¿Cómo les muestra a los estudiantes el impacto de su programa?

Students need to see and hear how what we teach makes a difference in their real lives. I love when students in our part time MBA programs come back and share how they used class tools and concepts. That makes it more meaningful for everyone

Strengthen your program alumni community as it serves as a powerful tool for showcasing the tangible impact of the program to students. Organize networking events that allow students to interact with program alumni who can share their success stories and valuable advice. These events provide students with tangible evidence of the program's efficacy and impact.

The key to demonstrating value to any audience is to understand what they care about and tailor the message accordingly. As a music educator recruiting students for my program, that might be framed as the number of students who studied applied (private) voice with me and received scholarships upon transfer to a university; cast in live productions or operas; currently on the air in radio jingles, etc. My own performing credits are solid… but they don’t identify with me as much as a performer; rather, they want to know the results of my teaching.

As an example, students in a graduate degree program may be able to demonstrate capabilities and competencies from the program during experiential learning opportunities, internships, and post-graduate employment contexts. You can build profiles that feature your students and the unique elements that make up their professional, academic, and personal stories; include information on how they applied what they learned in class during a summer internship, or how they applied core/fundamental courses to a global or domestic experiential course.

I believe this is one of the most effective ways to impress upon prospective students the worth of our program. Invite fomer students or students at a hiher level to come talk to prospects. Face to face is best but online options are always a good second choice.

Statistics regarding pass rate (of the graduation rate and any tests required for entry into a profession) give a larger picture of how former students have performed. Just as these statistics can help, be wary of opening the whole box of worms with some of your poorer results. You may scare prospective students away from your program

I've found that offering feedback sessions and anonymous surveys at certain intervals throughout the program or experience to be most helpful. It also helps to monitor the progression of students who have completed the program. For example, automated outreach can be set up to follow students post-program completion at intervals of 1, 2, 5, and 10 years.

We need to be advocates of, and cheerleaders for, our students and our programs. Too often, we keep our successes within the confines of our classrooms. Students need to see how our programs will impact them — not just in the future, but right now. We need to challenge our students to achieve and accomplish and, when they do, we should help make sure that everyone knows it. We should use social media, websites, school announcements, local newspapers. When students feel celebrated they feel confident. When they feel confident, they strive to achieve even more, helping them to envision what is possible.