Teaching Getting enough bums on seats?

Question for @Sambal.
How does the the college determine a local / regional need / interest for an educational program?
This is usually done by marketing research. Qualify a need and offer a program to fill the needs. All at an affordable cost. Also something researched by the marketing research team. IMHO a program director didn’t do their due diligence. OR they’ve gambled on borderline information and it didn’t work out ?
 
Sadly, it happens year after year. Really poor administration.
Question for @Sambal.
How does the the college determine a local / regional need / interest for an educational program?
This is usually done by marketing research. Qualify a need and offer a program to fill the needs. All at an affordable cost. Also something researched by the marketing research team. IMHO a program director didn’t do their due diligence. OR they’ve gambled on borderline information and it didn’t work out ?
I’m sorry, I have no idea. It happens term after term, year after year, and the sad thing is that they have excellent tutors. There appears to be no long-term plan to improve things.
 
In the US, most of this runs through a sort of four-branched system. You have your four year universities, at which mostly you have to be an admitted student to take classes, but some of them will offer some of their classes in the "continuing education" division

There are also community colleges that offer a wide variety of courses both to enrolled students and in "continuing education" divisions.

There are also "for personal enrichment" type institutions that exist to provide musical instruction and it seems (I have not looked deeply into these) that their students are more or less a "one class at a time" group, that while there are defined courses of study, they're nothing like as defined and rigid as, say, a music major in a four year university.

Finally, there are so-called "community bands" or "town bands" - most of these are open to almost anyone, but some of them do have more stringent audition requirements. Most of these are focused on traditional wind-band/concert-band repertoire, but many have a jazz-band division.

Outside these four layers are the high end professional conservatories like Juilliard or Curtis.

Also outside these four layers are the many private entities - rehearsal bands, jam sessions, GB bands, etc., which you've basically got to know someone to find out about them.

As far as I know there's not really a "clearinghouse" in the US that would cover the four layers I'm talking about. You more or less have to go institution by institution in your area and do your research. My experience has been that if you get into something that's ongoing and populated by mostly adult musicians, you'll end up playing next to a bunch of band directors who use the ensemble to keep their hand in; and both your fellow musicians and the director will recognize someone who can really play, and they'll start referring you for other gigs and groups - the old word of mouth process.

And the US being such a widespread place, with so many variations in culture and density and history, the opportunities are wildly different in each kind of place, for a newcomer. So, for example, I currently split my time three ways (don't ask!) between the large Southern city where I grew up (but I lived out of state for almost 20 years, so I'm essentially coming back in as a newcomer), New England, and a rural southern district (largest town in convenient driving distance is 12,000 people, a small city of 150,000 or so is 45 minutes away from my house).

The landscape for amateur but serious musicians who want to play, especially jazz and related musics, is very different amongst these three areas.

When I came out of college and moved back to my hometown (a city of over a million at that time, now over 8 million), that was way pre-Internet, and I scuffled around but found a local community college that was opening an evening rehearsal jazz band. I got in on the ground floor there. Again it was like 30% band directors and pretty soon they started sending work my way, and that led to any number of professional jobs, both as a sub and then as a full member of bands. (I also started a rather successful rock and roll cover band with a former high school classmate, and that also spun off multiple opportunities).

When I moved to New England in my mid forties, I typed "community band" into a search and I got a dozen or so within reasonable commute distance - most of them without a jazz auxiliary, but one with - I joined that group, both the concert and jazz bands, and since I can read fluently and improvise fluently, both of those directors started sending work my way.

Now that I've moved to a rural district, I've been scuffling again - there IS a community concert band, but it's 45 minutes away, and the local community college (it's somewhat unusual to have such a comprehensive comm coll in a town of 12,000) just happens to have an active jazz ensemble. Nowadays, as a late-stage professional, I can take off an hour early twice a week to go to those rehearsals.

My point in the excessive biographical information is that in the US it's a patch-it-together system. You've got to be somewhat assertive in the search and in the self-promotion.
Thank you for such a helpful and comprehensive reply. Very kind of you. Situation in the UK is somewhat different but comparisons are always helpful.

I’m just a bit frustrated that adult, part-time jazz classes at this particular institution are repeatedly not advertised or promoted properly. Every term we have to reach out to friends and colleagues to try and get the necessary ‘numbers’ to ensure course viability. The tutors are world-class so I really can’t understand the issue. Nuff said. Gripe over. Thanks everyone. 🤞
 
No marketing being done here. No location, description of the program, prerequisites or skill level. Time of day, week or year. No mention of cost to attend.
Just “Part time adult jazz class”. To work with.
You are right. I wasn’t trying to do their marketing for them; I just wanted to ascertain if there might be a web resource where courses with vacancies could advertise. For info, this specific course is in SW London, at an intermediate level and takes place on Saturdays. There are other courses that suffer the same fate at this institution. Shame really.
 
I don't know? Internet is just a small part of the solution. What is "SM space"?



How do you know that there is a demand?


Maybe they want to keep it small?

Most courses, clinics, workshops ..... needs dedicated persons/musicians who stands behind it. We call them "eldsjälar" in Swedish. In english it's personate persons/- souls, driving force. Higher educations have other words ..... ?

The problem is how to reach out? For me, into Rock & Roll Saxophone, posters, articles in papers/magazines, to get 2 min + sax music at local radio station ..... . I tried internet as well ..... .
All very good ideas. I would certainly employ AIDA and your suggestions if I was responsible for marketing and admin but, sadly, perhaps gladly, I no longer have to worry about such things. Frustrating though when you see a great resource being consistently under-utilised through lack of suitable planning.
 
I just wanted to ascertain if there might be a web resource where courses with vacancies could advertise
The thing is, even if there was, how would people know about it? I suppose you could think if there was then it might be considered the duty of all private teachers to be aware of such courses that may be helpful for their students. Perhaps any music teachers in schools should also be aware and suggest to their students.

These are areas where the college could reach out to.
 
I did a double take reading that (and the thread title). Over on this side of the pond, we'd assume you're talking about recruiting a bunch of drunken bums off the street! Then of course, I realized the term 'bum' has a different meaning over there in the UK.
Yes, better not go down that route of American English/ British English re body parts or we are all going to come a cropper!
 
Great advertising, can be costly.
By knowing the name of the school, it might be possible to utilize the various departments and students, to create an ad campaign. Great for the students, to grow and learn useful, real world skills.

On a serious note, maybe the RAF, can provide sky writing ads, in the sky, all over the island. 😜
Your Military budget,
made more useful. 🎶🏴‍☠️🎶
I’ll have you know that our Navy (remember them? Britannia Rules the Waves etc.) still proudly has one Frigate that can almost get as far as Cyprus.
 
Time to pull out all the stops and blast away 😉
Hopefully @Sambal will open up with information so members can share quality feedback. Members are ready and willing. Real humans with real diverse perspectives.
SW London, intermediate sax, amongst other courses. Saturday, part-time, termly. Great tutors. Always seems to be inadequate numbers to reliably make courses happen. Most odd.
 
Without naming the college/institution, you are being, most odd.
My apologies, if my Spitfire humor, was lost in the blue.
Most colleges have communication courses and tons of other useful majors/minors, that could be of help.
Trying to fix the problem, online, as opposed to doing some leg work, around town, ain't smart.
 
Well, it sounds like this institution has a marketing problem. It also appears that there is no pre-existing canned solution. That kinda leaves three options:

1) Nag them till they start doing it.
2) Volunteer to do it yourself.
3) Ignore the situation and prepare yourself for eventual closure of courses you'd like to have.

I don't think sitting at the computer keyboard is going to fix this problem.
 
Question for @Sambal.
How does the the college determine a local / regional need / interest for an educational program?
This is usually done by marketing research. Qualify a need and offer a program to fill the needs. All at an affordable cost. Also something researched by the marketing research team. IMHO a program director didn’t do their due diligence. OR they’ve gambled on borderline information and it didn’t work out ?
Sorry, no idea; I’m just a student there. It is a good question. I guess they make a best, or worst, guesstimate.
 
Well, it sounds like this institution has a marketing problem. It also appears that there is no pre-existing canned solution. That kinda leaves three options:

1) Nag them till they start doing it.
2) Volunteer to do it yourself.
3) Ignore the situation and prepare yourself for eventual closure of courses you'd like to have.

I don't think sitting at the computer keyboard is going to fix this problem.
Tried nagging. Have done a bit of independent promotion on their behalf. Can’t ignore it but I do have a plan B. Not sitting at the keyboard, don’t worry but thanks for the advice. 🙂
 
Without naming the college/institution, you are being, most odd.
My apologies, if my Spitfire humor, was lost in the blue.
Most colleges have communication courses and tons of other useful majors/minors, that could be of help.
Trying to fix the problem, online, as opposed to doing some leg work, around town, ain't smart.
Not trying to be odd but I don’t want to name the institution.
Spitfire humour is good, no worries Squadron Leader but beware of Bandits at 2 O’clock.
Agree, legwork had had its day.
 
@Sambal write a letter or see the Dean in person. Communicate your experience and findings. Take some action or walk away and let it die.
FWIW listing the available classes on the colleges website is not marking or advertising. It’s an announcement to attending students or prospects looking.
 
I'm Professor Melody.
Only 100 students are accepted
to our topless jazz theory classes.
A Tequila party, after the final exam. 😍

IMG_7088.webp
 
Long ago, in a far away land,
on a street, West and parallel, to the main drag in TJ, there was a guitar maker and a beverage shop, that had the real 1800.
Lotsa similar bottles/boxes on the main drag, but not filled with the ever so smooth stuff.
IIRC, that bottle was from the early '80s.

IMG_7090.webp

Picture of dinner, I mean a cat, named Taco.
 

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