Student and Parent Focus Groups

Hardwick-Day and Strategic Resource Partners team up to offer colleges and universities the opportunity to observe focus groups of prospective students and parents as they are queried about issues of concern to enrollment officers.

The take-aways? Better understanding of the role of awareness in the college consideration process, a deepened appreciation for the ways in which current high school students and their parents interact and inter-depend, and some very concrete ideas for both further exploration and tactical implementation. And, given the altered economic landscape of the past year, an opportunity to obtain real-time intelligence about parental willingness to invest in private higher education for their children.

Hardwick-Day and Strategic Resource Partners offer two options: syndicated and single-client focus groups.

Syndicated Focus Groups

The two firms conduct syndicated focus-group sessions in locations around the country to which individual colleges may "subscribe." Like a season ticket for football or the opera, this option costs much less than buying individual tickets.

Groups are held in market research facilities with professional observation space and videotaping facilities. Typically there are two groups in each location: one of parents of college-bound high school seniors and one of parents of college-bound younger high school students. Subscriptions are limited to 15 or so colleges to keep the focus tight and the enable participants to "send in questions." After the sessions, Hardwick-Day principals moderate a debriefing session and bring actionable recommendations to the table.

Contact Carol Stack.

Focus Groups Customized for a Single College or University

For individual colleges, Hardwick-Day recommends conducting four focus groups, two in a primary market and two in a secondary one. In each market, the firm talks with prospective students and with parents of prospective students. Each group lasts two hours and includes six to eight participants. While qualitative research cannot be used to project to larger populations, it is vital to identify and refine issues for quantitative research.

With each college, our principals determine how to qualify participants. The following is a sample screening list for prospective students, who must:

• currently be a senior in high school;
• be aware of the client college;
• at least be considering attending a private college in the client's state;
• be considering a major the client college offers;
• be articulate and comfortable expressing opinions in a group setting; and
• not have anyone in their household working for a college or a company that provides consulting services to any college.

Parents of prospective students must have a child who qualifies based on the criteria above and must be involved in their child’s college decision process. Hardwick-Day can also recruit participants based on income, first-generation status, or any number of other demographic characteristics.

Kevin Menk, the Strategic Resource Partners discussion facilitator, is a pro at putting people at ease and getting them to talk bluntly about:

• what colleges or universities they are considering and why;
• the most important characteristics in the decision equation;
• reasons for rejecting colleges or universities;
• parents’ and students’ preferences for colleges to communicate with them;
• their perceptions of specific colleges;
• benefits of attending specific colleges; and
• barriers to attending.

In the current economic environment, family finances, paying for college, and college costs are fodder for lively and sometimes heated discussions.

Hardwick-Day and Strategic Resource Partners design the recruiting screeners and topic guides with client input and approval. The principals develop possible positioning alternatives to be tested, secure professional focus group facilities, recruit prospects and parents, provide meals and refreshments to participants and observers, moderate each focus group, provide an honorarium to participants, take notes, provide a DVD of each focus group, and provide a written report outlining key findings, opportunities, and recommendations for quantitative research.