Finding Martha: Social networks that influence student enrollment into vocational education programs in the community college.

摘要

Some California vocational education programs in the community college are at risk of closure. In contrast, the community is in great need of the graduates from most of these programs. The problem is in marketing. The students are not enrolling into the community college programs in numbers that will keep the program cost effective. Even though the community college vocational education programs were created to assist the community with the job needs, the California budget cuts are making this task difficult. There are many men and women working at low paying jobs that will need the education that these programs afford to be successful in their future lives. This study attempts to use social network analysis as a tool to identify a target marketing audience for the vocational education programs in the community college. A student's social networks were assessed through means of scaling the influence of persons in the student's life. Parents, counselors, teachers, field professionals, and peers were addressed as the most obvious persons to influence the potential student. Through a survey method, including demographic and persons of influence data, three vocational education programs at a community college in southern California were compared and contrasted. The results were that all three programs drew unique individuals. Marketing to these individuals was most effective if done through the internet (a new 'social network!'), targeting parents of prospective students, targeting students already on the community college campus, and making sure that the programs initial contact person was warm and caring. Additionally, it was determined that the weakest influence in the student's decision for career or program enrollment was the counselor.