Assess the atmospherics of our new campus.

• Written consulting report due 2 DEC (75 points)
• Presentation dress rehearsal 2 DEC
• Formal presentation with hard copy hand-out, on 9 DEC (75 points)

General Issue:

As our university downward expands on a new campus, we must prepare for comparison shopping visits of prospective students and their parents.  We must consider issues of atmospherics and plan the campus look and feel and how we conduct tours accordingly.  In considering atmospherics issues, our objective is to create an atmosphere that:

• appears to be a safe place for students to live (where could bad things happen?)
• encourages people to enter and appears to be a friendly place (warm or cold feeling?)
• appears to have adequate recreation and entertainment opportunities and activities (what can students do in the evenings and on weekends?)
• appears to have adequate social/socialization opportunities and activities (how will students meet others?)
• appears to be conducive to study activities (how do I know my kid will concentrate on school work?)
• appears to be culturally diverse (is it welcoming to multiple ethnicities and international students?)
• is user friendly and easy to navigate (can people find what they need?)
• encourages word of mouth promotion from satisfied visitors (what is especially memorable about the new campus?)

We currently only have a science building (mostly labs) with a second building set to break ground soon.  The second building will house a library, classroom space, and faculty offices, but it will be under construction during the entire time that anyone would be visiting the new campus.  The second building will be completed and ready to use before our first freshman class starts in the Fall, 2010 semester.  We also are hopeful that a dormitory can be completed by that time, but this is less certain. 

In assessing the new campus atmospherics, you should consider the current drive from the Interstate highway to the campus starting at the Richmond Rd. exit.  Also note that you are assessing the campus as it will exist prior to the start of that first freshman class -- i.e., with construction, dirt, noise, and heavy equipment rather than completed buildings.  What impressions will prospective customers form (conclusions)?  What tactics should be used by tour guides, signage, fences, and such (recommendations)?

Your report MUST be structured as follows:

1. Introduction and Problem Statement / Objective

2. Situation Analysis
   • Consumer Segments (who goes?)
     • task definition (why are they there?)
     • antecedent states (why, when are they there?)
     • time (when, how long are they there?)
     • social surroundings (who with, who is around?)

   • Physical Surroundings (organized by spatial and non-spatial elements)
     • perception: exposure
     • perception: attention
       • voluntary attention
       • selective attention
       • involuntary attention
     • perception: comprehension

3. Conclusions (what is)

4. Recommendations (what should be)

If you are present in class when this assignment is distributed and discussed, you may work in teams of two or three (or one).  The team is of your own choosing.  Note, however, that all members of a team will receive the same score.  If you were not present at the time when this assignment was distributed and discussed, you will not be permitted to work in a team. 

Neatness is considered a minimal requirement in your grade.  Neatness is defined here to include grammar, spelling, typos, correct use of paragraphs, and such.  Problems with these would not be acceptable in a "real world" consulting report and are therefore not acceptable in this assignment;

Please do not use any kind of report folders - they will be discarded if you do.  Just use plain white paper with a single staple in the top left corner.

You are encouraged to visit the professor outside of class to discuss your ideas.