By Amelia Kibbe
Editor-In-Chief
Nearly 20,000 students, prospective students, faculty, alumni and university donors received an online survey this week as part of a research component of a comprehensive positioning study, also known as a brand positioning study, said Emily Morris, Ph.D., vice president for university relations.
Morris, who said the study is being conducted by the higher education marketing firm STAMATS, added this is the first time St. Bonaventure has done an email survey of this magnitude.
According to Morris, the firm will use the responses from the survey to gather information and analyze St. Bonaventure’s position in the market and compare it to competing brands.
“A positioning study uncovers a brand’s strengths and areas of focus, and tests what currently distinguishes it in the marketplace. It identifies compelling characteristics and attributes,” Morris said. “In short, positioning will help us to learn “who we are” in the minds of our constituents – which is where brands truly exist. Armed with this information, we will be able to improve how we interact with our key constituent groups, including prospective students, and what we say to them.”
Morris estimated the survey will take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete.
It will remain open through Sunday, Nov. 29.
“[The survey] asks questions about perceptions and opinions of St. Bonaventure University, our academic programs, our distinctions, and our character,” she said.
The actual research process began last month with a three-day campus visit from members of STAMATS, Morris said. The firm conducted focus groups both at the university’s main campus and at the Buffalo Center on Hilbert College’s campus.
Morris said the cost of the study to the university has been shared with St. Bonaventure’s faculty and staff, but the university would not publically disclose details or figures with outside contractors. She did not provide details.
“The fee is consistent with what other universities have paid for this kind of work and, in fact, STfAMATS is also doing some additional research work for us that was not part of the proposals of the other contractors we considered,” she said. “STAMATS has a very good reputation for this kind of work, the outcomes of which will inform some very important decisions and future investments.”
She added the funding for the process, including the survey, came from allocation dollars from the university’s board of trustees.
Morris encouraged students, faculty and staff to help the university by completing the survey.
“As the higher education industry endures significant change and disruption, it is more important than ever that we understand our market position and ensure that the entire university is aligned with it,” Morris said. “That’s what will make our story stand out in a crowded and increasingly distracted marketplace, and it’s also what will make our student experience distinctive and even more powerful than it is today.”
kibbeaa13@bonaventure.edu
