school history founded in 1875 located in mt. pleasant, utah current enrollment 148 –81% boarding...
TRANSCRIPT
SCHOOL HISTORY
• Founded in 1875
• Located in Mt. Pleasant, Utah
• Current enrollment 148– 81% boarding students– 19% local students
• Faculty and staff
OBJECTIVES
• Recommend areas Wasatch Academy should focus on
• Recommend ways to better reach target market• Feedback regarding a possible expansion of a
performing arts program• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of
Wasatch Academy and propose possible improvements for the school
• Understand the selection process of parents for boarding schools
METHODOLOGY
• Focus groups
• Questionnaires
• In-depth Interviews
FOCUS GROUPS & IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS
• Held three focus groups at Wasatch Academy– Freshman– Sophomores– Juniors and Seniors
• Called five boarding school consultants
QUESTIONNAIRE
• Students of Wasatch Academy– 150 handed out– 59 were completed
• Parents of Wasatch Academy Students– 97 mailed out– 35 completed
• Parents of students who applied, were accepted, but rejected – 17 mailed out– 3 completed
• Parents currently interested in boarding schools– 36 mailed out– 2 completed
LIMITATIONS
• Time
• Money
• Sampling Error
• Processing Error
• Response and Non-Response Bias
• Response rates of 5% or less are common in mail surveys.
• MSM received a 23.3% response rate.
FINDINGS
TARGET MARKET
• We asked parents: “What is the main academic reason you sent your child to Wasatch?”
• 68.6% answered College Prep and 11.4% answered Learning Strategies
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4
0
7
0 5 10 15 20 25
College Prep
Extra help in subject
E.S.L
Other
Reason for attending Wasatch
• We asked students: “What is your primary reason for attending Wasatch Academy?”
• 47.5% answered College Prep and 18% answered Learning Strategies
College PrepLearning Strategies
ESLOther
S1
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Num
ber
of S
tude
nts
Reason for Attending WA
College Prep
Learning Strategies
ESL
Other
Importance of Academics
0
2
4
6
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10
12
14
16
Veryunimportant
Somewhatimportant
Veryimportant
Nu
mb
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of
Stu
de
nts
• We also asked students: “How important have academics been in shaping your experience as a whole?”
• 89.8% of students stated that academics are somewhat to very important to them
• Consultants said the most common type of student they recommend to Wasatch are: – students who have not reached their full
potential– students who would benefit from more
individual attention– students that need extra social and academic
support– students who need to develop a sense of who
they are
HOW TO REACH TARGET MARKET
• Parents suggested the number one way to reach the target market was to contact public schools
• Currently, most parents find out about Wasatch through consultants
25%
19%
13%
13%
8%
8%
8%6% Visit schools
Internet
Advertise
Other
Consultants
Alumni
Socials/mixers
Publications
1
15
7
5
7
0
5
10
15
Brochure Consult. Internet Refer. Other
How did you first hear about Wasatch?
PERFORMING ARTS
• We asked parents: “If Wasatch Academy were to enhance its performing arts program, how important would that be in influencing you to send your child to Wasatch?”
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Not imp.
Somew hat imp.
Very imp.
Importance of performing arts
Series1
PERFORMING ARTS
• We asked students: “If Wasatch were to devote a significant amount of resources to enhancing the performing arts programs offered at the school, how likely would you be to participate in one of the programs?”
Likely to Participate in Performing Arts
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
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16
18
20
Very unlikely Maybe Very likely
Num
ber
of S
tude
nts
AREAS OF FOCUS
• Parents were asked to list the three most important things they look for in boarding schools
• 74% of parents consider academics to be among the most important features when selecting a boarding school
• 51% of parents listed a nurturing environment
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0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Academics
Nuturing environment
Size
Good faculty
Sports/activites
Good atmosphere
Location
Discipline
College Placement
History/Reputation
Structured Program
AREAS OF FOCUS
• We asked parents: “Excluding academics, what is the most influential factor that caused you to choose Wasatch over other boarding schools?”– 28% answered faculty– 28% answered sports and recreational activities
28%
12%
12%10%
6%
6%
4%
4%
18% Faculty
Location
Activities
Snowboarding/Skiing
Learning Support
Sports
Structure
Diversity
Other
AREAS OF FOCUS
• Students said: “The outdoor recreation activities offered at Wasatch made the school:”
Appeal of Outdoor Recreation
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2
4
6
8
10
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20
Much lessappealing
No change Much moreappealing
Nu
mb
er o
f S
tud
ents
AREAS OF FOCUS
• We also asked students: “How important were these activities in your decision to come to Wasatch?”– 78.9% said they were of average to great importance
Importance of Extracurricular Activities
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Notimportant
Averageimportance
Veryimportant
Num
ber
of S
tude
nts
STRENGTHS• Parents were asked to list the three most important things they liked about
Wasatch Academy • Wasatch’s biggest strengths are a caring, nurturing environment created
by the staff and faculty, the academic program, the small overall size of the school, and the wide variety of quality outdoor and indoor recreational activities and sports
• The majority of consultants, students, and parents had very high opinions of Wasatch
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Sta
ff & F
aculty
Academ
ics
Sm
all S
ize
Atm
osphere
Website
Recre
atio
n/A
thle
tics
Locatio
n
Rule
s/d
iscip
line
syste
m
WEAKNESSES
• Parents were asked to list the three most important things they disliked about Wasatch Academy
• Based on parent surveys, Wastch’s biggest weakness is poor communication with parents
• Based on student surveys, food, teacher turnover and expertise, and “problem” students distracting from the learning environment are the main weaknesses
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4 4 43
0
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Poor
Com
munic
atio
n
to P
are
nts
Locatio
n
Cost
Facilitie
s
Website
Inconsis
tent
Rule
s
Food
IMPROVEMENTS
• The most important improvement to students is the food at Wasatch
• The most important improvement to parents is the communication between them and the
school
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Pare
nt
Com
munic
atio
n
Consis
tent
Rule
s
Website
Facilitie
s
Food
Perfo
rmin
g
Arts
Improvements
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Academics
Activities
Drug Testing
Facilities
Food
Performing Arts
Rules
Teachers
Number of Students
PARENT SELECTION PROCESS
• Parents were asked what their first step in researching boarding schools was when they started to consider sending their child to one
• It is interesting to note that most parents start their search on the web; however, they do not hear about Wasatch until they speak with a consultant
18
15
32 2
0
24
68
10
1214
16
18
• Other common steps:
• Peterson’s Guide• Referrals
OTHER FINDINGS FROM STUDENT SURVEYS
The following points are based on student survey correlations:
• Students who have more input in the school selection process are much more satisfied with the school and they also have better relationships with parents
• The outdoor and extracurricular activities are influential in persuading students in choosing one school over another
• After visiting the campus, students overall opinions of the school are drastically changed for the better.
• Students generally had a significant amount of input in deciding which school to attend.
OTHER FINDINGS FROM STUDENT SURVEYS
The following points are based on student survey correlations:
• Students who have more input in the school selection process are much more satisfied with the school and they also have better relationships with parents
• After visiting the campus, students overall opinions of the school are drastically changed for the better.
• Students generally had a significant amount of input in deciding which school to attend.
• The outdoor and extracurricular activities are influential in persuading students in choosing one school over another
OTHER FINDINGS FROM PARENT SURVEYS
The following points are based on parent survey cross tabulations and correlations:– Based on the parent survey, most parents
who visited the school were much more interested in the school after their visit.
– Parents who visited Wasatch show more improvement their relationships with their children
OTHER FINDINGS FROM PARENT SURVEYS CONT…
– Parents who visited Wasatch show more improvement their relationships with their children
– The more the child/parent relationship improves, the more likely the parent will be to refer Wasatch to a friend.
– Parents of Wasatch students are somewhat price sensitive because it was an important factor in selecting the school to the majority of parents.
RECOMMENDATIONS
TARGET MARKET
• Focus on college prep and learning strategies • The current Wasatch environment already caters
to this segment with its: – small class size– individual attention from teachers – the nurturing environment
Trying to serve too many market segments would stretch Wasatch resources and take away from their current strengths.
HOW TO REACH TARGET MARKET
• Build relationships with as many consultants as possible – Visits, phone calls, emails, mailers
• Concentrate resources on having a stronger presence on the web
• Encourage students and parents to visit the campus
AREAS OF FOCUS
• Focus on college prep and learning strategies
• Keep advertising and focusing on the various activities and sports offered by the school
• Do not spend large sums of money to change the school to cater toward the performing arts segment
SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS
• Communication with parents– Interactive grade book, newsletter, including them in
more activities, returning phone calls and emails
• Food– more fresh food and less greasy food with more
nutritional value
• Facilities – continue to update school buildings and dorms
SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS
• Teacher turnover – do whatever possible to find quality teachers
who will be willing to stay at the school for as long as possible
• Student Screening – be more selective in the students admitted to
the school. Admit students that fit the target market.
