Sharing “Small Wins”:A Fictional Case Study

Suzanne SannwaldAshford University

Instructional LeadershipEDU 658

Dr. John JohnsonSeptember 2, 2013

Our MissionTo improve the lives of students by educating and empowering them

through career and professional development

for lifelong success.

How can we reach more students?

Our Three Part Strategy

Strategy 1 Strategy 2 Strategy 3Service Alignment with Student Expectations

Increase Student Awareness and Understanding of Services

Improve Integration and Promotion of Services with Academics

Where we have begun…

Small Wins

“A small win is a concrete, complete, implemented outcome. By itself, a small

win may seem relatively unimportant, but a series of small wins can help reduce the

feeling that issues are so complex we are incapable of solving them”

(Rhatigan & Schuh, 2003, p. 18).

Our Small Win

STEP 1

•Survey DevelopmentSTEP 2

•Survey AdministrationSTEP 3

•Analysis of Results

Assess Current Student Expectations and Satisfaction Regarding ServicesWIN!

Benefits

Improve service quality by identifying students’ “expectations of the service to be rendered and their perceptions of the

actual performance of the service” (Nadiri, Kandampully & Hussain, 2009, p. 525).

Expectations of services

Perceptions of actual services

BRIDGING THE GAP

IMPROVE SERVICE QUALITY

Shared Value

“Service quality

promotes customer

satisfaction” (Nadiri, Kandampully & Hussain, 2009, p. 524).

Shared ValueOur Mission

Fulfilling Mission• Better educating and

empowering students through career and professional development for lifelong success

• Improving lives of students

Data and Results

Resume &

Cover L

etter Writi

ng

Interview Prepara

tion

Career F

airs

Online Care

er Reso

urces

0

1

2

3

4

5

Ranked Importance of ServicesPerceived Quality of Current Services

Services Desired Versus Perception of Current Services

Data and Results

• Resume and cover letter writing is a high priority.– Continue to improve

support in this area.

• Focus on increasing availability of online career resources.– Solicit greater input on

desired online services via focus groups.

Publicizing Our Win

• Email communications to students, faculty, and staff

• Web links:– University blog – Student newspaper– Career services website

• Promotion of web links via social media

• Internal presentations to faculty and staff

Next Steps

Strategy 1 Strategy 2 Strategy 3Service Alignment with Student Expectations

Increase Student Awareness and Understanding of Services

Improve Integration and Promotion of Services with Academics

References

Nadiri, H., Kandampully, J., & Hussain, K. (2009). Students’ perceptions of service quality in higher education. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 20(5), 523-535. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14783360902863713

Rhatigan, J. J., & Schuh, J. H. (2003). Small Wins. About Campus, 8(1), 17. Retrieved from EBSCOHost.

Spiro, J. (2011). Leading change step-by-step: Tactics, tools, and tales. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Stimac, H., & Leko Simic, M. (2012). Competitiveness in higher education: A need for marketing orientation and service quality. Economics and Sociology, 5(2), 23-34. Retrieved from EBSCOHost.