Post on 07-Nov-2014
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June 01 - 04, 2010
2010 NACE Annual Conference & ExpositionMarriott World Center, Orlando, Florida
National Association of Colleges and Employers
Engaging Parents as Career Advocates: Mobilizing Support through an Online Community
June 3, 2010Erik Friedman, Director, Office of Student Employment, DePaul UniversityAmanda Powers Snowden, Assoc Director, Communications, Career and Money Management, DePaul University
Agenda• Background
– DePaul University– Career & Money Management (CMM)– The DePaul Quad
• How We Engage Parents via DePaul Quad
• Listening to Parents: Challenges and Rewards
• Lessons Learned
• Questions to Consider when Building an Online Community
Background on DePaul University
• Founded in 1898
• Located in Chicago
• Largest Catholic university and eighth largest private not-for-profit university in the U.S.– 25,072 students (65% undergraduate, 35% graduate)
• Focused on teaching and applied learning– Faculty teach 97% of all courses– Majority of classes have less than 30 students– “Chicago is our classroom”
• Diverse– 30% of students are first in their family to attend college– 26% of students are students of color– 33% of first-year students are from out of state
Career & Money Management (CMM)• Within the division of Enrollment Management & Marketing
• Made up of 4 distinct areas to serve students and alumni– Career Center– Office of Student Employment– Financial Fitness– Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK)
• Assist in defining a career path, managing money and finding gainful and rewarding employment
• Close relationship and shared office space with the Office for Academic Advising Support
Background on the DePaul Quad
• Online community for parents of DePaul students
• Parents play an active role the college selection process– 75% of parents are involved in students college research and
selection process
• Created by Marketing Strategy Group to tell the DePaul story to audiences that could help tell the DePaul story and create buzz
Background on the DePaul Quad (continued)
• Launched Quad in August 2007 – initially to first year parents – expanded to prospective parents
and all current parents
• Added Value: Quad as a customer service tool– 74% of parents communicate
with students “two to three times a week”
– Helps DePaul deliver better student services and customer service overall
Today, the Quad has nearly 1,100 members.
• Membership peaked in mid-2009 with over 2,500
• Switched platforms in Dec 2009
• Membership #’s dropped, but visits stayed steady
On average, 1,000 parents access the Quad each month and they visit two times a month.
Overall monthly average-- 2,000 total visits-- 1,000 unique visits-- slightly higher usage by out of IL parents
Who are our Quad members?
• mostly women (3/4)
• from Illinois (47%) AND non-Illinois (53%)
• largely incoming and first year parents
Quad members by year of their student
University Partners Provide Content
Average Monthly Content Added to DePaul Quad by DePaul Staff & Partners
CMM & Parent Engagement
• Summer Orientation Sessions
• Open House Participation
• Parent & Family Weekend
• Printed pieces
• Further engagement = Quad
CMM & DePaul Quad Partnership
• Recognized value of online parent community
• Decided to harness the technology to help solve problems and use parents to help get crucial information to students
• Eventually became Quad “Super User”
CMM & DePaul Quad: Live Sessions
– On-Campus Jobs
– Part-Time Jobs
– Career Roadmap
– Internship Search Strategies
– Managing DePaul Finances
– Career Mentoring
– Undecided Majors
– Career Help for Graduating Seniors
Strategically Scheduled Topics:
Quad Discussion Threads
Proactive Email Campaigns
Subject: Students Need to Intern Early - and Often
Resources and Related Content
Intern Spotlights Resources Page
Results of CMM Quad Use
• Students have scheduled appointments• Attendance at workshops and events has
been affected– Campus Employment 101 session was held
after a Quad program and 75 students attended
• Parents provide other parents solutions to problems!
Challenges & Rewards
Attracts 8 additional parents posts with questions and dissatisfaction
Parent starts discussion topic about on-campus employment after daughter cannot find job
Parents want to see changes quickly
Director of Student Employment posts acknowledging issue and providing his contact information
Appointments scheduled with students who need assistance
Shortage of FWS positions still a challenge. However, changes are being made to how FWS is awarded.
Example: Negative feedback on DePaul’s Work Study Program brings positive change
Challenges & RewardsExample: Parent suggestion that DPU parents provide career
networking for students
Quad parent posted idea to have DPU parents mentor DPU Students
DPU posted discussion forum topic on “how is your student’s job search going”
Suggestion forwarded to DePaul Career Center
Other parents posted with enthusiasm about idea
DePaul’s Alumni mentoring program expanded to include parents
Quad team thanks parents and announces expansion of program
Parents want quick turn around and begin calling DPU offices
Listening to Parents: Challenges, Rewards and Lessons Learned
• Have to respond quickly and act on changes
• Parent feedback—good and bad – is important to the Quad and to DePaul– Community self-manages many complaints– Real issues bubble to the top
• Enables parent-to-parent networking
Next Steps for DePaul
Overall: Leverage new University Parent Council
Quad• Improve user access & experience
– Facebook Connect– More publicly accessible content
• Grow member base, esp. out-of-state parents• Parent engagement after 1st year• Can we establish metrics to tie to recruitment &
retention?
CMM: Expand Quad involvement, i.e. blogs
Establishing a Community: Lessons Learned
• Identify a dedicated internal “community manager”– To build relationships with partners from across the university
who can: • Provide DePaul-specific content to put on the Quad• Present Live Sessions on the Quad• Answer parents questions on the Quad• Solve issues parents raise
– To interact with members (these are important relationships!)– To follow-up on customer service issues and manage them to
completion
• Involve members in creating content– Parent bloggers– Parent surveys to identify hot topics/interest areas
Establishing a Community: Lessons Learned
• Pull members to the Quad with weekly emails highlighting valuable content– “Check out the new information on student internships”– “Help parent blogger, Patrick, solve his spring break dilemma”– “Article from the DePaul Newsroom - 2010 DePaul Grads
Finding Jobs Despite Slow Economic Rebound. ”
• Thank members who participate– Notes and tee-shirts work better than contests– Give them chances to give more input
Suggested Questions to Consider
• Who are your stakeholders?• What is it that you hope to accomplish?• Identify other champions on your campus• What social media tools are right for your school?• What funding is needed?• How will you collect data and assess?• What best practices exist on your campus in building
partnerships with parents and families?
Questions
• Erik Friedman312.362.5326
efriedm1@depaul.edu
• Amanda Powers Snowden312.362.8664
apowers@depaul.edu