daily, while over 750 million people are Facebook users.

Given the sheer volume of people, it’s only natural to believe – and for many ‘experts’ to proclaim – old media is dead and marketing only happens in the ‘cloud.’

Why then is Facebook advertising in the September 2011 edition of Entrepreneur magazine … a publication with an estimated circulation of 600,000?

 

Old Media Best Practices

In this ad, Facebook promotes an introductory offer to try Facebook advertising for free. Why Entrepreneur Magazine?

There are an estimated 28 million small businesses in the US and what better channel to reach their owners than a magazine focused on small business concerns.

Notice the elements of the advertisement: 1) targeted to a well-qualified audience; 2) a clear message; 3) a strong marketing-focused offer that is easy to access; and 4) a tracking response mechanism (think marketing return-on-investment).

 

The Art of Selling the Marketing Offer

This Facebook ad also focuses on selling the offer with 5 Reasons to try Facebook Ads including:

Your ads only appear to the customers you want to reach  

1. Works for any budget
2. Also get a FREE Facebook Page for your business
3. People can spread the word about your business
4. Enjoy Repeat Business

 

In a Multi-Channel World, Your Enrollment Marketing Objectives Matter

In January, I wrote about similar direct mail offer I received from Google (Who Say’s Direct Mail Doesn’t Matter? Not Google).

Both marketing examples are instructive for higher education professionals. Enrollment marketing efforts should be balanced across a number of channels depending upon your objectives. And in these examples, with a clear objective to uncover prospective new customers, direct response is a winner.