eCampus Web Site Visitors

Based on 723 Visitor Survey respondents

Jan. 1, 2006 - May 31, 2007

Summary

Again this year, survey results remain surprisingly consistent with previous years, confirming that:
--The eCampus site continues to have a strong national and international reach.
--SPC serves a significant population of “returning customers,” that is, graduates and former students.
--People are talking about eCampus, as referrals from other colleges and from non-SPC websites and organizations attest. The two largest contributors to eCampus are “word of mouth” and “web searches.”
--The largest demographic was in the 30-49 age group, followed by the 40-49 age group.

Since data for this survey is volunteered by visitors to the eCampus site, its statistical value is minimal but its informational value is significant. Here is a summary of the current Visitor Survey data:

I. Visitor Type

• 15% of survey respondents are currently enrolled in eCampus classes.
• 16% of the current respondents are enrolled at SPC but not in eCampus. This figure has remained constant.
• The number of visitors enrolled at other colleges increased from 9%, to 11% in the previous report.
• The number of visitors who are still in high school remained in its normal range of 4%.
• Respondents who described themselves as “not currently attending high school or college” increased from 33% in 2006 to 37% in the current survey.
• The number of respondents who are on the faculty or staff of an educational institution or training facility decreased from 3% to 2%.
• 15% of respondents identified themselves as “Other.” As always, their self-descriptions reflect an interesting mix of life circumstances:
• Prospective student
• Military personnel deployed overseas
• Former students and graduates of SPC and other institutions, seeking further education
• Working adults seeking continuing education and/or career advancement
• Health and public safety professionals--including police, firefighters, EMTs, med lab techs, nurses, veterinarians and vet techs—pursuing additional credentials
• Teachers needing recertification
• Parents seeking flexible educational opportunities to accommodate child-rearing responsibilities.
• Disabled adults seeking learning opportunities
• Adults near retirement seeking training for second careers

II. Visitor Location (place of residence)

• 74% of visitors indicated Florida residency but those who specified Pinellas County remained at 10%.
• Respondents represented 35 states plus the District of Columbia.
• On the international front, eCampus visitors continue to represent a diverse geographic mix, but interestingly, there’s little overlap between the countries represented last year and those in this year’s mix. Non-US visitors in this reporting group specified their residency as follows:

III. Visitor Age Group

Age data on site visitors showed no significant changes from the previous report. While the data suggests that about 1 in 10 of our site’s visitors are recent high school graduates under age 19, the majority (57%) are in the 25-49 group.

IV. Referral Source

At 30%, the SPC main web site remains the largest source of visitor referrals to the eCampus site; however, it is closely followed by word-of-mouth (“Someone told me about it”) at 25%. In addition:

• 14% of respondents indicated they reached the site as a result of being enrolled in an eCampus class.
• 15% used a search engine.
• 6% cited SPC literature as their referral source
• 9% cited other referral sources including:
• Relatives, employers, school counselors, instructors, former students, and friends
• SPC materials including ads and mailings.
• Personnel at other colleges and universities.
• Presentations given at the CIT 2006 conference.

Visitors also cited a variety of non-SPC Web sites as their referral source, including:

• American Veterinary Medical Association
• DARE.com
• Distancelearn.org
• Florida Board of Nursing
• Florida Veterinary Technology Association
• Florida State Fire College
• Innovations 2005 Conference
• League for Innovation
• Ohio Association of Veterinary Technicians
• PBS web site
• Peterson’s Guide to Distance Learning Programs
• Quality Assurance Institute
• Santa Fe Community College Guidance Dept.
• Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
• Yellow Pages
• Google

V. Conclusions

• The fact that one in four survey respondents cite word-of-mouth as their referral source, suggests that our current and former students are our best ambassadors. Continuing to provide a superior educational experience is the key to ensuring that this remains a strong marketing channel.

• The potential for word-of-mouth endorsement, however, is significantly limited by the geographic separation of current and prospective students. As we increasingly market to a global audience, a strong Web presence, including compatibility with search engine optimization strategies, becomes increasingly important.

Note: To review current Visitor Survey results at any time, go to http://it.spjc.edu/CFPro/visitorsurvey/ecvreports.cfm and set the parameters for the data you want.