On the most recent moderated discussion, Dean Blumberg from Connecticut State Community College shared his approach to boosting tutoring center engagement through class visits. His strategy offers a roadmap for learning centers looking to increase their visibility and student engagement.
Dean's Approach to Class Visits:
As part of the conversation, Dean described his recent efforts to increase class visits:
- In previous years, Dean conducted about 10-15 class visits per semester.
- This year, he aimed to visit every class, regardless of whether they had a tutor for that course.
- The goal was to inform all students about their services, potentially capturing those who might need help in future courses.
Dean explained that a key part of his strategy was a carefully crafted email campaign. He employed a mail merge approach, sending personalized, informal emails to faculty members. "Hey, hope your break was great," Dean would write, followed by specific details about visiting their class. This was designed to increase the likelihood of faculty allowing these brief presentations.
Dean was surprised by the large quantity of affirmative replies from faculty, which he believes is due to (1) the volume of emails he sent and (2) the short and informal tone. For faculty who didn't respond, he took a bold step:
- He showed up to their classes anyway, armed with handouts and asking for 30 seconds to kick off the class
- His presentations were brief, lasting only 30-45 seconds.
- The goal was simply to "put a face to the service" rather than give a full presentation.
Dean reported a massive increase in visits compared to previous years, noting that the tutoring space was "completely transformed" due to these efforts.
Insights and Best Practices:
Building on Dean's success story, Ben Holmquist shared additional insights and best practices for class visits:
- Widespread Effectiveness: Ben confirmed that class visits are a common and highly effective marketing tactic used by many programs in the Penji network.
- Captive Audience Advantage: He emphasized the benefit of reaching students who are already gathered in one place, making it an efficient outreach method.
- Tiered Approach: Ben outlined a three-level strategy for implementing class visits:
• Level 1: Manually send emails to faculty.
• Level 2: Create a spreadsheet of all classes and send a single campaign
using a mailing service (Dean's approach).
• Level 3: Show up to classes without prior notice and ask for 1-2 minutes to
advertise services.
- Additional Tips:
• Use informal messaging in emails, as Dean did.
• Consider using free services like MailChimp for email campaigns.
• Don't be afraid to show up without an appointment; faculty can always
decline.
The discussion highlighted that well-executed class visits can "instantly turbocharge" traffic at tutoring centers.
For learning centers looking to boost their engagement and reach, the strategies shared by Dean and Ben offer a practical, low-cost approach that can yield significant results. By putting a face to their services and reaching students directly in their classrooms, tutoring centers can break down barriers and encourage more students to take advantage of the valuable resources they offer.
While other participants in the roundtable discussion shared their own experiences and challenges, Dean's success with class visits provided a concrete, actionable strategy for increasing tutoring center engagement. Their contributions underscore the importance of proactive outreach and the potential impact of personal, face-to-face interactions in promoting learning center services.
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