Contact: Maridith Geuder
MSU'S Phil Bonfanti and Fairfax Montgomery display the Crystal Marketing Award.
A successful marketing effort to increase enrollment in a second-language program at Mississippi State is bringing home a top national honor.
The university's Division of Continuing Education recently was selected to receive the first Crystal Marketing Award given by the Association for Continuing Higher Education. The honor recognizes the division's continuing efforts to expand its English as a Second Language program.
The Charleston, S.C.-based ACHE is the professional organization representing lifelong learning programs, activities and individuals at the nation's colleges and universities. Presented at the association's annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala., its Crystal award was established to honor organizations achieving successful results from print, broadcast and electronic marketing communications.
Developed through written surveys and interviews with current and finishing students, the MSU marketing effort succeeded in more than doubling ESL enrollment over a three-year period beginning in 1999.
Philip G. Bonfanti, interim continuing education head and former ESL director, and division marketing specialist Fairfax Montgomery were specifically recognized for the targeted marketing effort.
Specific MSU initiatives cited in the award included, among others:
--Increased visibility and redesign of Web site http://www.ce.msstate.edu/eslc/ that provided detailed program information;
--A "Rapid Response System" and e-bulletin to better inform students;
--Development of a newsletter that reinforced marketing strategies;
--Increased campus awareness of policies to boost admissions; and
--Program changes that reduced confusion and more clearly aligned offerings with university options.
Established in 1991, MSU's English as a Second Language program provides tiered-level instruction, ranging from the basic foundations to professional mastery, for those who are not native speakers. All ESL instructors are MSU faculty members with master's degrees in language instruction.
A recently introduced Conversation Partners component pairs non-native speakers with MSU students for informal conversation and activities.
For additional information on MSU's ESL programs, telephone (662) 325-2648.