Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/63446
When students give their alma maters good marks, grade they burnish the schools' reputations in the marketplace. Student satisfaction surveys help schools measure and modify their programs to improve their scores. making the new "customers" to keep themselves viable. For most businesses, the key to generating positive word- of-mouth is satisfying customers with sales or ser vice. For a business school, the key is providing a meaningful education that boosts a student's career and provides practical knowl- edge. According to Kate Ferguson, associate vice provost and director of graduate student recruitment services at the State University of New York at Buffalo, "The No. 1 pre- dictor of future recruitment success is the satisfaction of stu- dents who matriculate in a graduate program. Admissions and recruitment professionals are keenly aware of the importance of word-of-mouth—students telling their friends about how valuable their experience has been, or alumni speaking about how their training has helped to advance their careers." Because it is so important that alumni sell school pro- grams after graduating, schools have begun to focus more O 52 ne of the most potent advertising vehicles is word-of-mouth, the praise of satisfied cus- tomers. Word-of-mouth advertising works for retail shops, doctors, hair stylists, and hotels—and it's becoming increasingly important for institutions like business schools, which rely on a continuing influx of BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2002 tightly on satisfying current students—and measuring their level of satisfaction through surveys. These surveys help reveal not only what students want, but whether or not they feel they've received it during their time in school. From Analysis to Action Armed with survey figures that measure student satisfaction, administrators and program managers can pursue continuous improvements in their programs—and assure stakeholders that they know what they're doing and where they're going. For instance, students at the Hankamer Business School at Baylor University, Waco, Texas, give and receive feedback about school programs every semester during a session called "Lunch with the Dean." Explains associate dean Linda Livingstone, "The dean of the business school gives an update on issues related to the graduate programs. Students then can ask questions, express concerns, and provide their reactions to the program." On other occasions, the data can help schools adminis- trators reallocate critical resources. Norm Blanchard, Director of Student Services at Boston University in Massachusetts, notes that, "Survey data confirmed some- thing that my staff had suspected. Students were growing disgruntled with the amount of time they had to wait for by Scott Buechler PETER HOLST/GETTY IMAGES