Executive Summary
The Industrial and Management Systems Engineering (IMSE) program lacks effective communication to potential and current University of South Florida students. Recruiting a greater number of quality students is necessary to become a competitive program in the USF College of Engineering. Also, the IMSE program needs to be comparable to other collegiate industrial engineering programs. IMSE at USF lacks respect from the other engineering disciplines because it is the youngest engineering field.
The goal of the IMSE program is to design a campaign after completing qualitative and quantitative research in order to accomplish the stated objectives through the use of creative tactics.
Research
Our purpose was to understand the awareness, attitudes and behaviors toward IMSE among industrial engineering (IE) students and engineering students of other disciplines. The study also included primary research of the top IE programs in the nation.
Implemented September 2007 – October 2007, the study consisted of qualitative and quantitative research. Two focus groups were conducted, one with IMSE students and one with students from other engineering disciplines. The most significant information obtained from the focus groups is as follows:
· All participants of the IE focus group knew they wanted to study engineering in high school and chose IE in college.
· All participants of the IE focus group received little or no information about the IMSE program at USF; they relied on their own research.
· A major drawing point to the USF IMSE program, for the IE focus group participants, is the career options post-graduation.
· All participants of the general engineering focus group, with the exception of the international students, have little or no knowledge and opinion of IE.
· All participants of the general engineering focus group knew what area of engineering they wanted to study before attending college.
The information obtained from these focus groups influenced the creation of two surveys, one paper census survey for IMSE students and one internet survey for all other engineering students. The most significant findings from our survey of general engineering students are as follows:
· The students in general agree that they know what industrial engineering is, but there is a significant difference found among the different engineering tracks.
· Students disagree that if they had more information about industrial engineering they would have considered it as their major.
· Students agree most that they use the faculty/administration and their peers to learn about their engineering tracks. Students use e-mail and mailed information the least to learn about their engineering track.
· Students agree that researching universities as well as engineering program is important when choosing a university.
· Students agree that they chose to attend USF because of the location and have no opinion about choosing USF for its reputation.
Other qualitative research conducted includes participatory observation of USF’s Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) student organization and in-depth interviews with the department heads of industrial engineering programs around the country. We uncovered important information about some of the top IE programs in the nation, such as how they recruit students in their programs. The most significant information obtained from the in-depth interviews is as follows:
· Most recruiting, with the exception of one university, is done when the students have already entered the university at the schools studied.
· All participants stated their IE Web site is the most important tool for recruiting students.
The major research finding is that effective communication is necessary to create awareness about the program in order to increase the quantity and quality of students.
A SWOT Analysis was conducted to find out the client’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats before implementing the campaign.
• Strengths: Positive opinions. Program gratification.
• Weaknesses: Small population. Lack of communication.
• Opportunities: Lack of opinions. Location.
• Threats: Other disciplines. Lack of knowledge.
Goal
The goal of the campaign is to use strategic objectives to increase awareness and positive attitudes of engineering students in order to increase the number of applicants in the next year.
Objectives
· To increase awareness and understanding among USF general engineering students about industrial engineering.
· To increase positive attitudes among USF general engineering students about industrial engineering.
· To change behaviors among general engineering students in order to increase applicants to the IMSE program by 25 percent by January 2009.
Creative Strategy
The campaign targets two primary audiences:
· Undeclared USF general engineering students
· Local high school students
Strategy 1
To develop an awareness campaign among USF’s undergraduate engineers at the Tampa campus, as well as a campaign to change attitudes & behaviors among general engineering students.
Tactics
· Web site
Renovation of the Web site completed in order to update information, validate links, and include a credible source for possible applicants to use for information. Other ideas include: student blogs, IIE presence, college and high school fair appearances, School of Engineering tour schedules and a request for more information link.
· Brochures
Two brochures will be created. One will be based on information about industrial engineering. The other will be based on information about IMSE at USF.
· Faculty Support for IIE
This is to create stronger support among the faculty and administration for Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) – fundraising ideas, donation request form letters, encouraging IE students to join organization because of benefits to career, etc.
· Blackboard Communications
This is to be used by the administration to keep students informed and updated on IMSE related issues.
· USF Recruitment Office
Create a method for receiving information from the recruiting office so IMSE can send information to students who are interested in engineering, science, math, etc.
· Undecided Majors Recruitment Kit
· IMSE collateral
This will include t-shirts, pens, school posters, hats, laptop bags, etc.
· PSA Informational Video
Informational video will be utilized to inform students who may be interested in IE. It will explain what IE is, what the USF program has to offer and what job possibilities can come out of the program. Ideas include: using the short video on the Web and a longer video in the Fundamentals of Engineering class.
Strategy 2
To develop an awareness campaign among local high school students and Florida teachers/ guidance counselors about industrial engineering and the IMSE program at the USF College of Engineering.
Tactics
· High School Recruitment Kit
· Open Houses
Open houses will be held for high school students. There should be several each semester, and the dates should be announced on the Web site.
· IMSE collateral
This will include t-shirts, pens, school posters, hats, laptop bags, etc.
· Creation of Relationships with Local High Schools
In order to develop these relationships, this will involve contact with high school guidance counselors of local high schools, especially technical schools. The recruitment kits will be sent to them. Use NACAC and other groups of counselors as exhibit opportunities. By participating in high school fairs and exhibits around the state, awareness of industrial engineering and the USF IMSE program increases.
· PSA Informational Video
Informational video will be utilized to inform students who may be interested in IE. It will explain what IE is, what the USF program has to offer and what job possibilities can come out of the program. A short video can be made, as well as a longer, informational video.
Conclusion
The tactics will be implemented by the IMSE program to accomplish the objectives of increasing the quantity and quality of students in the next year. Improved communication methods with local high school student and current undeclared engineering students will improve the chances of success for the IMSE program at USF. The IMSE Web site will be an important tool in the recruiting process. The quantifiable objectives can be evaluated at the end of the campaign to determine how successful the tactics were in reaching the target audiences.