Campaign Plan: the College of Agricultural, Human, Natural, Resource Sciences

7/30/2019 Campaign Plan: the College of Agricultural, Human, Natural, Resource Sciences

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The College ofAgricultural,

Human, Natural,

ResourceSciences


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Cover Letter

The Cougar Communications team would first like to extend our

deepest thanks for providing us with the opportunity to work with the

College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. Our

team has especially enjoyed expanding our own personal knowledge of

the College. We strongly believe that the research we have completed

will provide our client with the information necessary to improve both

the perception as well as the overall awareness of the CAHNRS among

prospective and current students at Washington State University.

In the following report, you will find:

1 Situation Analysis: Details where we started and what we wanted

to find2 Methods Report: Identifies our research methods and justification

3 Research Results: Analyzes the results of our research

4 Implications: What our results mean for the CAHNRS

In addition to this, weve also provided our research results from in-

depth interviews with the CAHNRS alumni.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contactany of our team members.

Sincerely,

The Cougar Communications Team

Kelsey Preston Madison Phillips

Account Executive Board Representative

Jess Wallen Jeffers Baxter

Recording Secretary Corresponding

Secretary

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Erik Schile

Research Coordinator

Table of Contents

COVER LETTER 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4

SITUATION ANALYSIS 6

PROBLEM STATEMENT 6INTERNAL ORGANIZATION 6EXTERNAL ORGANIZATION 8

RESEARCH PLAN 13

RESEARCH GOAL 13RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 13RESEARCH STRATEGIES 14EXPECTED USEOF RESULTS 15

METHODOLOGY 17

FOCUS GROUPS 17ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE 18IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS 19

QUALITATIVE RESULTS 21

FOCUS GROUPS 21IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS 23

QUANTITATIVE RESULTS 25

QUANTITATIVE RESULTS 25

IMPLICATIONS 35

OBJECTIVE 1 35OBJECTIVE 2 35OBJECTIVE 3 36

COMMUNICATION PLAN 37GOAL 1 38GOAL 2 39GOAL 3 39EVALUATION 40

TIMELINE 41BUDGET 42CONCLUSION 42

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REFERENCES 43

APPENDICES 45

APPENDIX A: MODERATORS GUIDE 45APPENDIX B: FOCUS GROUP TRANSCRIPTS 47

APPENDIX C: QUALTRICS SURVEY RESULTS (GRPAHS) 53APPENDIX D: SURVEY MONKEY RESULTS (GRAPHS) 61APPENDIX E: TABLESOF SURVEY RESULTS 66APPENDIX F: QUALTRICS SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 69APPENDIX E: SURVEY MONKEY QUESTIONNAIRE 77

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Cougar Communications researched and analyzed the awareness ofthe CAHNRS among current and prospective Washington State

University students and the preferred method of communication from

the CAHNRS.

Our team used online surveys and focus groups to conduct our

research. We compiled and analyzed the results to come up with our

recommendations for the CAHNRS.

Cougar Communications identified three specific objectives for the

CAHNRS to achieve:

o Objective 1: Get more information to prospective students

o Objective 2: Improve perceptions among current WSU students

o Objective 3: Use social media more effectively

The use of social media and the best way to advertise were prevalent

in our research. Another aspect that was prevalent in our research was

if people knew what the acronym CAHNRS stood for.

After analyzing our research, Cougar Communications has identifiedthe following implications for the CAHNRS:

o Increase contact with incoming freshman

o Increase contact with current high school seniors

o Improve representation and advertisement of the CAHNRS

o Reach 1,000 likes on Facebook

o Reach 4,000 Twitter followers

It is important to note our sample population. Respondents who filled

out the survey only represent a portion of the student population atWashington State University that had time to complete the survey and

who chose to respond. Our focus group participants were all students

who were personal contacts and agreed to do the focus group. These

samples do not represent the entire population of the university.

However the consensus between what the two groups said helps to

reinforce the ideas that we are presenting.

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SITUATIONANALYSIS

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SITUATION ANALYSIS

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences is a

vastly diverse college that includes 15 different academic

departments. While many of these departments are widely recognized,

others are less established. As a client, the CAHNRS seeks todetermine how the college is viewed by current undergraduate

students as well as educate and raise awareness among prospective

undergraduates. We also want to find out what the college is currently

doing that students find effective and what they do not find effective.

INTERNAL ORGANIZATION

Mission Statement

The mission of the CAHNRS is to provide global leadership in

discovering, accessing, and disseminating knowledge that contributes

to a safe, abundant food and fiber supply; promotes the wellbeing of

individuals, families, and communities; enhances sustainability of

agricultural and economic systems; and promotes stewardship of

natural resources and ecological systems. The CAHNRS provides

world-class education to undergraduates and graduates seeking

instruction in the fields of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource

Sciences. The college also provides diverse research and outreach

programs in a variety of capacities.

History

When Washington State University was originally founded in 1890 it

was called Washington Agricultural College and School of Science.

Since then WSU has expanded to offer a multitude of different

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undergraduate and graduate degrees however, the agricultural

program within the CAHNRS is still one of the schools highest ranked

and most esteemed departments. WSU is considered one of the top

research universities in the country, and the agricultural department

has played a large part in that distinction. The departments faculty is

also among the most accredited on campus. The CAHNRS researchers

are among the most productive in the nation, and rank in the top 10 of

nearly every agricultural related field.

Organizational Structure

The College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences ismade up of a large group of people who make decisions at different

levels. Dean Dan Bernardo is in charge of everyone and everything and

makes decisions at the highest level. While the dean makes the most

important decisions, there are multiple people under him who help

with the day-to-day operations of the college and make decisions for

the college when appropriate. Dean Bernardo also has a board of

advisors that he works with on a regular basis. The culture of the

organization is very diverse because the CAHNRS has many branches

located all across Washington State. There are directors that run the

different branches of the CAHNRS that are located around the state.

The different directors are able to get things done by staying in contact

with the different people in the CAHNRS. One barrier that exists within

the organization is the fact that no one really knows what the acronym

CAHNRS stands for. Another barrier is that they have so many

branches and locations across the state that it is hard to know what

everyone is doing at all times and it is hard to visit every location. For

their success, the CAHNRS has multiple people on a few different

boards to advise them on what is best for the college. Also, the fact

that there are multiple branches and locations across the state can bea selling point to prospective students. Prospective students may also

be attracted to the wide variety of majors that offered in the CAHNRS.

Internal Target Audiences

The College considers those who are already a part of the College as

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its target audience. These individuals already acknowledge the

CAHNRS to include their ideal program at Washington State University.

For the sake of our client, this psychographic is important to

understand in order to know what attracts students to the College.

However, since they are already enrolled they are not our primary

target audience.

Based on our conversations with the client, the College segments its

audience into groups of students who have declared a major within the

CAHNRS, those who have declared a major within another college or

school, and those who are currently undecided. These types of

students can help our client understand why an undergraduate

chooses the CAHNRS or another college. It can also provide insight to

what the undecided students are considering when choosing a college.

The College communicates to its publics through a Facebook page and

a Twitter profile. Currently, the Twitter profile consists of six times the

constituency of its Facebook page. More than 3,300 people follow the

Twitter account. Despite a substantial following, the College gets a

limited number of retweets. This puts its Twitter ascension in a relative

standstill. Whenever a Twitter profile lacks frequent interaction with its

followers, it means the content that gets tweeted lacks newsworthy

content. As for Facebook, the College posts several articles and

pictures on the same day. A Twitter user can get away with multiple

posts throughout a day, whereas a Facebook user must minimize its

use (Kabani, 2012). Too many posts on a page will result in a decrease

in followers. Facebook even enforces its own policy; they flag

excessive postings as spam. Needless to say, the College could

improve its success with its publics.

The College uses links and pictures as the primary methods of

communicating with their constituencies. However, the links on Twitter

link back to posts on Facebook. This makes what the College tweets

unoriginal. It is counterproductive to communicate in this way and isprobably the reason why the CAHNRS tweets lack interaction from their

followers.

The content of what the Facebook and Twitter posts say is usually

either informative or anecdotal. Most posts inform the reader of an

event. Others might tell a story about the College years ago. These are

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great ways to reach a target audience with the use of social media.

Another thing the College should consider trying is the use of image

macros. These are pictures with aesthetically pleasing text placed on

top. Together the text and the image tell a distinct story. Politicians,

such as President Obama, are utilizing this technique to reach their

audiences in a creative manner.

Pictures are the most important media, as of late. Setting up an

Instagram account could benefit the College in this way. Instead of

linking Twitter to Facebook, the College could share Instagram pictures

on both Twitter and Facebook, as a way of integrating another social

media platform.

EXTERNAL ORGANIZATION

Reputation

Due to the vast diversity of the College of Agricultural, Human, and

Natural Resource Sciences it is difficult to garner the reputation of the

College as a whole. People think very highly of the Pre-Veterinary

Medicine program as well as some of the other Agricultural Science

fields but are unaware of what comprises the Natural Resource

Sciences portion and could not identify many of the programs offered

within Human Sciences. In terms of what has been done to garner

such positive recognition for the Veterinary Medicine program and

some of the other agricultural programs, one can point to the Colleges

stunning write-ups and high rankings in publications such as U.S News

and World Report. It appears that the superior strength of some

programs tends to overshadow others and in a sense places them on

the wayside or makes them an afterthought. In order to strengthen the

reputation of the College as a whole, the spotlight needs to be spread

around thus allowing all the programs to be featured equally.

Media

The CAHNRS receives a lot of media attention in regards to their

groundbreaking work in fields such as crop science, horticulture and

their work in Veterinary Medicine. However it was difficult to find media

coverage for Human Sciences. In the last three weeks, the CAHNRS

has been featured nine times, according to Google News search

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results. All of these articles dealt with food and crop sciences as well as

Natural Resource sciences. So although reporters and journalists are

covering the College, it appears that the focus remains in a few key

areas. The media neglects other programs in the CAHNRS, most

notably Human Sciences. All of the media coverage was positive, but it

was solely focused on a few programs within the College.

External Target Audience

The external target audience is made up of undergraduates not

enrolled in any CAHNRS program. These students are either undecided

or leaning toward a different college or school. Our client would like to

increase awareness among potential students, with hopes that they

might commit to the College. The outcome the College expects, when

communicating with undecided students, is a better understanding asto what they look for in a desired education as well as what their initial

perceptions are of the CAHNRS programs. The outcome the College

expects, when communicating with students who are deterred from

joining, is a better understanding as to why they are leaning away from

the College.

The biggest potential the College has in reaching external publics is

improving the use of the Twitter profile. Working on improving the

content of tweets will increase follower interaction. When a follower

retweets a message, a member of the external public can then see it.

Images posted from the College should emphasize its hands-on

approach to education, thus presenting its value to a viewer.

Supporters

The College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resources has gained

the support of many local farmers and businesses by performing world-

class research. WSU plant scientists have been ranked among the

most productive and widely disbursed faculty research base in thecountry. This recognition has gained an enormous amount of respect

and support from scientists and researchers around the globe. One of

the goals of our client is to meet the emerging needs of the agricultural

industry in Washington. The CAHNRS paired with WSU Extension, a

partnership between producers, professors, and consumers that has

been growing vibrantly for more than century. This partnership has

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gained the support of Washingtons agricultural enterprise by

developing innovations in the CAHNRS laboratories leading to

increased sustainability and profitability for farmers, ranchers, and

urban neighborhoods.

Competition and Opposition

The competition for the CAHNRS is primarily other colleges within

Washington State University. Each college at WSU is essentially

competing to recruit students and raise awareness about their unique

majors and programs. However, there is a common misconception

about the CAHNRS and the diverse areas of study offered among WSU

students, which has decreased enrollment in the program. Other well-

known Colleges at WSU such as the arts and sciences, communication,

and business seem to attract the attention of more students. Manystudents are opposed to the CAHNRS because they assume that the

focus of the College is solely on crops and farming however, there

are an expansive number of majors offered. In order to reach out to

external publics who may oppose the CAHNRS, our client has

developed the Canons of Practice. This document was adopted to

lessen the likelihood of misunderstandings and administrative delay in

responding to public concerns over the involvement of the CAHNRS

faculty in contentious public education issues.

External Barriers

Some political and regulatory barriers that the CAHNRS faces are from

the federal government. Since Washington State University is a land

grant school, there are stricter regulations that they have to meet

especially in the CAHNRS since they are dealing with different types of

agriculture, wildlife, and food science. Because the CAHNRS works with

all that and more, the US Department of Agriculture oversees a lot of

what the CAHNRS does. Another barrier that the CAHNRS faces is from

an economic standpoint. The CAHNRS relies heavily upon federalgrants that they get from the government since they originally began

as a land grant school. They also rely upon donations from donors in

order to do different things within the college. Social factors that

hinder the CAHNRS are the location in which people grew up. This is

because people who grew up on the eastside of Washington state were

around farming, agriculture, and large animals and are more likely to

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choose a major within the CAHNRS than people who grew up on the

westside of Washington state. People on the westside of Washington

State are not as likely to grow up with farming, agriculture, and large

animals since the population is denser than the east side of the state.

Another social factor that can hinder the CAHNRS is the fact that the

college consists of so many different majors and people dont know

what majors are in the College and sometimes dont realize that their

major is actually a part of the CAHNRS.

Trends

Currently the United States is in a state of Economic turmoil and

people tend to be highly interested and intrigued by this. Perhaps this

growing interest in economics and financial markets is something,

which the college could benefit from. In addition to the growinginterest in Economics, the need for sustainable fuels and natural

resources is another vital and growing field, which could be played up

in order to cultivate a larger interest in all of the programs offered by

the college.

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RESEARCH PLAN

RESEARCH PLAN

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Research Goal

The overall goal of the research is to determine awareness of the

CAHNRS majors among current WSU students, both undecided

students and students that have declared majors. We also want to find

out if they the undecided and decided students are aware of the

majors in the CAHNRS, where they heard about the CAHNRS and if

they have not heard of the CAHNRS then what are good ways to reach

them whether it is from posters, emails, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

To further explain our research goals, we want to find out what the

best way to reach and communicate with students who have decided

on a major and students who have not decided on a major is. We also

would like to find out what decided and undecided students know

about the CAHNRS and what majors are apart about that college. Weare doing this to get the name of the CAHNRS out to the Washington

State University student body and to make sure that the CAHNRS is

reaching out to students in the most effective way.

Research Objectives

There were two main objectives of our research. The first objective was

to determine the awareness of the CAHNRS among decided and

undecided students and the different majors they offer. The second

objective was to find out which methods of communication students

like the most find to be the most effective. We did this through sending

out a survey to undergraduates at Washington State University and

doing two focus groups. We had one focus group with students that are

undecided and the second focus group was people who are currently in

the CAHNRS. We had all of this done by the early part of April.

Our research was done in two different parts. The first thing that we

are going to do is a survey of undergraduates at Washington State

University. We made an online survey through the Qualtrics programand send it out through the College of Communication survey pool as

well as to our friends from Washington State University on Facebook.

This provided us with a baseline of information before we held a focus

group session.

For the focus group, we had two different focus groups. One focus

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group included people who were undecided on a major, and the second

focus group included people who were already part of the CAHNRS. In

order to get the undecided people for the focus group, we asked

undecided freshmen, who we knew, to be a part of the focus group. We

did the same thing for the focus group of the CAHNRS people.

The different things that we needed money for were incentives such as

food and drinks for the focus. Eventually included in the budget may

be the cost for the production of all the campaign materials at the end

of the semester. The total budget for all the focus group materials and

the production cost of the campaign materials should be less than

$100.

Research Strategies

In order to best serve our clients needs, we chose to collect data using

a combination of two formal research methods. Personal surveys and

focus group discussions provided us with the information we needed

regarding students current opinions and perceptions of the CAHNRS

even though we had budget and time constraints to perform our

research.

As we mentioned earlier, one of our clients goals was to determine

how the CAHNRS is viewed by students campus-wide. Our surveys that

were sent to the undergraduates were created using the Qualtrics

system. This provided us with a random sample because we did not

ask specific people to take it. We distributed the survey in two different

ways. It was distributed to a diverse population of people through the

College of Communication survey pool to students that are registered

with it, as well as through our personal Facebook accounts to our

friends who are undergraduates at Washington State University. By

distributing the surveys this way we were able to avoid any time

conflicts with finding classes to go to and people can take the survey

at a time that works best for them. Also by doing the survey this way,we were able to get answers from undergraduates in a variety of the

colleges at Washington State University. The personal surveys involved

a variety of multiple choice and open-ended questions, with some rank

order questions. By using open-ended questions, it allowed students to

explain their reasoning behind their current perceptions of the

CAHNRS.

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For our in-depth interviews, we sent surveys to alumni of the CAHNRS.

We used the Survey Monkey system to ask them a variety of multiple-

choice questions and open-ended questions as well as a few Likert-

type scale questions. We asked them questions about their

experiences in the CAHNRS, what they thought the CAHNRS could

improve on in the future, and how being a part of the program helped

prepare them for their future endeavors.

Expected Use of Results

Our research has allowed us to explore the minds of our publics. The

results have provided us with the public perceptions about the

CAHNRS.

The market is segmented among three groups: those who are in the

CAHNRS, those who are in another college within Washington State

University or another university, and those who are currently

undecided or prospective students. After our research, we have

practical knowledge regarding the opinions of each group. We have

analyzed the possible problems that our client faces when

communicating with the target audience.

If any problems surface, we will modify the CAHNRS media strategy to

improve communication efforts. The theme of the CAHNRS will

accurately represent how the College wishes to be seen by the public.

We predict that perceptions from those who are undecided or in

another college will not entirely represent the College. Therefore, the

results will specify perceptions and give us directions as to the proper

course that needs to be taken.

To analyze the data from the focus group, we got together after it was

done to go over what was said during it. Then the transcript was typed

up to highlight different things were said during the focus group tobetter understand what the group consensus was on specific topics.

For the surveys, we analyzed the data by putting them into graphs and

tables to better understand what percentage of the people that

answered the questions thought one thing over the other.

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METHODOLOGY

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METHODOLOGY

Focus Groups

Cougar Communications conducted three focus groups. Two of the

groups were composed of current freshmen outside of the CAHNRS and

one of the groups was composed of students who are currently in

CAHNRS-related majors.

Cougar Communications conducted two of the focus groups on

Thursday, April 7, and one on Friday, April 8. Moderators asked the

focus group participants questions as a whole and respondents had the

opportunity to respond and answer each question individually. The

participants also had the opportunity to discuss the questions amongthemselves and build off of one anothers answers, which generated

more feedback. Participants also shared additional information and

expanded on questions if they felt it was necessary. Each focus group

began with general questions and introductions, and then translated

into more specific questions.

The questions focused on the following topics:

o Current perception and awareness of the CAHNRS

o How the CAHNRS could improve their presence on WSU campus

o The effectiveness of social media use

o Effective forms of communication among various colleges on

campus

The questions were designed to help us measure the perceptions,

opinions, beliefs and attitudes toward the College of Agriculture,

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Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. They were designed to

generate ideas from respondents about improving the current

perception of the CAHNRS among current WSU students.

Each focus group had one moderator. Two of the groups consisted of

five students and one of the groups consisted of four. Observers

recorded each session with a digital recorder while also taking notes on

their computer or by hand. The recordings were later reviewed and

transcribed. Each focus group consisted of approximately 20

questions.

For pretesting, Cougar Communications had Porismita Borah look over

the focus group information, critique it and suggest revisions.

Revisions were made accordingly before the actual focus groups were

conducted.

To analyze the data, Cougar Communications discussed the results of

each focus group immediately after the sessions. The team also went

over the transcripts from each session and interpreted the feedback

from each group.

Online Questionnaire

The questionnaire was conducted using Qualtrics Software. Cougar

Communications sent out the online survey to our personal contacts at

WSU via Facebook. Questions were designed to be simple and clear

yet help us accurately measure the perception of the CAHNRS among

current WSU students.

In the pretesting phase, Cougar Communications developed a

questionnaire that our client then reviewed. Our client revised the

questionnaire by removing and adding questions, as well as rewording

some of the questions.

Originally, the questionnaire was going to be a hard copy that was

passed out to courses on campus that consisted of undecided WSU

freshman. However, the lack of response rates from professors made

it difficult to distribute the questionnaires. Due to time restraints,

additional revisions were made to the final questionnaire and the

Cougar Communication Team made the decision to change the target

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audience to all WSU students. The time restraints also forced the team

to convert the questionnaire into an online format.

Cougar Communications revised and submitted a final version of the

online questionnaire.

The vast majority of the questionnaire was composed of multiple

choice and open-ended questions however, we also included ranking

and likert-type questions. The use of multiple choice was the best

option for the team because Cougar Communications wanted to design

a questionnaire that was time efficient for respondents. Multiple

choice questions allow participants to choose the best possible answer

and complete the questionnaire in a short period of time.

A total of 102 individuals completed the questionnaire. CougarCommunications will use the Qualtrics Software to analyze data from

the completed questionnaire. Using this program, the team indicated

current students perceptions of The College of Agriculture, Human and

Natural Resource Sciences.

In-Depth Interviews

The in-depth interviews were conducted using SurveyMonkey. The

Cougar Communications team formulated an online survey for CAHNRS

alumni. The team sent the questionnaire to Andrea Cox, the Assistant

Director of Recruitment and Retention at CAHNRS.

Cox sent the survey to 144 alumni from the CAHNRS database. A total

of 7 alumni completed the survey, which resulted in a response rate of

5 percent.

The format of the questionnaire was designed to be both time efficientand straightforward in an effort to maximize feedback.The

questionnaire also included different types of questions in order to

effectively measure the alumnis opinions of their academic and

professional experience as graduates of CAHNRS. The questionnaire

consisted of four multiple choice questions, four open-ended questions

and two likert-type scale questions.

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Due to the nature of an online questionnaire, our in-depth interviews

were not interactive nor did they stimulate a back and forth

conversation. Because of this, it was important to include open-ended

questions in the survey, which allowed the alumni to elaborate and

share any ideas.

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QUALITATIVERESULTS

QUALITATIVE RESULTS

Focus Groups

Through our research we wanted to ascertain the overall knowledge of

the CAHNRS among students campus-wide. When asked if they werefamiliar with the CAHNRS, 100 percent of the participants in our

freshman focus groups indicated that they had never heard of the

acronym. After we explained to the participants what the CAHNRS

stood for, they only recognized the school after hearing the word

agriculture.

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We also wanted to learn what the perception of the CAHNRS is among

students on the WSU campus. When asked what their perception of the

CAHNRS is, focus group participants expressed a strong desire for

more information on the program:

I feel like it seems like its a pretty good program however its

not really heard of, as bad as it sounds. I feel like its bad that

theres this whole program that Ive really never heard of. I feel

like if its such a good program, which it probably is, it should be

more noted and known for.

I feel like it should be more talked about.I knew it was an

agriculture school but I dont really know anything about it.

I dont know a lot about it. I would think that agriculture wouldbe bigger here than anywhere over in Seattle, because were in

the middle of nowhere and were surrounded by a lot of small

towns. I would expect that Wazzu probably has a pretty good

program for it.

I knew about the communication school before I came here, and

people should know about this school too.

Id guess they are known for the vet school, agriculture is pretty

big at WSU.

As a part of our research, we also wanted to know the best way for the

CAHNRS to reach perspective WSU students who had not yet declared

their major. When we asked freshman focus group participants what

they believed would be the best way to reach students who had not

yet declared a major, 100 percent of the individuals agreed that the

CAHNRS should focus onAlive!:

They should push it heavier duringAlive!, and have some sort of

program for undeclared students and really push the major.

AttackAlive! hard. If students are up in the air thats where you

would get them.

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When you come forAlive!, I remember they had so much

information about all the different majors, which is great because

at that point youre still taking it all in. But once youre in your

major you dont really care about the other majors.

Personally I thinkAlive! would be a really good opportunity to

show that the CAHNRS offers this, this and this.

Through our research, we also wanted to determine how people on

campus feel about the acronym CAHNRS. When we asked the

freshman focus group participants their opinions of the acronym

CAHNRS, 100 percent of the participants expressed that they disliked

the acronym. Participants offered the following ideas in regards to how

to improve the CAHNRS acronym:

They should use a full name or better acronym, I think it sounds

like a persons name.

When you see it written its easier to remember because of the

weird spelling, but when you say it out loud I have no idea what

it is.

I feel like its too casual of a name to be honest. When I heard

CAHNRS I immediately thought of people I know named

Conner. With a program like this, with such great opportunities, it

needs to have a name thats more noticeable. When I hear

CAHNRS I dont think of anything special, it just sounds really

causal. I think it needs to be something more noticeable and

attention grabbing.

The first thing I thought of was my friends who are named

Conner.

The focus group of students with majors in the CAHNRS expressed a

similar disapproval of the acronym:

They need to come up with a better word.

No one knows what it means.

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People outside of the CAHNRS dont know what it means. It

should be a more general, shorter version of the CAHNRS.

Through our research we also wanted to determine what social media

sites students at WSU use to get their information about the different

colleges on campus. When asked for suggestions on how the CAHNRS

can make use of social media, focus group participants from all three

focus groups agreed that the CAHNRS should use Facebook, but not

Twitter:

Facebook would be the best option, not twitter, because twitter

isnt a good social media platform for school information.

A Facebook page would be really good. Just to see the nameCAHNRS on social media, is good, whether they choose to

like the page or not.

In-depth Interviews

The Cougar Communications team also sent out an in-depth online

questionnaire to the CAHNRS alumni in order to gage their perception

of and experience with the college. We began the questionnaire with

some general questions about the alumni to get a betterunderstanding of who they were.

When asked to indicate what their current occupations are, the alumni

surveyed indicated that they hold the current occupations: Combat

Medic/EMT, Planning Assistant, PhD Graduate Student, Teacher,

Corporate Training Professional, Researcher.

When asked to indicate who their current employers are, the alumni

surveyed indicated that they work for the following employers: USArmy, Eddie Bauer, Walla Walla School District, Washtucna School

District, Rain For Rent, Washington State University.

When the alumni surveyed were asked to indicate their current job

title, the following job titles were named: Team Leader, Planning

Assistant, Teacher, Training

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Coordinator, and Research Associate.

QUANTITATIVE

RESULTS

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QUANTITATIVE RESULTS

Through our research we wanted to ascertain the overall knowledge of

the CAHNRS among current students on campus. Survey results

indicated 75 percent of students who took the online questionnaire do

not know what the acronym CAHNRS stands for.

Of those surveyed, freshmen made up 30.4 percent, sophomores made

up 24.5 percent, juniors made up 27.5 percent, and seniors made upthe remaining 17.7 percent.

Of those students who knew what the CAHNRS acronym stood for, we

wanted to find out how they heard about the CAHNRS. When the

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students were asked how they heard about the CAHNRS, 35.9 percent

indicated they are currently majoring in the College. Another 35.9

percent indicated they heard about the CAHNRS through a friend. The

least popular choices included advertisements and social media.

In order to understand how knowledgeable students were of the

programs offered in the CAHNRS, we asked students if they knew what

majors were offered within the College. Of those surveyed, 82.7

percent of students indicated that they were unaware of the majors

offered in the CAHNRS.

In order to determine what social media sites are most popular among

WSU students, we asked what social media platforms they obtain

information from. According to survey findings, students get most of

their information from Facebook (93.9 percent). Twitter was also a

popular source of information (42.9 percent). Students indicated they

were least likely to use Instagram (37.8 percent) and Pinterest (18.4

percent) to obtain information.

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We wanted to understand the most effective way to advertise the

CAHNRS to students on campus. When we asked students what form of

advertisements were the most effective in advertising the different

colleges on campus, they indicated that the Internet was the mosteffective type of advertisement (51 percent). Students indicated that

print was also an effective form of advertising (27 percent). According

to students, multimedia (19 percent) and radio/television (3 percent)

were the least effective forms of advertising for colleges on campus.

We also wanted to understand where students notice most college

advertisements. When asked where they notice most college

advertisements, students indicated social media platforms (59.4

percent) and the CUB (47.5 percent) as the most popular.

Advertisements in classrooms and buildings followed closely (41.6

percent). The Daily Evergreen was the least popular source of

advertisement (27.7 percent).

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When surveyed, students indicated they use the same social media

sites for general information and college advertisements. Facebook

was the most popular social media site for advertisements among the

different colleges (91.5 percent). Twitter was the second most popularsite (40.2 percent). Students noticed advertisements least on Pinterest

(22 percent), Instagram (7.3 percent) and Other (3.7 percent).

In order to understand how effectively colleges at WSU use social

media, we asked students if they follow any of the colleges on social

media. Of those surveyed, 57.4 percent of students indicated they do

not follow any of the WSU colleges on social media.

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In order to understand what attracted students to their current majors,

we asked students what factors played the biggest role in declaring

their major. Survey results indicated personal interest in a major is

what attracted most students to their current major (69.3 percent). A

students career path is another factor that attracted almost half of

those surveyed to their major (46.5 percent). The reputation of the

college was also an attraction (34.7 percent). Less important factors

included personal contacts (23.8 percent), average salaries (24.8

percent), knowledge from taking college classes (24.8 percent), and

hands on experience (27.7 percent). The least important factors

included knowledge from career fairs, alumni support and other

options that were not listed on the questionnaire.

To better understand the perception of the CAHNRS among students

on campus, we asked what comes to mind when they hear the

acronym CAHNRS. More than half of the students surveyed indicated

they were not interested in the College at all (56.1 percent). Of the

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remaining students, 23.5 percent indicated that career paths came to

mind when they heard the acronym CAHNRS. The study indicated

that salaries and scholarships were not concepts that students related

to the CAHNRS. Approximately 8 percent of students indicated that

their perception is based on an option not listed.

The Cougar Communications team also sent out an in-depth, online

questionnaire to CAHNRS alumni in order to gage their perception of

and experience with the College.

In order to best understand the alumnis experience within the college,

asked them to indicate what major they declared within the CAHNRS.Agricultural Communication and Agricultural Education were the most

popular with 28.6 percent in each major. The remaining alumni

majored in Apparel Design, Merchandising, and Textiles (14.3 percent),

Economic Sciences (14.3 percent) and MS Soil Science (14.3 percent).

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In addition to the specific degrees the alumni obtained, we asked them

to specify their highest degree obtained. Of those surveyed, 14.3

percent of alumni received their Phd, 28.6 percent obtained their

Masters, and 57.1 percent have an undergraduate degree.

When asked to indicate the level to which the alumni felt pridefulabout their experience at CAHNRS, survey results indicated that mostof the alumni felt prideful about being a CAHNRS graduate. Of those

surveyed, 42.86 percent said they strongly agree, 42.86 percentagreed, and 14.29 percent answered neutral/not sure.

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When asked to indicate the level to which the alumni felt the CAHNRS

adequately prepared them for their future career, the majority of

alumni indicated that their time at the CAHNRS prepared them for their

career. Of those surveyed, 71.4 percent said they agreed that the

college prepared them, 14.3 percent strongly agreed, and 14.3 percent

remained neutral or not sure.

In order to determine the effectiveness of the CAHNRS use of social

media, we asked alumni if they followed the CAHNRS on social media

platforms. Survey results indicated that the colleges use of social

media is ineffective among the alumni with zero percent following the

CAHNRS on social media. Of those surveyed, 71.4 percent said they

do not follow the CAHNRS on social media, while the remaining 28.6

percent indicated they do not currently use any social media.

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In order to measure the alumnis knowledge of the CAHNRS prior to

enrollment at WSU, we asked the alumni if they knew about the

CAHNRS before or after enrollment. Of those surveyed, 71.4 percent of

the alumni indicated they knew about the CAHNRS before enrollment

while 28.6 percent indicated they became aware of the CAHNRS after

enrollment.

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IMPLICATIONS

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IMPLICATIONS

Objective 1: Get more information out to prospective students

The participants in our two focus groups both indicated that getting

information about the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural

Resource Sciences to prospective students as soon as possible would

be beneficial. This is because people who are already decided that

they are going to be a CAHNRS major have heard of the College before

and know what the different majors are.

By getting out atAlive!, the CAHNRS can reach incoming freshmen

who have not already decided on which major and inform them on

what majors are a part of the College.

Having someone be specifically in charge of recruiting for the CAHNRS

by going to different college fairs and having their own booth or by

going to different high schools on the westside of the state, they can

get the name of the College out to people who may not know what all

the majors of the College are.

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Objective 2: Improve perceptions among current WSU students

In the process of our research, we asked the people doing the survey

and the focus group whom were undecided on their major, most did

not know what the acronym CAHNRS" stood for. When the College

uses its acronym, the message may cause some confusion for

undergraduates and prospective students as to what the it is referring.

By using the full name of the college, it also lets people know that

there is more to the CAHNRS than just the agriculture programs which

it is mostly known for. This will help to increase the awareness of the

college and make more incoming students want to check out their

programs.

We also found out through our focus groups and research that theCAHNRS could advertise more effectively. People who answered the

questions about where they notice advertisements the most, a

majority of the people said that they find advertisements in the CUB

effective.

Objective 3: Use social media more effectively

In doing our survey and our focus group, we found that a majority of

the people used some form of social media. Keeping up with the

changing way that people get their information is essential. Most of the

students that will be applying to Washington State University in the

future have grown up with social media as a way to get their

information.

People we surveyed and talked to in our focus group also said that

most of the information that they get about what is going on atWashington State University comes from different social media outlets.

Making sure that the college is using social media effectively is

important too. People on social media do not like to be bombarded by

multiple messages from the same organization in one day and by

doing that you risk getting unliked. It is important to make sure that

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you post once a day and you are only posting things that are

important.

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COMMUNICATIONPLAN

COMMUNICATION PLAN

GOAL I

o To raise awareness of the College of Agricultural, Human, and

Natural Resource Sciences among prospective students by

September 2015o Objective I: To increase contact with incoming freshmen

by September 2015

Strategy I: Make mailing campaign more exhaustive

and effective

Tactic I: Acquiring list of addresses of

incoming freshmen from registrar

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Tactic II: Develop a brochure which highlights

the exciting and lucrative career paths of the

CAHNRS and a call to action persuading them

to consider the College

Tactic III: Send the informative brochure to

every incoming freshmen

Tactic IV: Create a freshmen-specific tab for

the CAHNRS WSU website.

Tactic V: Measure metrics of freshmen-specific

page

Strategy II: Bolster presence atAlive! to inform the

freshmen class of what the CAHNRS has to offer

Tactic I: Provide all students in attendance at

Alive! with an informative brochure.

Tactic II: Create a compelling presentation

which highlights various aspects of the

CAHNRS for one of the interest sessions.

o Objective II: To increase contact with current high school

seniors by December 2014

Strategy I: Visit high schools

Tactic I: Hire a part-time recruiter to visit the

top-ten high schools based on admission

percentage of graduating seniors

Tactic II: Talk about the different majors and

that they involve more than just agricultural

Strategy II: Hire someone to be a recruiter

Tactic I: Have own booth at the college fairs

with appealing visuals

GOAL II

o To educate and improve perceptions among all WSU students bySeptember 2015

o Objective I: To improve the representation and

advertisement of the CAHNRS by September 2015

Strategy I: Refrain from using the acronym

CAHNRS on first reference

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Tactic I: Begin all messages and publications

with the full title

Tactic II: Use the acronym on second

reference

Strategy II: Advertise The CAHNRS in the Media Tactic I: Set up a Google Alert for every time

the CAHNRS is mentioned in a news article

Tactic II: Create an advertisement of the

featured story from the article

Tactic III: Convert the advertisement to digital

form and purchase advertising space on CUB

monitors

Tactic IV: Convert advertisement to print form

and purchase advertising space in The DailyEvergreen

Strategy III: Heighten awareness as to the majors

offered within the College

Tactic I: Set up booths in the cub with

interactive games and contests to educate

students about majors offered in the CAHNRS.

Tactic II: Advertise offered majors in The Daily

Evergreen.

Strategy IV: Collect data that examines the up-to-

date perceptions of all WSU students

Tactic I: Create a survey

Tactic II: Send the survey out to all WSU

students

GOAL III

o To optimize the use of all social media platforms within the

College by September 2014

o Objective I: To reach 4,000 Twitter followers by

September 2014

Strategy I: Focus on creating original content over

Twitter

Tactic I: Refrain from tweeting links to

Facebook posts

Tactic II: Create tweets, which are designed to

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engage followers through use of hashtags and

a back-and-forth dialogue.

Tactic III: Interact with followers by favoriting

and retweeting tweets, which mention the

CAHNRS.

Tactic IV: Utilize a service such as twitalyzer

to better understand your impact

o Objective II: To reach 1,000 Facebook likes by

September 2014

Strategy I: Improve quality of posts

Tactic I: Limit to one Facebook post per day to

avoid spamming and emphasize importance of

posts

Tactic II: Use image macros (text over

images) to display messages to viewers

Strategy II: Expand profile on Facebook

Tactic I: Like things that people related to you

on Facebook are talking about so you can

potentially get a like back

Tactic II: Use Facebook advertising to get your

name out to people who may not know who

you are

Tactic III: When creating posts tag people or

organizations in them so people can see you

are talking about them and potentially like your

page.

Evaluation

After the implementation of this campaign, there are several means by

which the CAHNRS can evaluate the results.

This campaigns primary focus is improving overall awareness of theCAHNRS among incoming and current students. The CAHNRS can

measure awareness progress by measuring the hits on the freshman

tab of their webpage as well as to the webpage overall. Increasing

traffic to both of these will serve as a barometer for the effectiveness

of the overall campaign.

If website traffic increases by twenty percent by September

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2015, this goal has been accomplished.

Web site traffic and activity can be tracked by google

analytics. It is free. The sooner these are implemented,

the better - then the CAHNRS will establish current

benchmarks against which future Web site traffic can be

compared.

The CAHNRS must evaluate the success of increased contact with

current high school seniors by December 2014. This can be

determined by tracking the numbers of students who attend the

CAHNRSAlive! Interest sessions.

The first year will be a benchmark for the CAHNRS to measure

future success.

After the benchmark is established if the number is

increased by 30 percent the following year, this goal hasbeen achieved.

The CAHNRS must evaluate the success of the advertisement

campaign in raising the awareness of the College amongst prospective

students by issuing another survey in September 2015.

If the survey indicates an increase in awareness from the original

survey conducted by us then the campaign will be considered

successful.

The CAHNRS must evaluate the success of the new social media

strategies. To determine this they must utilize several tools and

measurements.

If the CAHNRS reaches 4,000 followers by September 2014, this

will be considered successful.

If the CAHNRS reaches 1,000 likes on Facebook by September

2014, this will be considered a success.

Utilize Statcounter and Facebook analytics to determine

effectiveness of Facebook optimization.

Timeline

o May 2013

o Acquire list of addresses of incoming freshmen from

registrar*o Implement new Twitter and Facebook strategies

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o June 2013

o Develop the CAHNRS brochure*

o July 2013

o Create a freshmen-specific tab for the CAHNRS page on the

WSU website

o Send brochure out to every incoming freshmen*o Aug. 2013

o Create a Google Alert for every time the CAHNRS is

mentioned in a news articleo Set up booths in the CUB that inform of alternative majors

offered in the CAHNRSo Sept. 2013

o Measure metrics of freshmen-specific tab on the website*

o Hire a recruiter to visit high schools and college fairs in

western Washington*o Implement advertising campaign from Google Alert articles

for digital mediao Advertise the unique majors the CAHNRS has to offer in

The Daily Evergreen*o Nov. 2013

o Finalize high school and college fair tours*

o Sept. 2014

o Measure social media metrics

o Dec. 2014

o Measure contact with high school seniors

o Sept. 2015

o Create and measure the survey - examining perception ofWSU students

o Analyze final metric reports

*Denotes that action is done annually

Budget

Item Quantity PriceTri-fold color brochures 4000 $2500

2015 awareness survey 1 $0Freshman tab creation 6 hours $100Alive! Representative 2 $0Daily Evergreen Ads 32 $2560

Year long digital ads in CUB 2

semesters

$960

High School recruiter/college fair 1 $700 + gas money

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person

Total $6820

Conclusion

In order to identify the best way to heighten awareness among

incoming and current WSU students, the CAHNRS must utilize a more

progressive approach in contacting prospective students and

bolstering the interest of current students.

Research revealed that current students are unaware as to what the

CAHNRS stands for, have a vague idea of the majors offered, were

unaware of their social media presence and felt that they could

improve their efforts at attracting prospective students.

Students are requesting a more interactive experience with their

college and desire a greater presence on campus.

The most effective means of doing this are through social media, on-

campus advertisements and more effective methods to reach incoming

students.

From this research, our recommendations to achieve our goals include:

Make mailing campaign more exhaustive

Bolster presence atAlive!

Utilize recruiters to reach more high school students

Lessen ambiguity regarding the CAHNRS acronym

Improve on-campus advertising

Optimize social media platforms

This plan will raise awareness about all aspects of the CAHNRS among

incoming and currents students and strengthen its perception on

campus.

References:

Austin, E., & Pinkleton, B. (2006).Strategic public relations management. (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Kabani, S. (2012).The zen of social media marketing.(p. 58). Dallas, TX: BenBella

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Books, Inc.

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APPENDICES

Appendix A: Moderators Guide

IntroductionWe have decided to do two focus groups. The first focus group will bepeople who are freshman and have not decided on a major yet. The

second focus group will be people who are already in the College ofAgricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences.

By having two focus groups with different students, we will be able toget an idea of how the college is perceived by people who have yet todecide a major as well as by people who are already in the college. Itwill also be helpful for us to talk to people who are already in thecollege so that we can find out what interested them in it and whatthey found was the best way that they received information about thecollege.

Research GoalThe overall goal of the research is to determine awareness of theCAHNRS majors among current WSU students, both undecidedstudents and students that have declared majors. We also want to findout if they the undecided and decided students are aware of themajors in the CAHNRS, where they heard about the CAHNRS and ifthey have not heard of the CAHNRS then what are good ways to reachthem whether it is from posters, emails, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

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To further explain our research goals, we want to find out what thebest way to reach and communicate with students who have decidedon a major and students who have not decided on a major is. We alsowould like to find out what decided and undecided students know

about the CAHNRS and what majors are apart about that college. Weare doing this to get the name of the CAHNRS out to the WashingtonState University student body and to make sure that the CAHNRS isreaching out to students in the most effective way.

InstructionsModerator, if you could please read through the introduction and theguide the conversation through the topics listed. We believe the focusgroup will only take one hour. It would be best to spend less time ongeneral questions and more time on in-depth questions so that we canget as much information as possible. There is no time suggestion for

each question because we want to take as much time for eachquestion as needed. Included are a few samples questions that you canask to get the focus group started.

IntroductionThank you for joining us for the focus group today. You will be helpingus to gage the awareness among different student groups here atWashington State University about the College of Agriculture, Human,and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS). In order for us to keep notesit is important that only one person talk at a time. Please signal themoderator by raising your hand if you have something to say. We

would like to inform you that everything you say will be kept in theroom and no one will be able to link statements to you as individuals.To get through discussion in a timely manner we ask that you pleaseturn your cell phones on vibrate and put them away. We thank youonce again for your participation in this focus group.

Questions1) Do you have a declared major and what year in school are you?2) Are you familiar with CAHNRS?3) Did you come to Washington State University knowing what

CAHNRS is?

4) Why did you choose your major?5) What drew you to the majors you are considering?6) What is your perception of CAHNRS?7) How do you get your information about the different colleges and

organizations at Washington State University?

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Appendix B: Focus Group Transcripts

Focus Group #1: Freshman1. Connor2. Lucas3.Philip4.Conner5.Taylor

-Do you have a declared major, what year in school are you?(ALL FRESHMEN)1. Connor-Marketing2. Lucas-Finance3.Philip-4.Conner-Accounting/Finance5.Taylor-International Business

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-Are you familiar with CAHNRS?100%--->Universal NO2. Lucas: Ive never heard of it-Did you come to WSU knowing what CAHNRS is?100%--->Universal NO

-Why did you choose your major?/What drew you to the majors you areconsidering?1. Connor-Chose based on personal choice and classes he enjoyed inhigh school2. Lucas-Did a little bit of research to see what jobs you can get with afinance degree3.Philip-I didnt research it, I did it because my brother did it, I guess I

kind of followed him4.Conner- My counselor said I should go into business, and my sister

was in business so I did the same thing as her.

5.Taylor-High school experience led to his choice of major

-What is your perception of CAHNRS?1. Connor- Id guess they are known for the vet school, agriculture ispretty big at WSU2. Lucas- Its probably pretty good.3.Philip4.Conner- Its about how to grow plants?5.Taylor- Family members are in similar field from WSU so he knows

its pretty good

-How do you get your information about the different colleges,organizations, and clubs at WSU?1. Connor-Doesnt follow WSU social media, but Id say they should useFacebook or twitter2. Lucas-Doesnt follow WSU social media, agrees with using Facebook3.Philip-Doesnt follow WSU social media, but said that Facebook would

be the best option, not twitter, because twitter isnt a good socialmedia platform for school information

4.Conner-Doesnt follow WSU social media5.Taylor-Does not get info through Facebook for college

-How often do you check your WSU email?1. Connor-Everyday2. Lucas- When he gets an email from WSU he checks the subject todecide whether or not to open it3.Philip4.Conner5.Taylor-Checks frequently

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-What do you think would be the best way to reach students who wereundecided?1. Connor-Something during Alive2. Lucas- Push it heavier during Alive, have some sort of program forundeclared students and really push the major.

3.Philip-Attack Alive hard; If students are up in the air thats where youwould get them. Conner-Really advertise it at Alive4.Taylor-Suggested coming to fraternities and sororities to talk directly

to a group , also agrees that they should work with Alive

-Thoughts on how to reach out to high school students?1. Connor- Early senior year2. Lucas-Never read emails in high school, didnt think like the idea ofsending emails, but thought pamphlets would be a good idea3.Philip-Contact high school students early in their senior year, and do

NOT do it through e-mail

4.Conner5.Taylor- Have CAHNRS personally call students before coming to WSU

-How do you guys feel about the name CAHNRS?100%--->Universal dislike of the CAHNRS acronym1. Connor2. Lucas- Change the wording of the college, put agriculture last.3.Philip4.Conner5.Taylor-Use a full name or better acronym; thinks it sounds like a

persons name

-What is important to you in regards to your future career?1. Connor-Having money and being able to provide for a family, alsothe ability to move up in an organization2. Lucas- Just wants to get paid3.Philip- I just want to be able to provide for a family4.Conner- Agreed with others; Make money and provide for a family5.Taylor-Ability to move up in the career path

Focus Group #2: CAHNRS Majors1.Palmer2.Tory3.Sierra4.Jake5.Sean

-Whats your major within CAHNRS, what year in school are you?

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1.Palmer- Freshman, AgTm2.Tory-Senior, AgTm3.Sierra-Junior, Organic Agriculture4. Jake-Freshman, AgTm5.Sean-Freshman, Field Crop Management

-Did you come to WSU knowing what CAHNRS is?1.Palmer- I knew coming in, because I have a large farming

background2.Tory- Also knew coming in, also due to a background in farming3.Sierra- I started out in nursing, realized it didnt fit, this major just

came to me4.Jake-Yes5.Sean- Yes

-How do you think other students perceive CAHNRS ?

1.Palmer- If you asked people what CAHNRS is theyd probably saythats where they farmers go

2.Tory-Also said people thinks its just for hicks3.Sierra- They think its a bunch of hicks, and only about farming . And

thats only if they know what acronym means4. Jake- Doesnt think that people outside of CAHNRS know what it is5.Sean- It seems like its just agriculture when its not My major has

nothing to do with animals. Said that people take it for granted, andthat they think it is easy.

-How do you feel about the CAHNRS acronym?

1.Palmer- They need to come up with a better word2.Tory- No one knows what it means3.Sierra-Said that people outside of CAHNRS dont know what it

means, insteadshould be a more general, shorter version of CAHNRS.4. Jake5. Sean

-How do you get your information about the different colleges,organizations, and clubs at WSU?--->Universal:

100%--->Dont follow school organizations on facebook or twitter100%--->Get lots of emails from CAHNRS --All agreed that they sendtoo many e-mails and so they get overlooked. Like the idea of a morespecialized mailing list.3. Sierra: Suggested the idea of maybe sending one weekly emailevery Monday1.Palmer: If I see a WSU email I just delete it.5. Sean: Dont mass email about jobs and internships, have opt-in

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emailing.

-Whats the best way to reach students who were undecided?1.Palmer-They should focus more on the west side of the state2.Tory

3.Sierra4.Jake5.Sean-Promoting CAHNRS through FFA state convention in Pullman in

May. Sending a pamphlet with acceptance letters is better than anemail.

-What is CAHNRS doing right?--->Universal:100%--> The hands-on experience they provide

-Suggestions for Improvement:

--->Universal:100%--->DO NOT send e-mails100%--->Liked the idea of a Pamphlet sent in the mail, thought hardcopy would be a good idea100%---> All agreed that the schools website is too hard to navigate;They couldnt find what they needed. Said it needs to be moreaccessible and easier to find information about things such asinternships100%---> Need newer facilities and more centrally located classes100%---> Need to be more present on campus!3. Sierra- They need to do a better job of advertising all that they have

to offer--1st organic college in country-- need to brag about that more-- prestige of college: the history & research-- need to advertise clubs more, outside activities-- need to get information out-- need to advertise outside of the Agriculture buildings-- go into the general freshman classes and really spread the wordsabout all the different possibilities within all the majors: Example:business behind farming: definitely could appeal to business majors5.Sean---Promote CAHNRS Career Day to undecided people

--Promote unique majors that differentiate from Ag--Promote all the possibilities of AgTM--Promote the colleges prestiges research--Promote the complexities of CAHNRS majors not just as simple asfarming

Focus Group #3: Freshman1. Mackenzie

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2. Hannah3. Annie4. Maddie

-Do you have a declared major, what year in school are you?

(ALL FRESHMAN)1. Mackenzie-Elementary Education2. Hannah-Pre-Nursing3. Annie-Communication4.Maddie-Communication

-Are you familiar with CAHNRS?100%--->Universal NO100%--->None have ever heard of CAHNRS, but when I said agricultureschool they all understood.

-Why did you choose your major?/What drew you to the majors you areconsidering?1. Mackenzie -I like kids and teaching2. Hannah-I want to have a major where I can help people and benefitpeople in a positive way3. Annie-I chose communication after I came here after talking topeople4.Maddie-I knew before I came

-What is your perception of CAHNRS?1. Mackenzie-I dont know a lot about it. I would think that agriculture

would be bigger here than anywhere over in Seattle, because were inthe middle of nowhere, and were surrounded by a lot of smalltowns ...I would expect that Wazzu probably has a pretty goodprogram for it.2. Hannah-I feel like it seems like its a pretty good program howeverits not really heard of, as bad as it sounds. I feel like its bad thattheres this whole program that Ive really never heard of. --I feel like ifits such a good program, which it probably is, it should be more notedand known for.3. Annie- I feel like it should be more talked about...I knew it was anagriculture school but I dont really know anything about it.

4.Maddie-I knew about the communication school before I came here,and people should know about this school too.

-How do you get your information about the different colleges,organizations, and clubs at WSU?1. Mackenzie-When you come for Alive, I remember they had so muchinformation about all the different majors...which is great because atthat point youre still taking it all in. But once your in your major you

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dont really care about the other majors.2. Hannah-Posters I really dont pay attention to, as bad as that is. Ifeel like posters are not the way to go.3. Annie-I think they should really push for likes on a Facebook page4.Maddie

1. Mackenzie-I still personally think ALive would be a really goodopportunity to show that CAHNRS offers this this and this...and alsocould you educate the advisors in certain departments to push theroute in CAHNRS. (Somehow create a partnership so that people whowant to major in AMT also learn about the fashion design school inCAHNRS, or so that people who plan to major in econ also learn aboutthe econ school in CAHNRS) ---They REALLY liked this idea.

-How do you guys feel about the name CAHNRS?1. Mackenzie -When you see it written its easier to remember becauseof the weird spelling, but when you say it out loud I have no idea what

it is.2. Hannah- I feel like its too casual of a name to be honest. LikeCAHNRS I immediately thought of people I know named Conner. With aprogram like this, with such great opportunities it needs to have aname thats more noticeable almost...because when I hear CAHNRS Idont think of anything special...it just sounds really causal. I think itneeds to be something more noticeable and attention grabbing.3. Annie- I think you just need to advertise it more and put CAHNRS inpeoples heads..just really pushing the name.4.Maddie-The first thing I thought of was my friends who are named

Conner.

-Other suggestions for improvement?--->Universal:100%--->They didnt like the idea of using twitter100%--->They all REALLY liked the idea of sending a glossy book withpictures and information about CAHNRS right after they receive theiracceptance letter.2. Hannah-When people are new to something, you need to give themthe information they need.3. Annie-Even a Facebook page would be really good, just to see thename CAHNRS on social media, whether they choose to like it or not

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APPENDIX C: QUALTRICS SURVEY RESULTS (GRAPHS)1. What year are you at Washington State University?

2. Are you a transfer student?

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3. Are you certified in the College of Communication?

4. If you are not certified what college do you intend to certify in or areyou already certified in?

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5. What attracted you most to that major? (Please select all that apply)

6. Do you know what CAHNRS stands for?

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7. If you answered yes to #6 how did you hear about CAHNRS?

8. Are you aware of what majors are apart of CAHNRS?

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9. What social media sites do you get most of your information from?(Please select all that apply)

10. What type of advertisements on campus for the different collegesdo you find the most effective?

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11. In general where do you notice advertisements the most? (pleaseselect all that apply)

12. If you said social media, then what sites do you get thatinformation from (please select all that apply)

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13. Do you follow any of the colleges at WSU on social media?

14. When you think about CAHNRS; you think?

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15. What do you think the average CAHNRS graduate makes?

APPENDIX D: SURVEY MONKEY RESULTS

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1. What was your major/degree?

2. What is the highest degree you have received?

3. What is your current occupation?

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4. Who is your current employer?

5. Your current job title?

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6. Do you feel prideful in being a CAHNRS graduate?

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7. Do you feel your time in CAHNRS prepared you for your career?

8. Do you follow CAHNRS on social media and if so do you find iteffective?

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9. If you could do one thing to improve CAHNRS what would it be?

10. Did you know about CAHNRS before coming to WSU?

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APPENDIX E: TABLES OF SURVEY RESULTS

What year are you at Washington StateUniversity?Freshman 30.39%Sophomore 24.51%Junior 27.45%Senior 17.65%

Are you a transfer student?Yes 11.76%No 88.24%

Are you certified in the College ofCommunication?Yes 19.61%No 80.39%

If you are not certified what college doyou intend to certify in or are you alreadycertified in?CAHNRS 11.11%

Arts & Sciences 12.22%Business 28.89%Communication 27.78%Education 2.22%Engineering and Architecture 5.56%Honors 1.11%Nursing 6.67%Pharmacy 2.22%Veterinary 2.22%

What attracted you most to that major?

(Please select all that apply)Reputation of college 34.65%Personal Contacts 23.76%Average Salary after graduation 24.75%Knowledge from taking college classes 24.75%Knowledge from college fairs 5.94%Personal interest in the subject 69.31%Hands on experiences 27.72%

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Alumni support 4.95%Career Path 46.53%Other 0.99%

Do you know what CAHNRS stands for?

Yes 25.00%No 75.00%

If you answered yes to #6 how did youhear about CAHNRS?Advertisements 5.06%Friends 11.39%Current Major 11.39%Internet/Social Media 3.80%Answered no to #6 68.35%

Are you aware of what majors are apart of CAHNRS?Yes 17.35%No 82.65%

What social media sites do you get mostof your information from? (Please selectall that apply)Facebook 93.88%Twitter 42.86%Pinterest 18.37%Instagram 37.76%

What type of advertisements on campusfor the different colleges do you find themost effective?Print 27.00%Multimedia 19.00%Radio/Television 3.00%Internet 51.00%Other 0.00%

In general where do you noticeadvertisements the most? (please selectall that apply)Daily Evergreen 27.72%The CUB 47.52%Classes/Building 41.58%Social Media 59.41%Other 0.99%

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If you said social media, then what sitesdo you get that information from (pleaseselect all that apply)Facebook 91.46%

Twitter 40.24%Pinterest 21.95%Instagram 7.32%Other 3.66%

Do you follow any of the colleges at WSUon social media?Yes 42.57%No 57.43%

When you think about CAHNRS; you think?

Salaries 5.10%Career Paths 23.47%Scholarships 7.14%Not interested in CAHNRS 56.12%Other 8.16%

What do you think the average CAHNRSgraduate makes?Less than 20k per year 8.33%21-50k per year 38.54%51-70k per year 44.79%

71k+ per year 8.33%

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APPENDIX F: QUALTRICS SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

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APPDENDIX F: SURVEY MONKEY QUESTIONS

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Documents

Campaign Plan: the College of Agricultural, Human, Natural, Resource Sciences