A case study on:

ST. JOHN COLLEGE

I. INTRODUCTION St. John College had been experiencing decline in enrollment from 1997 to 1999. Although the number of incoming freshmen enrollees remains constant, number of dropouts are increasing over the years. To address this issue, the management believed that some changes in the operation of the college should be made. Dr. Evelyn de la Cruz created a team made up of selected members of the faculty with the following objectives: to study factors that affect enrollment rate to identify strategies that would attract more students and retain those already enrolled Company Background Nature of Business: Years in the Business: Owner/Administrator: Location: Milestones: 1971 1st graduates of St. John all passed the Board of Nursing Examinations, with some on the top ten successful examinees. 1974 St. John was elevated into a college by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. 1975 The Ministry permitted the college to open additional courses o 5-yr B.S. Nursing, 4-yr. B.S. Business Administration, 1-yr. Health Aide Course, and 2-yr Dietician Aide Course. Education 41 years (since 1968) Evelyn de la Cruz Sampaloc, Manila

1999 St. John already offered a total of 20 courses and already had a cluster of 3 buildings.

Courses Offered: Undergraduate Level Nursing, Physical/Occupational Therapy, Hotel and Restaurant Management, Nutrition and Dietetics, Business Administration, Radiology Technology, Liberal Arts, Computer Science, Respiratory Therapy, Tourism, Midwifery, Junior Medical Secretarial, Pharmacy Aide, and Health Aide Graduate Level Hospital Administration and Teaching Nursing Education School Facilities/Services: Counseling and guidance Health Religious Food Security Audio-visual equipment and auditorium Computerized recording of student matters (registration, accounts, and grades) Recreational facilities and programs dormitory

II. OBJECTIVES
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1. To identify the main issue resulting to the decline in the number of enrollees. 2. To study the external factors affecting the schools enrollment rate. 3. To identify the demands of the students currently enrolled in St. John. 4. To formulate strategies to attract more freshmen students to enroll in St. John and maintain those already enrolled.

III. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Industry Background Education in the Philippines is a very important factor in building ones future in terms of getting a good job. It somehow secures ones position in the corporate world. Thus, it is becoming more of a commodity. Education is shaped by various consumer demand and preferences. The number of schools also grew rapidly ---- in all three levels (elementary, secondary, and tertiary) ---- to meet the diverse requirements of the consumers. (www.ph.net/htdocs/education/issue.htm) Schools, Colleges and Universities can either be public or private. Public schools are chartered institutions established by the law to provide free or very affordable education to the public. These schools cater to less privileged people who cannot afford to pay tuition fees of private institutions. It is also financially subsidized by the government. On the other hand, private schools are owned and operated by private institutions or corporations that offer education for various range of fees. Higher education can also be divided into small vocational schools, medium colleges, and large universities, which is either public or private institution. Below is the table summarizing the number of Higher Education institutions (www.ched.gov.ph/hes/index.html): Distribution of Higher Education Institutions (As of September 2008)

I II III IV -A IV -B V V I V II V III IX X X I X II N R C C R A A M R M C R G A A A TO L TA

P B U LIC 29 22 51 71 46 45 64 31 40 12 18 16 10 33 19 16 14 537

P IV TE R A 85 48 1 63 2 03 35 97 72 1 11 55 48 65 75 68 2 76 31 48 43 1,523

TO L TA 114 70 214 274 81 142 136 142 95 60 83 91 78 309 50 64 57 2,0 60

(Source: www.ched.gov.ph/hes/index.html) Although the case stated that enrollment in 1990 1994 had an average increase of 1.65%, at present it is actually declining. However, the market for education in the Philippines remains to be an opportunity because it is considered a necessity; provided that certain requirements of the customers will be met.
5-YR ENROLLMENT BY TYPE (Public or Private) 2004-2005 2003-2004 2002-2003 2001-2002 2000-2001 Public 819,251 829,181 808,321 771,162 815,595 Private 1,583,064 1,591,675 1,611,381 1,657,735 1,659,680 TOTAL 2,402,315 2,420,856 2,426,976 2,466,056 2,430,842

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION 2004-2005 2003-2004 2002-2003 2001-2002 2000-2001 Public 166,447 183,075 162,640 168,161 166,340 Private 487,683 480,963 488,942 508,035 515,500 total 654,130 664,038 651,582 676,196 681,840

(Source: www.ched.gov.ph/hes/index.html): ISSUES FACED BY THE INDUSTRY

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(From: www.ph.net/htdocs/education/issue.htm) 1. Quality of Education 2. Affordability 3. Government Budget on Education 4. Mismatch or "mismatch" between training and actual jobs TRENDS IN THE INDUSTRY For several years, most number of enrollees in the country remained to be in the area of Commerce or Business courses, Information Technology, and Medical Services courses.

Competition As presented in the table above, there are a number of higher education institutions providing the same services in the country. Most of which are private institutions. These schools are differentiated in terms of positioning which includes pricing, quality of instruction, medium of instruction, faculty and personnel, facilities, etc. St. John College is located in Sampaloc, Manila, which is near the University Belt. Among its nearby competitors are big universities like University of Sto. Tomas, University of the East, Far Eastern University, etc. St. John College specializes in health related courses. With these courses being the current trend, a lot of private schools providing the same courses emerged. Even hospitals like Chinese General Hospital are now into providing health related education.

Political/Legal

The government, through Commission on Higher Education, takes part in the industry. It is also governed by the laws under the Corporation Code of the Philippines. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is responsible for formulating and implementing policies, plans and programs for the development and efficient operation of the system of higher education in the country. The delivery of higher education in the Philippines is provided by private and public higher education institutions (HEIs).-- (www.ched.gov.ph) Private higher education institutions are established under the Corporation Code and are governed by special laws and general provisions of this Code. Those under non-sectarian are duly incorporated, owned and operated by private entities that are not affiliated to any religious organization while those under sectarian are usually non-stock, non profit, duly incorporated, owned and operated by a religious organization. -- (www.ched.gov.ph) CHED also gives autonomous and deregulated status to recognize the exemplary performance of some private colleges and universities.

Technology Technology is an important factor in most industries. Those institutions having the latest technology gain competitive advantage. advancements used in the field of education are: Websites o Advertisement and promotion o Student services (on line enrollment, viewing of records/grades) o On-line courses Computer Laboratories
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Some of the technological

Wifi Access Simulation Laboratories (for nursing or technical related courses) Multi-media Instructional Facilities

Economy With the downturn in the current economy (many have already lost their jobs here in the Philippines and abroad), enrollment in private institutions will decrease. Some may drop out; enroll in public schools; or enroll in schools with lower tuition fee. Especially when tuition fees are not justified by the kind of service the school provides.

Population Continuous increase in population can be an opportunity for this industry. This can add up to the number of enrollees.

Customer Profile/Behavior Social Classes Those who are well off choose schools with the highest standards e.g. Ateneo, La Salle, UA&P, etc. (provided they passed all admission requirements) Financial capacity is also an important consideration. In choosing schools, people look at curriculum or course offerings, faculty, recruitment of students, success rate in board exams, and physical facilities (classrooms and lecture halls, library, laboratory, study lounges), and support services (clean rest rooms, security, cafeteria, bookstore, and extracurricular programs)

Aside from Filipino students, a lot of foreign students from the

neighboring Asian countries like Korea, China, etc. are going to the Philippines to get a degree or to learn English.

IV. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Marketing Mix A. PRODUCT (SERVICE) St. John College offers 20 degree programs in the undergraduate level and 2 programs in the graduate level: Undergraduate Degrees: Nursing Physical / Occupational Therapy Hotel and Restaurant Management Nutrition and Dietetics Business Administration Radiologic Technology Liberal Arts Computer Science Respiratory Therapy Tourism Midwifery Junior Medical Secretarial Pharmacy Aide Health Aide Graduate Degrees: Hospital Administration Teaching Nursing Education B. PRICE It is not mentioned in the case on how much the tuition and other fees St. John College is charging their students. Though with the survey for freshman students, affordability gathered 16% and faculty also perceives that the college offers low tuition to their students. With these statements, the group believes it is safe to assume that the college offers affordable tuition.

C. PLACE/DISTRIBUTION St. John College is located in the district of Sampaloc in Manila. The district constituted a sizeable market for the college. The overall atmosphere in the area is conducive to study and it is relatively safe for students. Adequate and inexpensive lodging accommodations are also frequent in the area for out-of-town students. D. PROMOTION/COMMUNICATION The administration of St. John College conducts surveys to their first year students. Questions on the reason of their enrolment to the college are one of the questions. This was I deal in order for the college to know on how they are being perceived by the students. It is also safe to assume that such college in Metro Manila has a website where a prospective student or parent can check, inquire about St. John College. VALUE CHAIN MODEL (Rating: Good, Fair, and Poor) Support Activities Accounting and Finance: St. John College has an information system that will help the colleges accounting department to keep track of their students accounts. This is helpful in order to anticipate the budget necessary for the administration. This kind of system also helps the administration to make better judgments. Group Rating: Good Human Resources: St. John College has a good number of competitive faculty members in their health related courses. But this is not true on all faculty members, since the credentials of the deans and faculties from other departments are not at par with those in the health related fields. In terms of being pleased with their affiliation with the college; half of the faculty members surveyed said they are contented with St. John College, while a third of them
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are happy and quarter of the faculty population are not happy working or teaching for the school. Salary scale is the cause of the dissatisfaction by the one-fourth of the faculties. Group Rating: Fair Administration: The administration of St. John College is on the hands and control of the founding members of the said school. The administration is small and centralized to the family, which is now being headed by Dr. Evelyn de la Cruz; daughter of the founding couple of St. John College. The administration doesnt prepare any strategic planning on an annual basis. Rather, the deans collects information on trends in demand for certain courses, but this is done occasionally only. Probably, done when the dean felt it needed to collect such information. Group Rating: Fair Marketing and Sales: Freshman students were being surveyed by the school to find out their reason of enrolling in St. John College. 53% of the students answered quality education as the main reason for attending St. John College. quality education is the broad category in which answers like high standards, high quality education, high rate of passing in Board exams, gain more knowledge here than in other schools are under. 16% answers affordability and referrals and recommendations of relative or friend and proximity both accounts 12%. It is also safe to assume that St. John College has a website in which students and parents can check and learn more about the college, the program offerings of the school, tuition, faculty roster, application and exam dates, and other services a student can have once he/she is enrolled in the college. Group Rating: Fair

Information Technology: St. John College implements a computerized recording of the student matters, such as student accounts, grades, and other matters relating to the student.
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Group Rating: Good Primary Activities Inbound Logistics: Competitive faculty members in the health related courses such as nursing and radiologic technology, but not with the other courses. Group Rating: Fair Process: Adequate space and amenities and the number of faculty members for the current size of its enrolment and courses offered. The physical buildings of St. John College are not that well-maintained; hallways are dimly lit, walls need some cleaning, the restrooms are also a disappointment for St. John Colleges students, and some window panes and desks must be repaired. Group Rating: Fair Outbound Logistics: The college provides 20 bachelors degrees and offers 2 programs in the graduate level. The school seems to fair well in providing education to its students. St. John College produced students who topped the board exams for nurses, radiologic technicians, engineers and midwives. Group Rating: Good Services: The school offers limited number of scholarship grants for its students. Scholarships are exclusively for students who graduated high school valedictorians and special students. St. John College supports and encourages organizations that promote literary, science, and cultural meaning. The college also supports student publication groups and varsity teams. An observation gave by the faculty is the inadequate number of materials in their library. The security of the school in their premises met only the minimum essentials. Facilities rated by the students to be the most important got a rating of below fair, except for the auditorium which was rated by the student as fair. Other facilities that got a rating of almost fair were facilities for religious services and the dormitory. This is an indication of poor building management by the administration of St. John College.
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Group Rating: Poor

VI. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM How can St. John College increase the number of new enrollees and maintain those who are already enrolled? What are the competitive strategies that are needed to meet the changing requirements of the students and the job market? Other challenges faced by the institutions are: Should it be more flexible and overcome structural rigidities of educational institutions? Should it reengineer its current structure to meet the demands of the market? Should it focus and diversify into specialized courses by offering customized courses? VI. ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION ACA # 1: ADDRESS THE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS IDENTIFIED BY THE STUDENTS SUCH AS TO MEET CUSTOMER DEMAND: Curriculum Faculty Recruitment of Students Physical Facilities
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Advantages: Disadvantages: Comments:

ACA # 2: DECREASE THE TUITION FEE Advantages: Disadvantages: Comments:

ACA # 3:

FOCUS ON SPECIALIZED COURSES BY OFFERING

CUSTOMIZED COURSES Advantages: Disadvantages: Comments: Decision:

VI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION