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2019 Annual Conference

October 8–11, 2019

St. Louis, MO

Marketing ABE, ASE and ESL Programs: What Really Works?

Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 3:10 PM–3:55 PM CDT
Park View (Rounds of 10)
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Adult Basic Education and Literacy Education

Presentation Format Requested

Roundtable (45 minutes)

Session Abstract

Drawing from input shared by attendees and research conducted by the presenters, this roundtable discussion will focus on strategies state education agencies have established to promote their ABE, ASE, and ESL programs. Participants will discuss ways to leverage technology and community partnerships to recruit students.

Target Audience

This session should be of interest to directors of adult education programs that serve ABE, ASE, and ESL students.  These populations of learners can be difficult to access.  In addition, directors and other administrators of centers such as these are expected to recruit students while attending to many other responsibilities, and must make decisions about how to do so with limited finances.  To complicate matters more, leadership in adult education seems to be experiencing high turnover rates and new directors come from varying backgrounds and may have limited knowledge of marketing strategies used to attract students from diverse backgrounds.

Learning Outcomes

Participants should leave this session with a comprehensive list of recruitment and marketing strategies that have worked for other centers. Additionally, they should be able to reflect on ways to collaborate with community partners and consider how they might market their programs in light of WIOA legislation.

Session Description

During this session we will discuss recent literature related to marketing and recruitment strategies that have been used by adult education programs to promote their services.  The discussion will focus on how directors and their staff can target prospective students who would benefit from their educational offerings.  Many techniques are common across programs, but urban and rural areas, for example, sometimes face different barriers.  Budget is another chief concern that impacts the tactics used to broadcast promotional messages, which can sometimes be costly.  We will share the results of our research on the topic, conducted with adult education directors around the country.

Format & Technique

This is intended to be a very interactive session, offering participants the opportunity to discuss the challenges associating with marketing adult education programs, as well as innovative ways they have found to attract students with varying needs.  We will first share some of the information about program promotion we have gleaned from literature related to the subject, and then practices that centers in our region and around the country have found to be successful. 

Primary Presenter

Dr. Kenda S. Grover, Ed.D., University of Arkansas
Work Title

Associate Professor

Additional Presenters

Michael T. Miller, Ed.D., University of Arkansas
Work Title

Dean, College of Education and Health Professions

Ms. Heather Campbell, M.Ed., University of Arkansas
Work Title

Graduate Assistant, Adult and Lifelong Learning

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