Elon University Women's and Gender Studies Program: Strategy Campaign by Cory Morrison

The Women’s and Gender Studies Program Elon University

Strategic Communications Plan Presented by: Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008

Dara Duncan Emily Favret Katie Meyer Cory Morrison

 The Wianno Pavilion 100 Campus Drive • Alamance 204 Elon, NC 27244

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION……………………………....………………PAGE 5 CHAPTER ONE Background………………………………………………….PAGE 7

CHAPTER TWO Current Situation……………………………………..……..PAGE 16

CHAPTER THREE Research Section………………………………………….... PAGE 25

CHAPTER FOUR Plans, Goals, & Objectives………………………………… PAGE 43

CHAPTER FIVE Strategies Section………………………………………….. PAGE 48

CHAPTER SIX Tactics Section……………………………………………... PAGE 53 3

CHAPTER SEVEN Evaluation………………………………………………….. PAGE 64

CHAPTER EIGHT Budget………………………………………………………PAGE 70

CHAPTER NINE Time Table………………………………………………..... PAGE 73

APPENDIX A – Mission Statement…………………………………….. PAGE 90 B – Course List……………………………………………. PAGE 91 C – Focus Group Questions……………………………...…PAGE 93 D – Survey Questions………………………………………PAGE 94 E – Public Relations………………………………………...PAGE 96 F – Sample Post Survey…………………………………… PAGE 97 G – Focus Group Moderator Question.……………………. PAGE 98 H – Focus Group Transcription……....……………………. PAGE 99

INTRODUCTION  Wianno Pavilion

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008

INTRODUCTION This strategic communications plan is designed specifically for the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Elon University for use during the 2009-2010 academic year. Wianno Pavilion has designed this plan based on primary and secondary research targeted toward current student perceptions, trends and opinions. As a component of the fall Corporate Campaign course, the plan is meant to be implemented beginning in spring 2009 by the members of the WGS program. All research was completed during the fall of 2008 and can be found in the appendixes of this document. For future consideration and information, please contact Amanda Gallagher (agallagher@elon.edu). Named for a famous street and the location of the agency’s first meeting, Wianno Pavilion is a full-service strategic communications agency. Wianno is composed of four dedicated, skilled public relations students who are committed to advancing the success of the WGS program on Elon’s campus. Emily Favret Account Manager Emily was responsible for all client contact and was the team-leader for this project. Arranging meetings and submitting progress reports to faculty advisor Amanda Gallagher, Emily contributed to every chapter and edited much of the content of the report. Emily is a senior Strategic Communications major (International emphases) and Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellow from Hagerstown, Maryland. Katie Meyer Communications Director Katie was responsible for the compilation of each chapter and the final report. Katie wrote each of the executive summaries and served as a moderator for the focus group. Katie is a senior Corporate Communications major with a minor in Graphic Design from Osterville, Massachusetts. Cory Morrison Creative Director Cory was responsible for all creative materials proposed in the creative plan. Cory contributed to every chapter and served as a moderator for the focus group. Cory is a senior Corporate Communications major from Charlotte, North Carolina. Dara Duncan Research Director Dara was responsible for all research materials created and completed by the agency. Dara contributed to ever chapter and developed all survey and focus group materials. Dara is a senior Corporate Communications and Political Science major from Charlotte, North Carolina.

CHAPTER ONE  Background Chapter

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008

CHAPTER ONE – Executive Summary Chapter one of this strategic communications plan primarily serves to provide background content for the Women’s and Gender Studies Program (WGS) at Elon University. The Women’s and Gender Studies program offers a 20 credit hour minor to complement a major for Elon students. The program focuses on students who show an interest in the lives of men and women as well as gender issues and sex. Aside from the minor program that is offered, the WGS program also leads the campus organization, EFFECT, which holds events to help the campus become more aware of gender and sex issues. The WGS program is comprised of an advisory board made up of 15 faculty, administrators and students. The advisory board works collectively and is overseen and coordinated by Dr. Lynn Huber. There are 22 members of the faculty at Elon teaching classes from various fields of gender and sex studies for the program. The program is funded through the School of the Arts and Sciences as well as a small family endowment. It has a limited budget to put towards a public strategic communications plan. The WGS minor has a small number of students enrolled. It aims to reach students who are interested in the areas of studies offered. It faces competition from other majors and minors at Elon that offer similar classes as well as other universities who offer larger WGS programs. Other competitors to the WGS program at Elon are Greek Life on campus is also considered a competitor to the organization in addition to organizations such as Crossroads. The program hopes that people who have a genuine interest in the field of study will feel compelled to work toward a WGS minor or become involved in the advisory board or the organization EFFECT. It also wants to find ways to better communicate with the Elon student body. 8

CHAPTER ONE – Purpose/Objectives

The Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Elon University is an interdisciplinary minor with a goal to educate students and the Elon community on issues concerning women, men, sex and gender in today’s society. Encompassing the academic minor and the student organization EFFECT (Elon Feminists For Equality Change and Transformation), the program works with students, faculty and community members both inside and outside the classroom. The Women’s and Gender Studies Program’s mission statement states that “the program aims to further the intellectual life of the Elon community regarding women’s lives, men’s lives, gender and sex.”1 The WGS faculty aims to raise consciousness among members of the Elon community, sharing in the overall mission of the University. According to the program’s mission statement, those involved in all aspects of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program “remain committed to eradicating inequality and extending social justice.”(Appendix A) The Women’s and Gender Studies Program falls under the jurisdiction of Dean Steven House and the College of Arts and Sciences. Distinguished as a program in the College of Arts and Sciences, the academic minor can complement a student’s major or additional minors and requires 20 credit hours for completion. Under the coordination and direction of Dr. Lynn Huber, WGS has an Advisory Board made up of 15 faculty, administrators and students and an interdisciplinary faculty made up of 22 faculty members, hailing from departments across campus. In addition to the academic minor, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program houses the student organization EFFECT, whose purpose is to supply the students at Elon with educational

programming on issues concerning men, women, gender and sex. Overseen by Alina Ramirez, the organization is open to all undergraduates but primarily serves as a supplement to Women’s and Gender Studies minors.

Women’s and Gender Studies Mission Statement. Please refer to Appendix A.

CHAPTER ONE – Composition The Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Elon University is an organization that manages itself from a feminist standpoint. The department has established a board of directors in order to take in many different views and make decisions collectively. The board of directors consists of 15 members, comprised of faculty, staff, and students and is run under the direction of Dr. Lynn Huber. They meet monthly to discuss different issues. The board is broken into subcommittees who overseas things such as events and course approval. The Dean of Arts and Sciences, Nancy Harris, is the person who oversees the entire WGS program department. Some of the more active members of the board include Dr. Ringelberg, Dr Cahill, Dr. Lewellyn-Jones, and Dr. Gabie Smith (the latter two being past program directors).

The staff of this department is comprised of 22 members.

There is also a student

organization called EFFECT that helps in arranging events to further the causes of this department. One of the student members of the advisory board, Hillary Hazelwood, is also an EFFECT member.

CHAPTER ONE – Relevant Publics The main public that this department has been focusing on is students that have a passion for the subjects of gender studies and sexuality. The department has been trying to reach faculty and staff members around Elon to become more involved in the Women’s and Gender’s Study Program and the events they offer. Another public that the department has been focusing on are the community members of Elon and Burlington. The department is trying to focus on people that have a genuine interest in the subject to become a part of their “community.”

CHAPTER ONE – Funding The program’s annual budget is estimated at $4,000 and is used primarily for programming and membership costs. Half of this amount is allocated to the cost of in bringing speakers and lecture series to the program and Elon University. About $1,000 is designated for office supplies, senior awards and meals, including a kick-off picnic and end of the year banquet. Another $1,000 is set aside for print services costs, including brochures and posters. Six hundred dollars is budgeted to transportation to and from conferences. About $250 is designated for WGS’ annual membership fees to both the National Women’s Studies Association and the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association. This budget is comprised of funding from the School of Arts and Sciences and a small endowment from an alumna’s family. All significant expenses must be approved by the WGS board, and must meet both the goals of the program and needs of the board. A proposed strategic communications campaign would have to meet these criteria, and would have an estimated budget of $400 - $500. A proposed strategic communications campaign would have to meet these criteria, and would have an estimated budget of $400 - $500, excluding print costs. Figure 1 Annual Budget = $4,000 Speakers and lecture series

$2,000

Office supplies, senior awards and meals

$1,000

Print services

$1,000

Membership fees

$250

Strategic Communications Campaign

$400 – 500

CHAPTER ONE – Competitive Frame

The WGS minor at Elon faces both direct and indirect competition. Both affect perception about Elon’s program and the number of students that choose to enroll. DIRECT COMPETITION: •

Other majors at Elon: o

Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, African American Studies, Human Services, Political Science, etc. 

Many classes in these majors and the curriculum itself cover contemporary issues regarding women and gender.

•

Greek life o

Sorority and fraternity national offices require chapters to attend training sessions regarding many issues regarding sexual assault, gender roles, and social justice in society that are covered in the WGS curriculum. Therefore, some people would be “burned out” on the subject.

INDIRECT COMPETITION: •

Other universities- UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Chapel Hill, Appalachian State, Furman University. These are universities in the area that prospective students often explore in addition to Elon. o

These universities offer WGS majors, which may be more appealing to students than just a minor.

•

Crossroads: Sexual Assault Response & Resource Center. 14

Nonprofit off-campus organization specializing in advocacy and human rights, children and youth, crisis support, emergency and safety, and justice and legal services. Students may be more willing to volunteer for their programs rather than for a programs and events offered through the WGS program at Elon.

•

Geographical location- Elon’s southern location in a small town may be a deterrent for some students o

More WGS services in bigger cities with bigger schools.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) people may be uncomfortable with Elon’s southern location.

CHAPTER TWO Current Situation

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008

CHAPTER TWO – Executive Summary

The Women’s and Gender Studies program on campus is very active; however the program still has plenty of room to expand. This organization has grown a great deal since its beginnings over twenty years ago. Currently, the WGS program at Elon has a very small enrollment. This proposed strategic communications plan will work with the program to help them raise awareness on campus and to encourage involvement in the organization EFFECT. Currently the organization is overseen by an advisory board made of up faculty from other departments who have a passion for this program. The organization is looking to add a full-time faculty member before they consider creating a major in the WGS program. The organization is also thinking about opening a women’s center on campus to provide counseling and offer a place for organizations to meet. In order to expand the program, it is most important for the organization to work toward targeting Elon freshman and sophomores who have not yet decided their major and minor in order to grow the support of the organization. In the past the WGS program has used posters, emails, and events as means to publicize the organization on campus. There are many pitfalls to take into consideration before implementing a public relations plan to raise awareness to the freshman and sophomores on campus. A few possible obstacles include competing recruitment from Greek Life, a limited budget and lack of ability for underclassman to get into classes as well as the time it will take to implement a strategic communications plan.

CHAPTER TWO – Development The Women’s and Gender Studies department has come a long way since its conception a little over twenty years ago. The department developed out of a desire to promote feminist ideals and philosophies. It was through these principles that the department decided to establish an advisory board to oversee the program. The department has grown to where it currently has twenty-five students in the minor. The department has always offered very popular classes in the past, but today those classes are becoming even more competitive to get in to. Through the past twenty years the department has added multiple on-campus recruiting events and an annual film series. The department has also started to expand its reach more to the Elon University community. In 1993 the department held the first “Take Back the Night” rally. This night has grown into an annual tradition as well. The department minors have also developed a student group, EFFECT, which became an official student organization this year. EFFECT and the Women’s and Gender Studies department work together to plan community activities. At this point, the department has been more successful in creating student engagement, especially with the creation of EFFECT, compared to a few years ago when the organization was just starting up.

CHAPTER TWO – Current Position The Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Elon has numerous connections to the Elon community aside from just offering a minor. The program sponsors many events throughout the semester to help raise awareness among the Elon community about women’s and gender issues. Though this program may be small in size they put forth strong efforts to make more people aware of issues that affect our community.

a. Campus organization EFFECT a. Comprised of Elon University students interested in Women’s and Gender Studies b. Works hand-in-hand with the Women’s and Gender Studies Program around campus to help raise awareness and sponsor events.

b. Sponsoring Campus events a. Sponsored a welcome back lunch in September to reunite after the summer as well as a banquet for seniors b. Showings of relevant movies to the entire community i. Movie for fall ’08 was “Running in High Heels” ii. Spring ’09 movie dealing with gender c. Domestic violence speakers i. To help raise awareness on campus of domestic violence and peoples experiences d. Fundraisers for local abuse centers 19

e. Performing arts events i. The event, “Downtown” for fall ’08 will celebrate WGS through the performing arts f. “Take Back the Night” i. Campus wide event to raise awareness about rape ii. Involves most Greek organizations as well as other participants around campus

c. Possible creation of a Women’s Center a. Looking into providing a women’s center on campus for counseling and as a resource for women related organizations

CHAPTER TWO – DIRECTION The most important thing to address regarding the WGS minor at Elon is its awareness in the community. Widespread knowledge about the program is currently the WGS program’s biggest problem, but is also its biggest opportunity. The following benefits of a WGS minor need to be promoted in order to increase awareness in the program:

a. How a WGS minor is applicable in the work field though understanding what one can do with the knowledge about the subjects this minor address.

b. How a WGS minor relates to other majors offered at Elon, especially for students majoring in psychology and sociology.

c. How being enrolled in the minor can help a person become better suited for interaction with women in the work force and in everyday life. To raise awareness about these benefits, underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) at Elon will be targeted. Since they are underclassmen, they are likely to still be undecided about their major and or trying to figure out any possible minors that interest them. Also, they are less likely to already be involved in many things at Elon, thus giving them more time for this academic minor. Increasing awareness about the WGS program will also increase the number of students enrolled in it.

CHAPTER TWO – Vision As the Women and Gender Studies program moves toward the future, its leaders plan to keep all developments and plans in line with the program’s mission statement. (Appendix A) Additionally, constant goals of the program are to continue to grow in the number of WGS minors and to continue to appeal to minors across the university. A long-standing goal of the program is to evolve from an academic minor to major, but leaders in the organization know that a lot of others things must be accomplished before the establishment of a major. A short-term goal of WGS, with help from the office of Student Life, is to decide whether or not to create a women’s center on campus. Another goal is to acquire a full-time faculty position to benefit both the student in the program as well as WGS’s goal of eventually being an academic major. The WGS program is anxious to see what strategic communications strategies and tactics will be presented in this proposal. In previous years the program has used traditional Elon methods of publicizing and recruiting, and these methods (including t-shirts, posters and E-Net) would be expected in any future campaigns. Dr. Lynn Huber and the rest of the WGS faculty view any strategic communications work as an additional effort to their academic responsibilities, therefore a campaign would have to be one that is simple yet effective and not contain massive amounts of additional work for the departments leaders. WGS expects this campaign to target students across Elon, approach them with the appeals of the program and resonate in them the passion that the administrators and program members have toward the feminist movement and women’s issues.

Women’s and Gender Studies Mission Statement. Please refer to Appendix A 22

CHAPTER TWO – PITFALLS Encountering problems is inevitable in any campaign. There are many possible pitfalls that could affect this campaign to increase awareness about the WGS program at Elon. I.

Involvement a. Underclassmen being recruited or seeking out other things to do on campus, some examples include: i. Greek Life 1. Over 30% of Elon women are Greek. ii. Periclean scholars iii. Orientation iv. Campus employment

II.

Lack of student body awareness a. Facebook i. Promoting the WGS minor at Elon over the popular social networking site Facebook may not work because it is often overly used for promoting events and programs.

III.

Other a. Budget is limited to $400-$500 b. WGS class offerings i. Not a lot of faculty to teach classes offered in the program ii. Some of the classes are hard to get into as freshmen

iii. Some of the classes are 300 or 400 level and could limit the number of freshmen and sophomores because they may be intimidated to take them. c. Lack of interest i. The campaign needs to deal with stereotypes people have about the subject matter taught in this program IV.

Turn-around time a. The campaign will likely not be implemented until the spring semester of 2009, as the proposal will not be finalized until the end of the fall semester in 2008. i. If implementation lasts one semester, half of the target will be finishing their sophomore year and therefore no longer fit into the target parameter. b. Ideas created in the campaign may be outdated by the time implementation starts.

24â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

CHAPTER THREE Research Section

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008

CHAPTER THREE – Executive Summary

The population sampled for this research section was freshman and sophomore students at Elon University. We had 54 students who willing responded to our online survey and they were asked mostly closed-ended questions, one open-ended question and one recognition formatted question. They were also asked questions about demographics as well as questions specific to the Women’s and Gender Studies Program. Questions included gauging the participant’s interest in the classes that the WGS program offers as well as their ideas of what a WGS minor would involve. Outline of research conducted (more detail in following chapter): •

Gathered information from participants of the freshman and sophomore classes through an online survey and an in-person focus group

•

The survey was sent to a convenience sample of people asking them basic demographics, interest in the minor as well as interest in some of the classes that the WGS program offers

•

The focus group was created with a snowball sample of 5 boys and girls

•

Results of the findings from the survey were analyzed using an the online surveymonkey application, here are some of our primary findings: o 53% of those surveyed had never heard of the WGS program o The majority of students said that they were interested in one or more of the WGS classes that are normally offered

o Most students found negative connotations attached to the name of the WGS program

27â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

CHAPTER THREE – Statement of the Problem Situation analysis: The Women and Gender Studies program is striving for more presence on Elon’s campus and in the community. Despite sponsoring numerous campus events, the WGS program’s presence is felt only by a small amount of people. The WGS minor is not extremely popular at Elon, probably because the WGS program has barriers that other minors do not have to deal with. Overcoming these barriers is more difficult because of the limited interest in the program’s subject matter.

Problem: Significant barriers the program must overcome in order to increase its presence on the Elon campus are: a. Current student involvement of Elon students in the WGS’s campus organizations. b. The need to present topics in this minor to students in a new way. c. A limited budget.

Goal: The goal of the WGS program is to increase awareness in multiple areas: d. How a WGS minor is applicable in the work field. i. Gain skills for interaction with different types of people. e. How a WGS minor relates to other majors offered at Elon. 28

i. WGS, psychology, human services, and sociology students all study how people interact. f. How a WGS minor makes one better suited for interaction with women in the work force and in everyday life. i. Gain better understanding of issues they face as a gender. When awareness increases, the number of students enrolled in the program and probability for growth should also increase. Long-term goals for the program include starting a women’s center on campus and establishing the WGS program as an academic major. In turn, this action will heighten the program’s presence on campus and in the community as well.

CHAPTER THREE – Research Primary research methods utilized in this campaign were an online survey and a focus group. Themes of each method of data collection centered around how and why students become interested in certain subjects, and, in turn, what leads them to enroll in certain classes, majors, or minors. Online survey: After basic screening questions regarding gender and year in school were answered, respondents were asked to say if they had heard of the WGS program at Elon and which classes (in a list provided) they would be interested in taking. We decided the survey would be the most effective way to gather information from our participants because it could be e-mailed out and sent to a targeted group more reflective of our audience. Also, a survey can gather a considerable amount of factual data in an efficient and comprehensive way that is easier to interpret than an interview or asking questions to a large group. Focus group: Participants in the focus group were asked questions that provided more qualitative data than the survey. Why people choose certain majors and minors, the usefulness of minors, the most important issue regarding women today, what it would take for people to choose a WGS minor, and why people may be reluctant to minor in WGS at Elon were the questions asked in order to analyze how people perceive the subject matter of the WGS minor and how they respond to it.

From these methods of data collection, it was apparent that personal interest in certain subjects and the terminology used regarding them was important to assess. For example, there were participants in the focus group who attached a certain stigma to the WGS program simply because of the word “women” in its title. They believed that by using that title, the WGS program establishes itself as a program that deals with feminist issues, another word that had its own negative stigma. Certain words invoke certain emotional responses. When we talked to the students we found that they felt very strongly about the word feminism and having the word “women” in the title of the program. Many people said that this title would not entice boys to be interested in having a minor in this topic. Knowing this is important because in order to determine how people will respond to future promotions of the WGS program, it is imperative to understand how they respond now.

CHAPTER THREE – Method

To collect the data needed to study this campaign we decided to create a survey and have some students participate in a focus group. Our population was all Elon freshman and sophomores. Since we obviously could not speak to all of the people who fit in such a group, we had a sample of fifty-nine students take an online survey through surveymonkey and additional two students who had not taken the survey participated in our focus group (for a total of five people) creating a final sample size of 61 students. We sent our survey out to only freshman and sophomores at Elon since this was our target audience. We used a questionnaire form of a survey which had questions regarding demographics, intended major at Elon, and knowledge and interest in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and classes. These questions were mostly closed ended with one open ended question, and one recognition/ interest formatted question. For most of the questions we wanted something that could be easily coded, yet for a couple of the questions there were too many possible answers to list all available choices. We did find a way to code each of our responses though. We had fifty-nine Elon freshman and sophomores complete the survey. Sophomores comprised sixty-three percent of our survey participants. The most popular majors of those surveyed were business and communications. We believed this survey method was the best way to collect a wide-range of data for a preliminary analysis of how students view the minor on campus today. We also conducted a focus group, after closing and analyzing the survey, which asked what people thought of the women’s and gender studies program. We gained participants’

insights about their previous stereotypes and views of the Women’s and Gender Program as well as finding out their levels of knowledge about the program. We also asked about the types of classes and advertising and/or promotion required for them to consider becoming involved in a Women’s and Gender Studies minor. For the focus group we had one primary moderator, an assistant moderator and one person in our group would occasionally add additional input if needed as well as take notes. We also had the main moderator appear more formal while the assistant moderator was more informal to create a comfortable environment for the participants to present their true and honest feelings. We arranged the chairs to be in a circle so there was a feeling of equality in the room. We also started by going around asking participants names and their possible or intended majors. We then asked some general questions about the participant’s level of knowledge on the Women’s and Gender Studies minor. We focused on key words that the participants either had a positive or negative reaction to, and then went off of those reactions to get further elaboration. We also tried to get opinions on what would make one of them pick up a certain minor in addition to their already preselected majors. The design of the focus group was to ask a general questions related to the Women’s and Gender Studies program or society’s thoughts on the Women’s and Genders Studies values , such as feminism, and then from there get into more detail on specific topics that the participants tended to feel strongly about. One such example would be the mindset that goes into picking a major or a minor. Our general question was what made them pick their major or minor, but we then elaborated to how they planned their course load. In this way, we were able to receive more detailed information as to whether people already had their entire course load planned out or if certain classes or interest could draw them 33

to a certain minor in particular the Women’s and Genders Studies minor. We concluded by thanking them for their participation and offering them free food and drinks. The information collected in both the survey and the focus group were from a nonprobability, purposive and nonsystematic sample. The survey method allowed us to collect quantitative information while the focus group provided us with some qualitative information. We singled out people that were willing to participate and people that someone in the group at least had a small connection at Elon (sorority/fraternity, in their own or a friend’s, Elon 101 group). The survey in particular was a convenience sample. Our group used a sample of the population (Elon freshman and sophomores) that were available to us. We selected students that were members of our fraternities/sororities, or were participants in either our own or a friend’s Elon 101 group. The students that were chosen for the focus group were also a part of a snowball sample. We asked some of the participants to bring friends so there would be more voices and opinions available.

CHAPTER THREE – Analysis

We analyzed our data by first calculating percentages from our survey question answers. We tried to see which of our questions would provide the most comparative information, such as current interest in types of classes the minor offers.. We then inserted these percentages into graphs that could be useful for visual indicators. We used the surveymonkey online application to help with this analysis. Once we had these results, we coded for our open ended questions. We grouped the survey participants into common majors so we could see how many of our respondents may view the Women’s and Gender studies minor in relation to their major. For our focus group we prepared questions and took detailed notes during the discussion of things that stood out to us as important. Then we read through our transcripts and also picked out keywords that tended to have a strong reaction with our participants.

CHAPTER THREE – Findings

We found through our survey that about fifty-three percent of our samples had never heard of the Women’s and Gender Studies program. Before this survey, where you aware Elon University has a Women's and Gender's Studies minor? •

47 percent of our survey sample had heard of the minor.

•

53 percent of the sample had not heard of the minor

We were interested in finding which one of the current classes offered seemed to be the most popular. We chose three hypothetical classes that fit each of the values expressed by the Women’s and Genders Studies Minor mission. One dealt with “queer theory” issues, one dealt with sexuality, and another dealt with specific feminism philosophies. The sexuality classes were the most popular among those surveyed. 36

Question #2: Would you be interested in taking a "Queer Theory" class? •

34 percent of the respondents said yes, they would be interested.

Question #3: Would you be interested in taking a class focused on sexuality? •

61 percent of the respondents said yes, they would be interested.

Question #4: Would you be interested in taking a “Feminist Philosophy” Class? •

27 percent of the respondents said yes, they would be interested

*see following chart

We were also interested in which one of the classes currently offered would be most popular with our survey participants. Question #5: Would you be interested in taking any the following classes? Check any you would like to take. •

14.8 percent of the participants that responded to this question would be interested in taking an Issues in Contemporary Art course.

•

66.7 percent of the participants that responded to this question would be interested in taking a Women and Men in Society course.

•

40.7 percent of the participants that responded to this question would be interested in taking a Men and Masculinity course.

•

31.5 percent of the participants that responded to this question would be interested in taking a History of Women in the U.S. course

•

79.6 percent of the participants that responded to this question would be interested in taking a Sociology of Families course.

•

29.6 percent of the participants that responded to this question would be interested in taking a Current Controversies in Feminism course.

*See chart on next page

The most popular class was the Sociology in Families Course with the Women and Men in Society Class coming in second. This information is important to us because it demonstrates which specific areas of interest potential minors have. This is important because we can then highlight these classes more to draw more positive attention to the minor. Focus Group In our focus group most of the participants had a negative connotation to the word feminism. One participant said, “ You could not make me take a feminist class.” Yet, most of them also had a positive association with the word diversity. One student even suggested that the business major should require a course in diversity. One participant commented that “business majors should be required to take a course on diversity,” stating that both cultural, racial and gender diversity should be addressed. We also found that almost all of our participants did not know that the Women’s and Gender studies minor had different values other 39

than promoting feminism. One participant said she thought the classes were only about the history of feminism. We also had a participant say that if a minor could relate to their major or possible career then they would consider taking on the extra class load. Many of our participants though did not see how the Women’s and Gender Studies minor could relate to their major or possible career opportunities though they had various majors and career goals. One example was our participant one commenting that she was a psychology major and could “not see how this would have anything to do with my major.” This is ironic as most Women’s and Gender Studies minors are psychology majors. We also noticed that both freshman and sophomores had similar views regarding the Women’s and Gender Studies minor, and its values. The sophomores were no more aware of the minor than the freshman. They also had similar negative connotations with the word feminism. The sophomores did however respond more positively the idea of queer theory classes, referencing the “gay fine by me” shirts from the past.

CHAPTER THREE- Application/Interpretation

Through our primary research we have found three primary areas of interest that will now

shape our proposed campaign for the Women’s and Gender Studies Program. First, from our survey we found that the majority (53%) of Elon underclassmen are not aware of the Women’s and Gender Studies minor. We can interpret this in many ways, but two ways that we would like to focus on are the importance of an awareness campaign and learning from the strategies in which previous awareness campaigns were executed. More tailored and creative approaches and tactics toward making Elon underclassman more aware of the WGS program will be detailed in the campaign plan. This statistic does not mean that former efforts were ineffective, but rather that there is only room for improvement for the WGS program and the method in which it publicizes itself, its classes and its events. The second primary finding is the type of classes that underclassmen are interested in taking. Classes such as Sociology of Families, Women and Men in Society and Men and Masculinity were popular among surveyed students, as well as classes focused specifically on sexuality and the Queer Theory. The WGS program could focus their efforts toward publicizing these specific classes to potential minors, academic advisors and potential students in order to publicize the program as a whole. Because these classes and themes were popular among surveyed underclassmen, the program could also consider offering additional classes in these fields and publicizing those as well. Using these classes that deemed favorable among surveyed sophomores and freshmen to anchor the campaign for the entire WGS minor could prove beneficial for the program as a whole.

The third primary finding is the connotations made with the nature of the WGS program. In our focus group, the students told us that a more favorable word for the classes offered through the WGS minor is diversity. Our research also told us that the word feminism was a turnoff to some students that were surveyed. While the word is one that is comfortably used among the faculty and minors in the program, it should be used with more care and consideration when trying to market itself to the rest of the university. What if this connotation is a hindrance to the resistance of awareness among Elon students? One of our focus group participants even said that he thought the program was only about the history of feminism. The WGS program should center its campaign on additional benefits of the program and the other themes it emphasizes such as diversity and equality. A new phrasing of the academic minor in its publicity could entice students in other academic programs because of its lessons of diversity and equality, terms that we found to be more positively associated with the WGS program. Our campaign for the WGS program has taken these three main ideas and all research findings into consideration. Our campaign will focus on creating awareness of the WGS program to underclassmen, but will do so in a specific and tailored way. We will try to promote popular classes offered in the academic minor and will also speak of the benefits of the course of study in terms of diversity and equality, not just feminism. We learned through speaking with current underclassmen that the minor would be more enticing if it were focused on something besides feminism, and we are going to show that that it already is exploring many other issues under the field of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and gender studies. These themes will be used to invite students majoring in business, communications, education and many others to get an additional academic minor because of the benefits it will give them in future life and career opportunities.

42â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

Disclaimer: The design of the research and the method in which we collected the data was designed specifically for the parameters and timeline set by the JCM404 class. Given more time, more surveys and focus groups would have been conducted to give a broader view of the underclassmen population at Elon University.

CHAPTER FOUR Plans, Goals & Objectives

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008 44

CHAPTER FOUR- Executive Summary Currently, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Elon does not hold a significant presence on campus. We hope that though this plan we can increase awareness of the WGS program though a strategic communications plan. It is important to strive to reach students who have a true passion for this field of study and to try to get them more involved in the minor. We hope to target freshmen and sophomores since most of them have yet to determine their major and still have room in their courseload to pick a minor. Though promoting the WGS program on a low cost budget system, we are also hoping to decrease the negative stigmas that our research showed us attached to feminism. We hope to achieve the goals of raising awareness and increasing participation by:

•

Talking to students on more intimate and direct levels

•

Demonstrating the benefits a WGS minor could have on a freshman’s career and life after college.

•

Educating students of what classes the WGS program offers and what is needed of the student to achieve the minor.

Through our low cost communication operation we still hope to increase the number of students who enroll in the program. However, we are committed to reaching students who are passionate about the WGS program and who will offer a positive influence on the major. 45

CHAPTER FOUR – Statement of Policy and Intent The core problem the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Elon faces is the limited number of potential students it can recruit due to a lack of strategic communications, including raising the program’s level of awareness at Elon in addition to changing negative stigmas attached to the subject matter of the program. Because of this, the goal of the campaign is to revamp the promotion of the program. This will require cost-efficient strategies that develop into what one would get out of a minor in the WGS program. Therefore, the plan does not center on increasing enrollment. While that is a logical goal because more numbers bring more attention, the purpose behind the program is to educate students and the community on why topics such as gender roles, sexuality, and sexism are relevant to everyday life. The reason the plan will echo these ideas is because educating people of the benefits of anything makes it more appealing. Especially in college years, when directional decisions are made about life, incentives are vital. In other words, when choosing a major, students are choosing the probable direction of their career. If they are presented with a way to better their standing when weighed against competitors for jobs, they will act on it. By talking to students directly, the minor is given a more personal identity. Also beneficial from this is the fact that it is a way to promote the program without the use of commercialized advertising techniques. In other words, brochures, mailings, and e-mails only go so far. They are important to have, but do not necessarily yield action by the people they are sent to.

CHAPTER FOUR- Organizational One of the goals of our organization is to recruit passionate members to join the minor. The second goal that we will focus on will be to raise awareness around the minor. Our plan is to support these goals by instilling strategic tactics to raise awareness among freshmen and sophomores at Elon University since they would most likely want to attain for a Women’s and Gender Studies minor. The primary goal of our plan is to revamp the promotion of the program, which should in turn raise awareness. We would like to see more students have an awareness of the values and ideals that the Women’s and Genders Studies. We would also like to see more students who have an interest in the program’s values and classes to take the extra step and commit to an academic minor.

CHAPTER FOUR- Objectives

The overall objectives of the proposed plan for the Women’s and Gender Studies

Program is to raise awareness of the minor, the classes it offers and the values it teaches among Elon freshmen and sophomores during the 2009–2010 academic year. Three secondary objectives will support this primary goal of the campaign, all of which would be measured by a survey or focus group at the end of the campaign: 1. To increase awareness of the WGS minor among Elon underclassmen by 25% by the end of the 2009-2010 academic year.

2. To increase the number of students registered for WGS minors by five during the 2009–2010 academic year.

3. To provide the WGS program with a new approach to the promotion of the minor during the 2009–2010 academic year.

We will be able to gauge the progress of our goals and objectives by having students participate in a pre- and post-survey in regards to their knowledge about the WGS program.

CHAPTER FIVE Strategies Section

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008

CHAPTER FIVE - Executive Summary We have chosen to focus our plan around the audience of the freshmen and sophomore class. Freshmen and sophomores still generally have room in their schedule to pick up an extra minor or change their minor while they are deciding on what they want to do. By educating our audience during their first years at Elon, we will have a greater chance of spreading the information about the minor to students that are truly interested in its subject matter. We hope that by increasing the awareness of the program we will also increase the enrollment of passionate freshmen and sophomores participation. However, the main goal is to educate both groups about the benefits of the minor. Later in this chapter we will further discuss the strategies we will use in order to achieve awareness among the freshmen and sophomore class. As with any plan there are a few obstacles that cause concern. A few of these obstacles include lack of manpower to implement the plan, a minimal budget, students being to committed to other things and a general lack of interest in the subject matter. We are hoping to overcome these obstacles so that the strategic communications plan for the Women’s’ and Gender Studies program will be successful into the future.

CHAPTER FIVE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Publics The primary audience for this campaign plan is underclassmen at Elon University. By focusing on freshmen and sophomores, we are targeting students who are both new to the university, have more flexibility in their academic schedules or have yet to decide on a major or minor. Underclassmen I.

Freshmen a. Global Studies classes b. Undecided majors c. Decided majors i. With no academic minor ii. With a related major or minor (ex: sociology, psychology, anthropology; human services) iii. Any major d. Freshmen who have expressed interest in the WGS minor

II.

Sophomores a. Enrolled in a Global Studies class (transfers) b. Undecided majors c. Decided majors i. With no academic minor ii. With a related minor or major d. Sophomores who have expressed interest in the WGS minor

51â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

CHAPTER FIVE – Strategies Freshman and sophomores are the best target audience because they are the students who are most likely to still be making decisions about majors and/or minors. Our goal to educate them on the benefits of a Women’s and Gender Studies minor will hopefully help them to become more likely to consider adding the minor. Furthermore: •

Talking to freshmen as well as transfer students who must be enrolled in global studies classes provides them with information on how they can tie issues they are studying to their own major.

•

Talking to underclassmen that have not decided on a major provides them with a “jumping off” point of a minor they may be interested in. From there, they can choose a major related to the WGS minor.

•

Talking to underclassmen who have decided on a major gives them the opportunity to add a minor that may be applicable to their field of study. Also, many students add minors later in their college career when they have realized they have unknowingly taken many of a minor’s requirements. Presenting them with an option early on would set them on a specified minor path.

•

Talking to underclassmen already interested in the subject matter of the WGS curriculum will reinforce the importance of the program to their education and future career paths.

CHAPTER FIVE – Obstacles There could be many possible problems that would interfere with our campaign. One problem is the stereotypes associated with feminism and, by extension of our client. Many people cannot relate to the feminist aspects of the major and, based on our research, also have a negative reaction to the word “feminism” itself. Along with this, many students become involved in other things that monopolize their time before they may become active in the Women’s and Genders Study program. In addition, the minor has a small budget, which is also an obstacle to promote a plan. There is sometimes a general lack of interest in the topics that are being promoted as well. In our focus group, one of the participants had no interest in any of the subject matter. Lack of interest is obviously an obstacle. Our target audience is also limited. We are trying to focus on freshman and sophomore Elon students, so we have a limited amount of time to capture our audience’s attention and get them to take action. We are also concerned about the amount of manpower available to implement our plan in the future. With a small WGS staff, much responsibility of promotion is put on a few people. In order to avoid these obstacles we are going to implement a plan that has a small budget that we know reaches our target audience. We will also try to target people that would have some interest in the program so we are not wasting time and money. We are also going to implement tactics and strategies that show a relationship between student’s potential majors and the Women’s and Gender Studies minor.

CHAPTER SIX Tactics Section

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008

CHAPTER SIX – Executive Summary The primary goal of this campaign is to raise awareness of the Women’s’ and Gender Studies Program across the campus of Elon University. With this goal in mind we have created tactics which will help us reach our goal. This is an ongoing campaign, however, we think that the first major push of action should be put forth beginning at the start of the 2009 fall semester. We have come up with some tactics which should help us increase awareness across campus including:

1. Presenting to global classes about the minor 2. Participating in the Organization Fair 3. Sponsoring campus events (ex. open microphone night, college coffee) 4. Promoting events and classes by placing flyers across campus, dorm storms, using Moseley electronic boards, and/or writing on classroom boards

All of these tactics will be explained in detail in this chapter. Through these tactics we are hoping that students who have a genuine passion in the subject matter will feel inclined to work toward achieving a WGS minor. We tried to keep the plan on a small budget so that they could more easily be implemented with student or faculty volunteers.

CHAPTER SIX – Objectives The objectives for both our client and our organization are to raise awareness of the Women’s and Gender Studies minor and sponsored events on the campus of Elon University. Our organization’s specific objectives are to raise awareness among the freshman and sophomore classes at Elon by twenty-five percent during the 2009-2010 academic year. This is more of an informational objective. We can measure this specific objective with a pre- and post-campaign survey. Our second objective for the Women’s and Gender studies program is to encourage more students to make the WGS minor a part of their course of study. We would like to have at a least fifteen percent increase in the number of minors who chose to enroll into the program. We think that anyone interested in the classes offered in the WGS program is able to encourage others to make the commitment of a minor. With more students becoming aware of what is studied in a WGS minor we think more people will consider taking the classes. These objectives match our client’s objectives because the WGS program wants people who are passionate about the minor’s values. We are showing people that would already have a possible interest in the minor how it can fit into their curriculum so they can be actively involved.

CHAPTER SIX – Proposals for Meeting Objectives Specific activities and tactics for the plan: 1. Global and Elon 101 classes a. Present to students in these classes. i. This gives students direct contact with someone who is involved in the program already. ii. Presentation should include the program’s benefits, some basic information about what it covers, and why it exists at Elon. 2. Web site a. A web site specific to the minor is a crucial tool and source of information. It should feature such things as what subjects the minor covers, its relevance to the work force, and the benefits one receives from the minor. 3. Organization fair a. Set up a table at the organization fair at the beginning of the school year. i. This establishes the WGS program as a program that has presence on campus among all the other organizations visible at the fair. ii. Representatives from the minor will be there to answer questions and keep an e-mail interest list. 4. Dorm storm a. Walk through campus dormitories, post, and hand out flyers to raise awareness about the program and the issues it deals with. 5. White boards

a. Much like a dorm storm, white boards can and should be used for promoting certain events sponsored by the WGS program. b. Write on the white boards of the classrooms on campus at night and students will see them the next day. 6. Events a. Establish and host an annual event that can grow each year. As people become more familiar with it, they are more likely to take part in it. i. Example: Open microphone night 1. Students are invited to speak to the audience about a time they were confronted with an issue relevant to what the WGS minor covers. 2. This personalizes stories and shows real world examples people can relate to. ii. Example: Male students are invited to stamp their handprint on a piece of cloth, pledging to never abuse a woman. This event would be called “Promise Hand.” 7. Career services a. Almost all majors and minors are covered in the “What Can I Do With This Major” flyers the career center makes. Having one of these for the WGS program would be good for helping people understand its relevance to their major and the real world. 8. Electronic signs in Moseley Center

a. Create advertisements for the WGS program to be displayed on the electronic screens in Moseley Center. 9. WGS class project a. Make part of the campaign into a class project. i. Students are required to create an awareness-raising event or presentation that they can promote their own way on campus.

Who will carry out these tactics and how do they reach the target audience of underclassmen? (19, refer to list above Tactic

Who will enact it

How it reaches target

WGS professors and students enrolled in the

These are freshmen classes.

program. 2

A student volunteer who is skilled in Web design.

When deciding on majors and minors, websites are crucial for initial research.

Volunteers currently enrolled in the program.

Freshmen and sophomores are looking for organizations to be in on campus because they have been told to “get involved” many times.

Volunteers currently enrolled in the program.

Freshmen and sophomores fill the residence halls more than

juniors and seniors. 5

Volunteers currently enrolled in the program or

It will reach the audience in a

people who are working on the event that the

direct way, but each person

white boards are referring to, if it is an event.

will see it and read it individually rather than being exposed to a mass message addressed to many people.

Students who have been assigned a WGS class

Students looking for

project or volunteers.

something to do at night will attend these events. Also, underclassmen are more likely to attend campus events than upperclassmen.

Faculty in the WGS program and the career center

Much like a website, these are

advisors.

great tools for underclassmen trying to decide how what they are interested in is applicable to the real world.

Student volunteers or WGS faculty.

Moseley is the hub of campus and every student walks through there at some point. Underclassmen are more likely to because they are on campus more.

WGS students.

It is a good marketing tool for students to do something for other students. Events sponsored by the administration are usually not as personal as ones sponsored

60â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

and created by students.

CHAPTER SIXâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; Obstacles

There could be many possible obstacles confronted during the execution of this campaign. One general problem is the lack of funding available for executing a public relations campaign. If anything additional is added along the way, the organization may need to allocate additional funds toward the plan, or remove another tactic from the scheduled events. Another general obstacle is attendance at WGS-sponsored events. Elon students, like most college students, are very busy and dedicate their time to many other organizations and clubs besides just academic work. The effort that WGS will put forth in public relations activities in promoting their sponsored events may be catching, but they will not prove effective unless students attend the events. In order to avoid this obstacle, the program must strategically schedule their events during the academic year with the rest of the campus activities in mind.

The following obstacles could ensue with each individual campaign activity: Presence in Global classes: Professors may already have their syllabus and class schedule in place with no room for a class presentation. In order to avoid this, WGS would have to contact all Fall 2009 Global professors and ask them to keep this engagement in mind during the month of October.

Web site: The website may not be fully uploaded by the start of the 2009-2010 academic year. In addition to proper planning, WGS could have the text and the information from the website available in other formats so the information can still be accessible by students. 62â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

Organization Fair: WGS may not get a lot of attention at the organization fair because of proximity or placement near more popular organizations and programs such as Greek Life, Campus Rec or Orientation. The WGS Organization Fair team would have to bring handouts, give-aways, freebies and have an inviting table that makes students want to approach the table in competition with over 200 organizations on campus.

Dorm storm: The on-campus dorms will be crowded with flyers and information about other organizations and will be a prime target for all student groups attempting to get new members. WGS would either have to approach Residence Life very early in the semester or wait until after the Organization Fair and the first few weeks of school to use the dorms as an effective means of communication with freshmen and sophomores.

White boards: Elon could put limitations on white-board writing or there may already be numerous organizational information on white boards across campus. In order to avoid this, WGS administrators could confirm that white board messaging is indeed different and make sure that their white board activity – for which ever campaign element they chose to use it for – is unique and eye-catching.

Events: Attendance could be low at a proposed annual event for numerous reasons. Make the annual event a requirement for WGS minors and give them the date well in advance. Also, 63

challenge all members to bring two people outside of the major with them to the event. This would automatically ensure that students are at the event.

Career Services: Career Services may not issue a “What Can I Do With This Major” flyer in fall 2009. Also, they may not be placed where freshmen and sophomores are during the day. A simple way of approaching this obstacle is contacting Career Services in spring 2009 and asking them to issue a flyer for WGS. Also, WGS could pay for some additional flyers and place them around campus where underclassmen are likely to see them.

Electronic signs: This tactic is very simple and is very easy to do and should not face any articles. WGS needs to make sure they have the correct measurements and format for the flyers and create an appealing display of the designated event, purpose or promotion for WGS.

WGS Class Project: Class event projects created by WGS classes could compete with other WGS and WGS-sponsored events. Students could either be in charge of the already-created events or schedule new ones around the WGS and Elon calendars.

CHAPTER SEVEN Evaluation

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008 65

CHAPTER SEVEN - Executive Summary This campaigns plan has been designed to assist the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Gender Studies Program at Elon University to further the advancement of their program. A strategic communications plan is intended to be implemented and will help raise awareness of the program around campus and in turn, encourage students that are passionate about the subject matter to pick up the minor or participate in WGS events. The plan for this campaign spans through December 2009. During the next year there are many ways in which we have advised the WGS program of ways they can increase awareness and raise participation levels. A few of these ways include more PR around campus, an updated web site as well as various events that will help get their name and what they do out into the Elon community. We have also decided that the WGS program should speak to global classes beginning fall 2009 to best reach their target audience and raise awareness of the program. After these visits have been complete, we are encouraging speakers to give out a post survey to see if more students are actually aware of the program. This post survey will be conducted at the end of the 2009 fall semester. The survey should ask the student if they are more aware of the program and what they have to offer as well as if they thought any part of the PR efforts were extremely effective. We have also included for the WGS program to plan another focus group around this time to best gauge the interests and feelings of students around campus.

66â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

CHAPTER SEVEN – Evaluation Criteria

The criteria that will be used to evaluate the success of the campaign are factors that indicate an increase in awareness of the Women’s and Gender Studies program. As previously mentioned, our goals for this campaign are to raise awareness and increase participation in the Women’s and Gender Studies minor at Elon University. First, it is important to see if there are any enrollment changes following the campaign. Currently, the WGS minor has a small number of enrollment. While it is not a specific goal of ours to change that, we are aware that it should be evaluated often, as an increase in enrollment can likely be linked to the awareness we are trying to raise. To measure the increase, the number of students participating in the minor should be assessed for up to a year after the campaign because not all students declare an academic minor as soon as they decide to add one. Since our plan targets mainly freshman and sophomores, we hope to see increase enroll in the class of 2011 and after. Second is the need to determine if general awareness about the program has increased. This refers back to the core goal of the campaign: to raise awareness about multiple aspects of the program in multiple ways. If awareness of the program increases on campus and in the community, to promotion of the program will move in a viral direction, meaning word of mouth will become a key component in establishing presence for the program at Elon.

CHAPTER SEVEN – Method In the future we would have another post survey in order to test the level of knowledge of Elon students about the Women’s and Gender Studies minor. We would continue this technique of data collection in order to keep our data collection consistent. Our population will still be Elon students who are freshmen and sophomores. The sample size would be the freshman global class students to whom we would give our post survey. We cannot determine this number since we do not yet know the number of students taking a freshman global class. In order to collect this evaluation data we will compare the numbers of our population’s overall knowledge level of the Women’s and Genders Studies minor from before enacting our plan and then we will survey freshman global classes after we have completed most of our plans tactics. We are choosing to do it this way since all freshmen have to take a global class and it is the most strategic way to collect a sample of this population. We are also are would like the WGS program to hold another focus group at the end of the 2009 fall semester. This focus group should be conducted similar to the way that ours was conducted. They should focus on asking questions to the students about what they know about the program and what they perceive it to be. For a more accurate study, the focus group should not have any students enrolled in the minor as subjects. However, students enrolled in the program could help to lead the focus group. This plan has also advised the WGS program to update their website and increase PR around campus. The website update is scheduled on the calendar to be complete by March of 2009. With more of a presence around campus (ex, flyers, articles in The Pendulum, sponsoring events, ect.) should help to raise more awareness around campus. The success of the PR efforts

could be included in the survey in order to see what efforts are working successfully and those that are not.

69â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

CHAPTER SEVEN – Analysis

The data collected will analyze how successful the WGS program has been in increasing enrollment and awareness among Elon University underclassmen during the 2009-2010 academic year. This data can be compared to the previous survey and focus group results from the Wianno Pavilion in order to see the campaign’s annual success. The WGS staff can use the software on the surveymonkey web site to analyze that data that the survey presents*.

*Sample questions for the post survey are in Appendix G. 70

CHAPTER EIGHT Budget Section

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008

CHAPTER 8 – Budget

Tactic

Supplies/materials Supplies/materials needed that will cost money

Estimated cost of each supply/material

Total estimated cost

Global and Elon 101 classes

Half-page handouts

Printing of handouts

$.10/ page for 500 pages (1000 handouts)

$50

Website

None

N/A

Organization Fair

-Tri-fold display board

-Display board

-Poster -E-mail list sign up sheets

-Poster -Printing of handouts -Food

Display board

$10

Poster

Handouts

(100) x ($.10) = $5

Food

$20

-Half-page handouts -Food

Dorm storm

-Full-page flyers

-Printing of flyers

-Half-page handouts

-Printing of handouts

Flyers

(30) x ($.10) = $3

Handouts

(600) x ($.10) = $60

White boards

-Dry-erase markers

-Markers

Markers

Events

-Space reservation

-Equipment rental

Equipment

$40

-Props

-Program

Program

(200) x ($.20) = $40

-Equipment rental

$15

$37

$63

$15 $80

-Program

Career services

None

N/A

Electronic signs in Moseley

None

N/A

WGS class project

Unknown

Total estimated cost:

73â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

$245

CHAPTER NINE Time Table

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008 74

CHAPTER NINE – Calendar The following section provides a calendar for the Women’s’ and Gender Studies schedule of events for 2009. Some items have not yet had a date set but were included in the schedule of events for the year.

Coding for Calendar: Red- Events on the Elon Academic Calendar Blue- Items that must be done internally Green- Events in which the WGS program participates in

January 2009 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday 1

Friday 2

Saturday 3

Holiday

Sunday 4

Break

WT Begins

Begin work on updating web site

Last Day of WT

Winter

Break

February 2009 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday 1

First Day of Spring Classes

March 2009 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday 1

Have web site updates completed 23

Spring 30

Break

April 2009 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday 1

Thursday 2

Dorm Storm to promote spring movie 6

Advertise movie night on Mosley electronic boards 13

Advertise movie night on Mosley electronic boards

Saturday

Sunday

Dorm Storm to promote spring movie 9

Advertise movie night on Mosley electronic boards

Friday

Tentative date for Spring Movie

Easter Holiday

SURF Day

May 2009 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Last Day of Spring Classes

Reading Day

Exam

Week

Graduation

Begin sending emails to Global studies classes

83â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

June 2009 Monday 1

Tuesday 2

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

First Day of Summer Session 1

July 2009 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday 1

Thursday 2

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Last Day of Summer Session 1

First Day of Summer Session 2

Last Day of Summer Session 2

August 2009 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Prepare pamphlet and information for ORG fair 24

September 2009 Monday

Tuesday 1

Wednesday 2

Thursday 3

Friday 4

First Day of Fall Semester Classes

Saturday

Sunday

ORGANIZATION FAIR

Begin Handprint project in Mosley

End Handprint project in Mosley

SPONSOR COLLEGE COFFEE

Distribute surveys to global classes

October 2009 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday 1

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Begin to Visit Global Classes

Fall

Break

Complete visits to Global classes

93â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

November 2009 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday 1

Thanksgiving

Break

December 2009 Monday

Tuesday 1

Wednesday 2

Thursday 3

Distribute post surveys to global classes 7

Conduct a focus group

Last Day of Fall Semester Classes

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Distribute post surveys to global classes 11

Reading Day Exam

Week

Holiday Break Begins 21

CHAPTER NINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Schedule Calendar Items

Updating the web site: Begin updating during January term and have it complete before spring break. This is a great opportunity to get the help of a student volunteer. During this the time of the update it is important to still keep information readily available about the program and the events the WGS program is hosting

Spring Movie: Promote the spring movie by using the electronic boards in Mosley. Most freshmen and sophomores are in Mosley on a daily basis so this is a great way to reach them. We also plan on promoting this event by doing a dorm storm and placing posters all over residence halls on campus.

Organization Fair: The ORG fair is a great way to communicate with students who are specifically looking to get involved around campus. The organization EFFECT could also look for new members at this event as well.

Visiting Global Classes: This is a great way to talk to freshman and transfer students about the Womensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and Gender Studies program. Before beginning to visit classes during the month of October, it is important to send out pre surveys to gauge studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knowledge of the WGS program. The presentation

should last no longer than 15 minutes, could be given by students enrolled in the minor and should give insight to the benefits of the program. During the first week in December a post survey will be issued to gauge what the students are doing with the knowledge they have of the WGS program.

The Handprint project: This idea has been successful in raising awareness of sexual violence across other college campus. A booth would be set up in Mosley where men could make a hand print on black cloth pledging not to abuse or take advantage of women. The black cloth with hand prints will be displayed at the college coffee event the week following the table in Mosley. This event is scheduled for September because that will give freshman enough time to get settled and be curious about leaning about what is on campus.

College Coffee: Sponsoring a college coffee is a great way for the whole campus to learn more about an organization on campus. This will be a great time to display the handprint banner and promote the WGS program.

Important events for the WGS program for which the date has yet to be set: • • •

Sexual Violence Week Take Back the Night 2009 “Gay? Fine by Me” week

APPENDIX

Wianno Pavilion Fall 2008

100

Appendix A – Mission Statement The W/GS Program aims to further the intellectual life of Elon community regarding women’s lives, men’s lives, gender, and sex. Faculty members who teach in the program encourage reflection and development of critical thinking skills in the examination of gender and sex from a variety of different disciplines. In addition, our courses encourage students to apply the knowledge beyond the classroom through service-learning, research, and internship opportunities. The faculty’s goal is to raise consciousness among the Elon Community; indeed, faculty strive toward (in the words of Elon’s mission statement) creating “an academic community that transforms minds, body, and spirit (and encourages freedom of thought and liberty of conscience).” We share in the mission of the university in that the W/GS program hopes to “foster respect for human differences, passion for a life of learning, personal integrity, and an ethic of work and service.”

Those involved in the Women’s/Gender program share the following set of assumptions:  Women constitute an extremely complex group, which reflects a diversity of experiences and perspectives;  The oppression of women has been systematic and structural;  Gender is a social construct worthy of study.  Feminism is a powerful analytical tool needed to examine injustice and oppression.

We hope that those involved in the program remained committed to eradicating inequality and extending social justice. To strive toward these ideals, the program takes the following actions:  Offers classes focusing on W/GS which are consistent with the program’s articulated goals and assumptions, and which teach students to view the world with a critical eye and develop lifelong learning skills (such as critical thinking abilities);  Provides support for those students who are interested in gender studies (especially those who declare the minor);  Sponsors events intended to educate, interest, and raise consciousness in the larger Elon community regarding women’s studies, gender studies, sex, and feminism;  Supports a community of people (students, faculty, and staff) committed to l earning, ending gender inequality, and enacting social justice.

101

Appendix B – Course List W/GS Courses, 2008-2009 Please Note: This is a tentative list of upcoming courses. We are anticipating that more courses will cross listed for Spring 2009. These will be announced as they are approved.

Fall 2008 ANT 329

Women, Culture and the World

Bolin

ARH 320

Issues in Contemporary Art

Ringelberg

GST 345

Gender Issues in Education

King

HNR 231

To Be a Sex Object

Cahill/ Ringelberg

HUS 349

Violence in Families

Jones, A.

INT/ POL 141 International Relations

Staff

MUS 469

Women in Music

Erdmann

POL 492

Gender and Law

Ciriano

REL 371

Gender, Sex and Family in Early Christianity

SPN 372

Gender, Race and Religion in Latin America

Winter 2009 ENG 361

Gender Issues in Cinema

GST 269

Women and Global Leadership

SOC 373

Special Topics in Sociology

102

Huber Olmedo

Spring 2009 ARH 320

Issues in Contemporary Art

GST 212

Women and Men in Society

GST 369

Men and Masculinity

HST 364

History of Women in the U.S.

SOC 311

Sociology of Families

WGS 300

Current Controversies in Feminism

103

Appendix C- Focus Group Questions

Focus Group Questions Women and Gender Studies October 22, 2008

1. What is the most significant thing that helps you decide on a major? Money? Interest? Ability to get a job? 2. Do you feel that minors are practical? a. If you decide to pick up a minor, what kinds of things make you want to minor in something over something else? b. Does it have to be relevant to your major or just something random you may be interested in? 3. What, if anything, do you know about the women and gender studies program at Elon? 4. What would it take to make you want to minor in WGS at Elon? a. More PR of the program? b. More information on how it is useful? c. Why it is more beneficial than other minors may be? d. How it relates to you as a person? 5. What do you think is the most important issue regarding women these days? a. Voting? b. Work force? c. Sexual assault? d. Gender roles? 6. Why do you think people would be turned off to or reluctant to minor in WGS at Elon?

104â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

Appendix D- Survey Questions

This is a survey for the Women's and Gender Studies Department at Elon University. We are taking this survey to gage awareness of the minor around Elon. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY TAKEN THIS SURVEY, PLEASE DO NOT COMPLETE IT AGAIN. 1. Before this survey, where you aware Elon University has a Women's and Gender's Studies minor? Yes No 2. Would you be interested in taking a "Queer Theory" class? Yes No 3. Would you be interested in taking a class focused on sexuality? Yes No 4. Would you be interested in taking a "Feminist Philosophy" Class? Yes No 5. Would you be interested in taking any the following classes? Check any you would like to take. Issues in Contemporary Art Women and Men in Society Men and Masculinity History of Women in the U.S. Sociology of Families

105â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

Current Controversies in Feminism

1. What is your intended major at Elon? 2. What is your current year at Elon? Freshman Sophomore 3. What is your gender? Male Female

106â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

Appendix E- Public Relations

Guide

107

Appendix F- Sample post survey questions

Women’s and Gender Studies Program Global Experience Class Presentations Survey 1. Before this class presentation, where you aware Elon University has a Women's and Gender's Studies minor? Yes No 2. Have you seen WGS mentioned in any of the listed media? Pendulum

Flyers

WSOE

Moseley information boards

ESTV

E-net

Facebook

Other

3. Did you attend the WGS-sponsored College Coffee? Yes 108

No 4. Has this presentation sparked an interest in the WGS program and/or minor? Yes No 5. What is your intended major at Elon? 6. What is your current year at Elon? Freshman Sophomore 7. What is your gender? Male Female

For additional information about the WGS program, please contact Dr. Lynn Huber lhuber@elon.edu

109â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

Appendix G- Focus Group Moderator Questions Focus Group Questions Women and Gender Studies October 22, 2008 1. What is your name and intended major or major? 2. What is the most significant thing that helps you decide on a major? 3. Do you feel that minors are practical? a. If you decide to pick up a minor, what kinds of things make you want to minor in something over something else? b. Does it have to be relevant to your major or should it just be something of general interest to you? 4. What, if anything, do you know about the women and gender studies program at Elon? 5. What would it take to make you want to minor in WGS at Elon? a. More PR of the program? b. More information on how it is successful? c. Why it is more beneficial than other minors may be? d. How it relates to you as a person? 6. What do you think is the most important issue regarding women these days? a. Voting? b. Work force? c. Sexual assault? d. Gender roles? 7. Why do you think people would be reluctant to minor in WGS at Elon? 8. Do you feel as though exposure to issues covered in this minor are sometimes overly advertised or not advertised enough? 9. If you have no interest in minoring in the WGS program right now, what would you want out of the program to consider it seriously as a minor option?

110â&#x20AC;Š â&#x20AC;Š

Appendix H- Focus Group Transcription

Group Member , Anna (Sophomore) 1: G1 Group Member, Katie (Sophomore) 2: G2 Group Member 3, Stuart (Freshman) : G3 Group Member 4, Amelia (Freshman): G4 Group Member 5, Ally (Freshman) :G5 Dara: M1 Corey:M2 Katie: M3

M2: We have a few questions and we’ll just go around the room for each question so everybody can speak. This is obviously about the Women’s and Genders Studies program at Elon. We are doing PR campaigns for them all semester, so that’s why we’re doing this. So we’ll just start off, just say your name, what year you are, your major or intended major and if you are undecided.

G1: Ok I’m Anna XXXX, I am a sophomore and I am pre-law psychology, a communications minor and a religious studies minor. G2: I’m Katie XXXx and I’m a sophomore too and my major is vet-med and I have a minor is political science and perhaps digital art. G3: I’m Stuart XXXX and I am possibly a religious studies major, and a leadership studies minor. M2: Are you a freshman? G3: Yeah, I’m a freshman. G4: I’m Amelia and I’m a freshman and I think I am going to do a Middle Education major and Leadership and Spanish minor.

111

G5: I’m Ally and I’m a freshman and I’m completely undecided. M1: And my name is Dara, just in case y’all didn’t catch it. M2: Oh yeah, Corey. M3: M1: OK so like he said we are just trying to go through some questions here. But what do y’all think is the most significant thing that makes y’all decide on your major? Whether it be, something you’re interested in? Do you look at it with possible job opportunities or the salary y’all could make with that major? You can just go around starting over here. G1: I picked my major based on what I was interested in , then what I was good at from what I was interested in and what I see myself doing for a long time. G2: I would agree, I have already been through three majors, so yeah, struggling with that issue but anyways… M3: Wait, what three majors have you been through? G2: Broadcast journalism, biology and business. M1: Wow, those are really different. M2: Sound very unaffiliated. G3: Yeah, very unaffiliated. But I basically ended up deciding, and I am more positive on staying on business marketing. It was what I was good at like Anna said, and what type of job I wanted, like what job I wanted when I got out of college, and if I could see myself taking that many classes, like if I was a biology major. M1: Well, with that how did you discover what you were good at? Was it classes here at Elon, some of your introduction classes that made you say OK I have a strong point in this? Was it some of your high school classes? G2: Well its like I know I’m not a great writer so I wouldn’t be a business major, process of elimination you know. G1: When I took AP psych in high school and just really fell I love with it and it was just really natural and I never had to try really hard, but I still did realy well. It was never like Oh psych, it was really exciting, so just from other skills I have, like being a people person, whatever what not, so before going pre-law and psych, I thought about education. But like Katie said I couldn’t imagine myself teaching every day the same thing over and over so I switched it to something else. 112

G3: For me I think its just been experience and what I have gone through and enjoyed. Just what I have gone through so far, still being undecided, I was thinking about Math, and I was good at Math so between the two just different experiences with both just seeing what I enjoy to do. G4: Mines the same interest wise, I took a class in high school we learned to tutor and things outside we learned to tutor and mentor. For my senior project at my school I taught at a middle school for two weeks and like Anna said it was something I could see myself doing everyday. It was a continued interest. G5: I agree with the whole process of elimination thing. I am taking classes now that I know I don’t want to do. Like no offense but psychology, I know I don’t want to do that and I’m not really a math kind of person so I know that helps a lot. And I know a career after college I know that would place a lot when I think about it. M1: When you think about a future career, what do you think about it? Do you think about how much money you can make in that career or the type of environment? G5: I’m a strong believer if you do what you love money will follow kind of thing, but I mean the money is awesome and I think it’s in the back of everyone’s head. M1: Ok y’all sort of have a plan set out, like I want to have this major and take these classes and I want to go to grad school or go into this specific career field, something like that, or are you taking it one year at a time? G1: Well I’m a really big planner, it was really hard for me to part with my plan book for fall break, I made myself keep it at home. I have my next ten years planned out. Like today I was meeting with my academic advisor and wrote out all of the classes I will take from studying abroad next fall and I wanted to make sure everything worked out. I wrote everything out to accommodate my major and two minors and my study abroad so I have the next four years planned out and after that I want to go to the peace corp. then grad school at UGA. M1: So you know exactly what you want to do. Anyone else? G2: I would like to say I know I want to do. That’s why I was a bio major because everything is planned out. It’s like OK you take these classes then you go to med school and everything is planned out and there is no decision making. But then I was like oh there are so many things I want to do. M1: Do you like that freedom of having options? G2: Yeah because I know what I want to do, but there are so many ways of getting there. G5: I thought I was going to claim a major as business when I came in, because both of my parents are in higher ed. , and my mom worked at a business school for ten years and I just 113

thought that was what I really wanted to do. But after taking certain classes, I didn’t’ take any business classes this semester, so it’s just kind of opened it back up. G4: Yeah I mean I’d like to take different classes and then if there is something that I absolutely fall in love with then I could change that. Like for us freshman we can still change things. Like both of my parents are involved in medical stuff and I thought I was going to be a nurse or be pre-med or something like that but I just never clicked with it. But I like being able to have that freedom, so like if I take a writing class or something I have the freedom to go with it. M1: Ok G3: Being totally unsure of everything coming in it was kind of hard to plan everything out. I actually came in thinking I was going to do engineering, then in the first two weeks of school I was like this isn’t what I want to do, and I mean that already changes. M1: And do y’all feel like minors are a practical option to include things Group: shakes head yes M1: Ok so when you look at a minor what types of things do you look for? Do you look at is as this could apply to my future goal or career or do you look at it as this is what I am interested in, so I can take these classes and still have the practical side with the major. G2: I think both, like obviously with business marketing and digital art you could make those work together. A lot of it could be supplementary, but with like poly sci., I just like that kind of stuff. G1: Yeah, with my two minors, one is leadership so that’s pretty applicable to being a lawyer or whatever or if I become a therapist. But I took a comm.. class my freshman year and it was like my favorite class that semester, and I really liked it so I decided to pursue a comm.. minor. But this year my comm.. classes aren’t that great so I’m like well good thing its just a minor. And I think potentially career wise that could help me out, but it’s also just an interest. G3: Well for me, it’s not that long, but in terms of looking at minors…like the leadership studies, that’s something I’m interested in and enjoy but would really work with anything. And in terms of a math minor, like with religious studies there aren’t any overlying classes or anything like that but math as just like a back up choice. G4: I really like Spanish, so I was at first thinking about a Spanish major but by using it as a minor I can supplement that, especially with education. G5: I’m also thinking about doing a Spanish minor and I think that can be applicable to everyday life, I can really do anything with that.

114

M1: And with some of the minors are very similar what makes you chose one of those minors, like psychology and sociology are very similar. What makes you choose one of those other the other if they are similar? Is it because you’ve taken a class in that area, or you see the course description and think oh that’s cool. G1: Well with that example I did take soc. And I got to see that comparison, and one deals with people directly and one deals with groups, and I want to deal with people directly. So yeah I guess it is the classes. M1: Does anyone else have an opinion on that? Ok. So what do you know about the Women’s and Gender’s studies minor here at Elon? And if you don’t know anything that’s OK we just want you honest opinion. M2: I didn’t know anything until we started this project. G2: I just kind of assumed there would be one but I just haven’t heard of anyone being anyone yet…just like no. M1: OK G3: I heard about it from this survey sent from this group. G4: I heard about it through the survey too. M1: So what the survey your first mention of it? G3,G4,G5: Yeah M1: Ok so what do you think it would take for you to make Women’s and Genders Studies your minor. For example what would make you interested in it. Would it be more information about it, a better PR campaign, and advertising campaign, showing how it can be beneficial to your major or other minors. M2: Let’s say the Women’s and Genders Studies minor what the most popular minor at Elon, what about that would make you want to do it. Like what would you expect to get out of it if it was the most popular minor? M3: Or expect what kind of classes you would be taking? M2: Or how would it benefit you as a person? M1: Does everyone know what that minor is? Group: No

115

M3: What would you think it would be? When you hear Women’s and Genders Studies what would you think? G1: Well I guess if I would start with history a little bit. History courses about the role of women and society, like suffrage onto the sixties with like women’s “liberation,” I don’t know. But then probably focusing on women’s role today, stuff with the media. They would probably talk about Sarah Palin. G2: With the whole genders studies I’m sure they would talk about relations. G4: Like that thing we did for freshman-like how male female relations, sex and the media. M2: When you think of Women’s and Gender’s studies do you think about oh another thing about feminism. G1: Yes! I think about Legally Blonde, when they ask her what was your major, and she’s was like I was a women’s liberation….I think her name was Ingred or something like that. Group: haha yeah! M3: So it has a negative connotation? G2: Well I think it’s because the people that represent it are all rebel rousing and arggg. G5: I think the word feminism has a more, it’s a bad gist to it than women’s… M1: So the word feminism.. G5: Yeah, when you say feminism that’s what comes to mind M3: So like when you think of these advocates here yelling and screaming, you don’t discredit what they are standing for it’s just too much. G2: It’s a little extreme G3: A stereotype goes along with it a lot. G1: I think it would be really interesting, I mean I wouldn’t pursue a minor in it but like a winter term course or something would be really interesting. But like as for application, we said we would kind of pick stuff that we were interested in or good at, and see ourselves, it would compliment what else we were doing. I mean unless, maybe if you were a poly sci. major that would be a good. I mean what would that compliment? It’s hard for me to think of at the time. M1: So y’all don’t really see a relationship with it to other majors? Is that what I’m hearing? G2: I think you have to have a certain kind of personality for that. Like would you have a lot of men taking a Women and Gender’s studies class? I don’t think so. 116

M3: Probably not, but. M1: Sorry we have to call you out because you’re the only guy in here. What are your images about it, would you be afraid to take it because you would be the only guy in that class or would it be kind of like a yeah, I’m the only guy. G3: I mean with the ratios I’ve had so far at Elon, it wouldn’t be surprising if I was the only guy in the class. I definitely see that there would be less guys taking it, but it would be something trying to see how it would relate to your major. Like if you were political science or something where you were working with people often and where it would be best to work with certain types of people, women. And then I think the Gender’s Studies also just kind of how to work with the two, like working with men and women and how they look at things. G5: I think that men should take classes, I mean especially in the business world today. Things are changing so much, with women having different positions and everything I mean it’s a new time I think. I’m not trying to be a feminist but men don’t see that all the time in the business world. G4: Like my friend is a senior and business major at Carolina, and he had to take a women and business class. M1: Yeah, I was actually going to ask that whenever you brought that point. Do y’all think something like that should be required in the business major? G1: Maybe like a class, but not required, maybe as an elective. G5: It should probably go along with not only women but with diversity. In our fellows forum we talked about this. A guy from IBM came and he talked about how in the world today you can’t send a man to India for business. Just in terms of diversity, like at the business school at UNC I sat in on a session they were doing on diversity, and that’s like really important. What’s appropriate to talk about I the workplace. Like an example they were talking about was a girl got engaged over the weekend and all the guys were like Oh you I heard you got hitched over the weekend. It’s like what’s appropriate to talk about.

117