Schreyer Institute for

Teaching Excellence
Happy Valley Communications
Campaign Book
Spring 2015

Client
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
Client Contact Information
Angela Linse
Executive Director
814-865-7812
Arl15@psu.edu
Wendy Davis
Business and Operations Director
814-865-7813
Wmb1@psu.edu
Happy Valley Communications Account Team Contact Information
Carly Harris
Account Executive
267-393-0873
csharris123@gmail.com
Casey Adam
Account Associate
908-303-0176
Caseyadam4@gmail.com
Molly Monaghan
Account Associate
610-202-2393
mfm5219@gmail.com
Vasavi Pandey
Account Associate
609-203-6107
Vasavipandey@gmail.com
Sabriana Pimentel
Account Associate
484-821-6384
sabrianapimentel@gmail.com

Marissa Salway
Account Associate
908-499-1327
Marissa.salway@gmail.com
Amy Walker
Account Associate
717-439-9128
aew5329@gmail.com

Table of Contents
Client and Account Team Contact Information ______________________________________ 2
Client Summary ______________________________________________________________ 5
Target Audience ______________________________________________________________ 6
SWOT Analysis ______________________________________________________________ 7
Goals and Objectives __________________________________________________________ 9
Website Audit _______________________________________________________________ 10
Professor Interviews and Surveys ________________________________________________ 11
Brochure Redesign ____________________________________________________________14
Testing Center Changes ________________________________________________________15
Facebook Guide ______________________________________________________________17
Online Videos _______________________________________________________________ 22

Client Summary
The Schreyer Institute of Teaching Excellence (SITE) is a learning resource for Penn State
professors, grad students, and undergraduate students. The main goal of SITE is to provide an
advancement in teaching and inspire excellence in the teaching community at Penn State. SITE
works primarily with professors and graduate students, providing them with enhanced teaching
techniques, new methods on how to engage students in class, and how to effectively assess
student learning. In order to achieve the listed goals, SITE provides consultation with professors,
workshops, conferences, research, course observation, publications and resource materials, and
grants. Aside from the various different services SITE provides, they also have testing and
scanning services for professors to use (Pollock Testing Center) as well Student Rating of
Teaching Effectiveness (SRTEs).
Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness (SRTEs)
The Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness (SRTE) is managed by the Schreyer Institute of
Teaching Excellence. The purpose of SRTEs are for Penn State students to be able to provide
their professors with anonymous constructive responses on their teaching. The SRTE surveys are
available for students to complete within the final two weeks of their semester. The responses are
then directly available for professors, as well administrators, to view. Professors have the ability
to view an SRTE for up to 10 years before the responses are removed. The Schreyer Institute of
Teaching Excellence provides professors with useful strategies to encourage their students to fill
out SRTEs.

Penn State Testing Center

Located in the Pollock building, the Testing Center is a facility managed by Penn State and the
Schreyer Institute of Teaching Excellence. The Testing Center is a facility designed to provide
students with computer-based classroom testing in a quiet and secure environment. The facility
allows professors to schedule dates for an exam then gives students the options to pick a specific
time for the exam. The Testing Center also provides professors with the facilities to scan any
course-related assessments such as quizzes, homework, surveys, and exams. After scanning the
sheets, a report is produced that includes student scores and an item analysis, which provides
information about the exam's ability to accurately rank students from strong to weak.

Assessment of Student Learning

The Schreyer Institute of Teaching Excellence manages the assessment service available for
professors to accompany the accreditation process. The main purpose of assessment is to
improve student learning. The service provides feedback for two different sections: program
level and course level. At the program level, assessment provides faculty with advice on
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improvements for program outcomes. At the course level, assessment provides professors with
information regarding whether their students have achieved understanding of the course
objectives as well information on how to improve the course. The three steps of assessment are:
1. Articulating the goals and objectives for student learning.
2. Gathering evidence regarding how well the students are doing.
3. Using the information to make any modifications to improve student learning.
The Schreyer Institute of Teaching Excellence can help professors who are going through the
process of assessment by providing various services that include, but are not limited to:

Consultations with professors on assessment related issues

Custom workshops on assessment
Sponsor or co-sponsor conferences
Provide teaching support grants for program assessment

Target Audience
SITEs target audience consists of current professors, graduate students, and teaching assistants
at Penn State, including all of their branch campuses. With the services that SITE provides to
educators, their target audience is those who utilize the testing center, SRTEs, and who are
aiming to gain more knowledge on teaching and instructing methods.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, SITE, is a positive tool that professors across
campus can utilize in order to engage and teach students more effectively. SITE offers multiple
resources such as workshops, course observations, presentations, consultations, conferences,
grants, and research. The SITE workshops create a unique opportunity for professors from
different colleges to interact with one another allowing them to collaborate. In addition to
professors benefitting from SITE, graduate students can also benefit by receiving guidance and
teaching advice. Also, SITE works to remain active and present by hosting multiple
workshops/events throughout the semester for professors, graduate students and TAs to attend.
Weaknesses:
SITE has a minimal presence on campus because it is difficult to spread the word to all the
different colleges. It is challenging for SITE to target such a segmented audience of professors,
graduate students and TAs within all the different academic colleges and departments. Through
our research, we found that professors do not interact with professors from different colleges
which prevents the generation of word of mouth recommendations about SITE. In addition,
professors who have secured tenure are very set in their ways and do not feel the need to utilize
SITEs services. In terms of SITEs website, it is not very engaging and could be formatted
differently so it is easier to navigate. Lastly, there is confusion surrounding the association of the
Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence with the Schreyers Honors College.
Opportunities:
SITE has an extremely large audience with hundreds of professors, graduate students and TAs
from all different colleges and departments. Once graduate students use SITE in order to
establish their own personal teaching methods, and become full time professors, SITE can use
their success stories to potentially bring in other clients and establish credibility. These
testimonials can then be posted on SITEs website or Facebook page in order to spark interest
and capture the attention of their target audience. SITE can also build awareness with new media
sources such as Onward State, and the Centre Daily Times.

Threats:
Professors who are very set in their ways will project their own techniques on their graduate
students and TAs. These graduate students and TAs may utilize their professors as their
teaching resource as opposed to SITE. It is also very difficult to target professors, graduate
students and TAs all at once. Each one of these segments look at different types of media. If
SITE only focuses on one target market, it could result in a loss of communication with one of
the other market segments. Lastly, professors normally do not talk to other professors outside of
their own college. So professors from the College of the Liberal Arts may be unaware about a
workshop that SITE is holding for the Smeal College of Business, even though they could
benefit from it.

Goals and Objectives

Goal:
Reaching potential clients and communicating what services SITE has to offer to the teaching
and learning community.
Objectives:
1. Improve marketing and publicity of the Institutes activities and other services
2. Develop marketing, branding and multimedia plan
3. Ensure uniformity and branding across all platforms (print, web, multimedia)
4. Assess communication paths (newsletter, PS Today, listserv, new media)
5. Redesign websites (Schreyer Institute, Assessment, SRTE, Testing)
Tactics:
To complete the above objectives, our team used a variety of tactics. These included
1. Completing a backgrounder of SITEs services (the client summary)
2. Conducting surveys with professors to find out their knowledge level of SITE and how
they receive Penn State information
3. Conduct a website audit of the main SITE website
4. Create video content to add to the website
5. Redesign brochures for future SITE clients

Website Audit
1. Strengths

a. Slideshow & twitter feed on the homepage

b. Resources tab is clear and easy to understand and search through
c. Consultation tab is concise, yet provides enough information to move a potential
client to move forward

2. Opportunities

a. There should be a tab/section that provides professors feedback about SITE,

namely success stories that promote the organization in a positive way
i. Include statistics on the increase in student participation, attendance, test
scores, etc
ii. Possibly success stories on the homepage?
b. Under the Grants tab, add stories & pictures of people who received these
grants in the past (how they got it, what they used the money for, how much it
helped, etc)
i. Provide links to websites of grant projects, if applicable
c. The tools and tips tab could be easier to navigate
i. Add search function?
d. The events could be set up in a calendar, and when you click on the day of the
workshop you would like, it would take you to an event description page with the
link to register
i. Still keep an events by category page though

Website Audit: After

The faculty spotlight grabs attention and provides visual content for the site
Transitioning slideshow on the left utilizes informative, interactive content
List of upcoming workshops on the homepage makes navigation easier for users

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Professor Interviews and Surveys

Understanding our clients target audience was essential for implementing a communications
strategy for SITE. We conducted personal interviews with professors, teaching assistants, and
graduate students in order to gauge the target audiences familiarity with SITEs services and
value perceptions of SITE as a whole.
The following includes a sample of the professors and department heads we interviewed:
Liberal Arts
Sam Richards
John Fulton
Paul Zajak
Johanna Wagner
Paula Droege
Katharine Kile
Eberly College of Sciences
Jenny Shook
Tim White
Earth and Mineral Sciences
Tim Robinson
Smeal College of Business
Carolyn Todd
Some of the key insights we found are as follows:
1. Most professors know about SITE but the majority only uses SITE for SRTEs and testing
center services.
2. There was a lack of information about SITEs additional services including workshops
and consulting.
3. Professors, teaching assistants, and graduate students use department Facebook groups
and Listservs to get relevant information about upcoming events on campus. They also
listed Penn State publications such as The Daily Collegian and Onward State as their
main media sources in addition to national news publications.
a. Department listserv administrators were not forwarding information about SITE
or including it in their newsletters.
4. The majority of professors feel that they have adequate resources to teach effectively but
are open to new methods and additional assistance.

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Brochure Redesign

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Testing Center Changes

SITE and the Pollock Testing Center have been working hard to implement a new testing system
for professors to begin using Summer 2015. Our team created mock emails to send to all
professors to inform them of the changes that will occur for the testing center and their
involvement in the exams. We also created a mock reply email to answer any questions one may
have about the changes.
Initial email:
Hello All,
You are receiving this email because you are either currently using or have used the University's
scantron scoring services at the Pollock Testing Center.
In early September, the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence (SITE) sent out a Request for
Proposal to several vendors with the goal of replacing our aging (35+ year-old) scanning
application. The vendor that was chosen is Digital Desk, Inc. and their product is called Data
Center Edition (DCE). We hope to have this new system implemented completely by Summer
2015. With DCE, a WebAssess module that provides remote instructor tools via a browser
interface will also be put into place. To find out more information about this product,
visit http://www.digitaldeskinc.com/solutions.html.
The new system promises to be more efficient and much easier for both educators and the SITE
staff. The new system will eliminate the need to set up a request file before the semester
begins. Exams configured in the new system can be brought down for scanning without previous
notice. The Instructor Tools Website is much more feature rich, which will allow you greater
control of reports, analysis and error correction, lessening the possibility for
miscommunication. The multiple exam version feature for scrambling questions and answers is
also much more intuitive and is done electronically, meaning there will be no complicated forms
to fill out. Question weighting is also simpler and done electronically when you setup the exam
in the system. Additionally, graphic reports can also be generated to show results regarding your
exams.
Our goal is to provide as much one-on-one training as possible prior to officially implementing
this new system. Plans are in place to provide on-line video tutorials as well as written tutorials
on SITE's website. Once again, our plan is to go live in Summer 2015.
As with any new software implementation, there will be several changes to both process and
function. The Pollock Testing Center staff appreciate your patience as we go through this
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transition. Please watch for future announcements concerning the migration of this service. We
look forward to continuing a positive and beneficial relationship with Penn States educators.
All the Best,
The SITE Team
Reply email:
Dear (insert name),
Thank you for reaching out to me in regards to the upcoming change in scantron scoring. I
understand that switching applications is frustrating and will present some initial challenges.
However, I want to assure you that the new system will prove to be beneficial for everyone in the
long run. It will be more efficient and much easier to use than our current scantron scoring
application.
The staff at the Pollock Testing Center understands that this transition will require some
adjustments, and we appreciate your patience. We will be providing several tools for you to
make this transition as easy as possible. These tools will include online video tutorials and stepby-step instructions that will be available on SITEs website this summer. In addition we will be
offering one-on-one training sessions. If you have any further concerns please feel free to reach
out to me via phone or email. I am happy to discuss any individual questions about the new
scoring application and send you some more information at your request.
Thank you again for your patience,
Mark Henderson
Manager, Testing and Scanning Services
Insert phone number

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Facebook Guide
Our team created a detailed Facebook guide which includes an in depth glossary of major terms,
how-tos with screenshots, and the benefits of using Facebook. The team created a sample SITE
Facebook page to take screenshots and walk through some of the major functions.
Section 1 includes a glossary that lists the purpose of various functions, screenshots of the
function, and sample ways to use that function. For example:

Comment: Can share thoughts on statuses, pictures, or respond to peoples questions or

comments on your statuses.

Here is the button (circled in red) you select when you want to comment on a photo or a status.

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Boxed in red is the area that will pop up when you click the comment button and where you write
your comment.

Tip: When responding to peoples comments you can tag their name just by typing it in the
comment box. This will directly notify them of your commented response. Their account should pop
up when typing their name, just simply click on the profile you want to tag in the comment.

Section 2 provided detailed instruction on how to add photos, create a photo album, and how to
add photos to an existing photo album.
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Sections 3 and 4 emphasize the importance of posting consistently with relevant content. Posting
consistently throughout the week, month, year, etc. shows the audience that SITE is reliable. The
team also recommended that SITE match the tone that they post with company voice and
personality. All of the posts should align with SITEs values and goals. The team also
emphasized that posting content to Facebook will keep graduate students & TAs engaged with
the SITE material and content, as well as keeping SITEs message direct and clear for general
users. Not only should SITE be posting about their services and events, but also posting other
articles related to improving teaching skills, and about other Penn State related events to provide
a deeper connection, and reach a larger audience. The sections were then backed up with
successful companies who reach their target audience well.
In Section 5 the team researched the best way to communicate with SITEs target audience on
Facebook and found PSU department Facebook groups to post in. The team emphasized that
SITE has the ability to post advertisements, flyers, photos, videos, or simply type up a message
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to be seen by all of the groups members. This is a great opportunity to specialize SITEs
message for specific groups of professors and Penn State faculty that you wish to contact. The
team then provided detailed instructions on how to post in department Facebook groups.

Section 6 includes detailed instruction on how to share posts and described the benefits of
sharing posts to department Facebook groups and on SITEs page for other faculty members to
see.

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Section 7 states the benefits of liking other pages on Facebook. It is extremely important for
SITE to like pages that are relevant to their mission so that they can create popularity. By liking
other pages, SITE gets their name out and makes sure other groups and pages are aware that
SITE exists. It is necessary for SITE to create good social media relationships so that pages that
are liked are willing to work with SITE in promotions and message dissemination.
The guide ends with a list of links to all the PSU Department Facebook groups for SITE to
utilize.

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Online Videos
One of the biggest projects during the semester was to make online videos for SITEs website.
The purpose of this was to help make the website more interactive and to also provide teachers
with resources.
The videos gave teachers and graduate students an idea of what SITE could help them with.
Rather than just having overwhelming blocks of text, the videos also made the website much
more interesting and lively to look at.
We reached out to six members of SITEs staff to make the videos:

Chas Brua - International Communication and Confidence

Larkin Hood - Teamwork/Group Learning
Kathy Jackson - Proposal/Grant Support
Crystal Ramsay - Writing Effective Test Questions/Items
Cindy Raynak What Does Your Syllabus Say About You
Suzanne Weinstein - Inclusive Learning

The topics they each discussed were subjects that they focused on at SITE. We filmed on
location at the Schreyer Institute offices, and Cory Robertson (HVCs videographer) edited the
videos.

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