Growth-hacking is a concept applied in the startup world, but it also provides a framework for growing applied baccalaureate programs on a limited budget. An alternative to traditional marketing, growth-hacking focuses on experimentation across marketing channels, fast feedback, continuous product / degree improvement, and rapid adaptation to change.
At Green River College, we growth-hacked a BAS in Software Development, meeting and exceeding our 5-year enrollment target in under 3 years — all on a virtually nonexistent marketing budget and during a climate of historically low unemployment. From leveraging free web tools, creating shareable content, building strategic partnerships, and organizing grass-roots events, we’ll talk about our journey to becoming one of the largest applied baccalaureate programs in Washington state, including a discussion of the challenges that come with rapid scaling.
Historical philosophical, theoretical, and legal foundations of special and i...
Launch Your Degree with a Startup Mentality: A Guide to Growth-Hacking New Applied Baccalaureate Programs
1. Launch Your Degree With a
Startup Mentality:
A Guide to Growth-Hacking
New AB Programs
March 18, 2018
Community College Baccalaureate Association
Tina Ostrander | Ken Hang | Andy Orr
2. Outline
Speaker Intros
Program Demographics
What is Growth-Hacking?
Integrated Product Team
Strategies
Technology Stack
Challenges to Rapid-Scaling
Activity: Rapid Prototype your Marketing Plan
Q & A
3. Speaker Intros
Tina Ostrander
Instructor, Software
Development
Ken Hang
Program
Director
&Instructor,
Software
Development
Andy Orr
Program Manager,
Software
Development
4. Program Demographics
120 unique students < 4 years from launch
40% non-white
38% first generation
60% financial aid eligible
90+% student retention
All on a virtually non-existent marketing budget!
5. Growth-Hacking
Framework for growing programs on a limited budget
Concept applied in the startup / tech world
Alternative to traditional marketing plans
Fast feedback, experimentation, continuous
improvement, and rapid adaptation to change
Marketing is built into the product / degree itself
Analogous to LEAN startup
6. Being Agile
An “inspect and adapt approach”
Focus on creating minimum viable products / services
Incremental development
Driven by observation and data, vs. up-front planning
We teach Agile, we live Agile
Examples
Job fairs >>> targeted recruiting
Website + Google form >>> Landing page + lead
generation
Personalized response >>> automating initial contact
+ appointment scheduling
9. What does a Program
Manager do?
Day-to-day ops plus long-term vision
Marketing and outreach
Content development
CRM specialist
Official program communications
Targeted advising (250+ students)
Student tracking
Admissions
Program record keeping
Intent, advisor, tuition coding
Data guru
Monthly event planning and promotion
Internship hub and career services
Liaison with campus stakeholders
Employer relations
Strategic partnerships
Alumni tracking and engagement
Institutional know-how
10. Strategies
Marketing is built into the product / degree itself
Strategic partnership building
Meetups and events
Lead generation mentality
Automate the boring stuff
Strong web presence
Targeted outreach efforts
Deliver shareable content that tells human stories
Find opportunities to co-brand
Leverage campus partners
11. Our Technology Stack
SEO-optimized program landing page
Interest form to capture contact info
Google Analytics
Automated email campaigns using a
CRM or a free tool like MailChimp
Free appointment scheduling software like Calendly
Maintain active presence on social media
LinkedIn and Facebook
Start a blog with steady flow of relevant content
Publish content that co-brands / adds value to
others to increase sharing
Online internship hub and virtual career center
Meetup.com and EventBrite for events
12. (Very Real) Challenges
Student services, especially tutoring, are difficult to scale
Physical space constraints
Publishing and writing takes time
Meaningful social media presence takes time
Educating stakeholders on campus about our Agile model / product
team for running an AB program
Rapid-scaling creates administrative overhead (think student
tracking, and waitlist maintenance and refinement)
Rapid-scaling presents threat of having to turn students away
Rapid-scaling = more sections = difficulty recruiting tech teaching
talent
13. Interactive Exercise
Question: What steps would you take
on your campus to growth-hack a new
AB program?
Self-organize into groups of 7 +- 2
Write down ideas on sticky notes
Dot vote to select your top ideas
Nominate a speaker to step up and
present in a lighting round (30
seconds max)
14. For More Information
Landing page
https://www.greenriver.edu/software
Program blog
https://medium.com/green-river-web-mobile-developers
Meetup
https://www.meetup.com/South-King-Web-Mobile-Developers/
Online internship hub and virtual career center
http://itconnect.greenrivertech.net/
Ken Hang
khang@greenriver.edu
Tina Ostrander
tostrander@greenriver.edu
Andy Orr
aorr@greenriver.edu