Q: I am trying to figure out what my Professional and Community learners want in terms of online educational opportunities.
I thought of sending out a survey instrument via Constant Contact….introducing myself but also ask both the Business Community and the Community at large what kind of classes (online & physical) they would be interested in.
A: The best information you can get will be information you collect from your present participants and best customers. Because they are coming to your program already, they have an affiliation with you and obviously look to you for educational programming that meets their needs. Thus, you should survey your existing customers, rather than the community at large or others who do not know you or participate in your programs.
In addition to a survey, LERN recommends that you convene a group of your best customers and have a discussion/brainstorming session about the kinds of programs they would like to see you offer, what would be most attractive to them in terms of time, format, and location, and other questions that will inform your decisions about classes to offer. With this information, you can gather rich information that will help you make good decisions about what you should be doing to meet the needs of your customers.