Web Analytics in Higher Education

The Internet and Web Analytics Tools have been primarily used by huge companies and e-commerce businesses. But since the rapid development and improvement of the internet it gained popularity among people thus increasing the number of users. Because of this, more and more companies have developed their own websites to let other people know that they exist. The internet then became a cheap but effective way of advertisement which now has been the primary way companies market themselves.

But the development never stopped there. People realized that there is more to the internet. Then internet became not only as an advertisement but as a means of improving the business processes by adding functions to the sites such as online payment, inquiry etc. But how does this relates to Higher Education particularly De La Salle?

According to the article by David Aponovich, Web Analytic Tools are not only primarily used by e-commerce and corporate websites to measure the success of their website but it has become a focal point for universities. It may not make sense since most of the universities here in the Philippines are not internet based so why the Internet? But this question has already been addressed earlier. Since most companies became interested in the web, it doesn’t exclude companies which are not internet-based but it gave them an option to become one. And one some of these companies is De La Salle University which is one of the leading universities in the Philippines.

In 2007, colleges and universities in the U.S. greatly increased their investment on their website knowing that online channel has become the primary way that prospective students research college choice. And the fact that 49% of college applicants applied online proved the success and dominance of the internet. This statement may not be applicable here in the Philippines 5 years ago but access to the internet here in the Philippines greatly improved and became relatively cheap. Furthermore, student hoping to study in De La Salle University are most likely to be able to afford an internet connection. So, I could safely say that most of the investments online are most likely to succeed given that it is implemented correctly.

The university’s website has been a good advertisement; provide useful information to students who are enrolled in De La Salle as well as those who are aspiring to study in De La Salle. Websites are a good choice but there are still other benefits to it. Using Web Analytics Software, the company can make crucial decisions based on the data and information stored by the software which corresponds to the usage of the website. These data includes the page view, average time on a page, new visitors, repeat visitors and browser compatibilities. These data not only provides you information on how the website is used but can be a key to the success of the University’s website. With this information it gives us the idea on how well we are doing on our reputation online, what pages are effective and what to remove, and what did this type of users do in a particular page and how much time did he/she spent in that page.

But it does not only provide us information regarding the university’s site. Once integrated with the data mining software, it can do even more such as know which among the users are most likely to enroll thus giving us a clear picture who should we spend money and time and those who we should not entertain.

Having all the resources and tools does not mean a sure success. A good strategy is still required. The company should not just run off to a software company who they think can provide them what they need. Before deciding on what software to use, the company should know what they really need in the business and in their technology. So not only consult the board but also the IT team to make sure that whatever the board chooses, it will be compatible with the company’s system. It would be very good for the Marketing Department to have a good relation with the IT Department. The company should make sure that the IT staff knows how their system work with the Web Analytics software so they can debug or alter the code if something goes wrong. And lastly, the most expensive is not exactly the best. The best actually depends on the system and the company’s needs. Whatever best fits the needs is the best system although the company should also look at the durability and the authenticity of the software.

Online Reputation on Higher Education

During our last meeting on our Data Mining Class, we've discussed about online reputation, how to manage it. But what exactly does Online Reputation mean? Why is it so important and what does it have to do with Data Mining.

According to Wikipedia, reputation a publics opinion or more technically a social evaluation towards a person, a group of person or an organization. But why is it so important in a business? According to and article about building your business reputation, reputation is so important it greatly affects every aspect of your business. How people would want to buy your product or how companies would want you as a partner depends on you reputation as a company. Big companies even have a department whose main concern is to improve their company's reputation, some even outsource people who specialize on this field.

But isn't this about Online Reputation? Well it is pretty much the same. Online reputation simply has an element of internet technology which nowadays is very popular. Because of its popularity and people's support, e-commerce business is born. But Online Reputation does not only apply for online businesses since being online provides a lot of advantages and possibilities that is why a lot of businesses online or not uses internet technology to their advantage and it is important to maintain and improve their Online Reputation.

Since the internet is known for its anonymity and prone to hacking, online reputation is required to be develop especially if you are considering e-commerce but it is still important on businesses that are not internet-based. As I've said earlier, internet provides advantages and a lot of possibilities for a company. One of it os being able to monitor one's reputation by using numerous tools such as Trackur, Google Alerts, Technorati , etc. and this is important in improving your business by using people's negative feedback as a consultant on what to improve on your products and services while you can use the positive feedbacks as a marketing support since it is said that a satisfied customer's positive feedback is the most effective advertisement.

But how exactly can this apply to higher education which is the focus of our group? Well it can be applied in a lot of ways. One of which is like what I have said earlier, it acts as a comment and suggestion box on what to improve to the service the school is selling. It is important to do so since in any business, it is vital to keep your customers satisfied since it cost less to maintain a currently satisfied customer than to find new ones. Especially those who are considered "loyal", it is very important to listen to what they say since they are one of the key to making your university one of best since not only that they would tell you words of praise but they comment and suggest not only for their own needs but what they think would be good for the university as well because they would rather ask you to give them what they want than to transfer to other universities.

Having a good online reputation also gives the university of improving one of its tedious processes particularly application. with a high online reputation, it allows people to put their trust on the online process of application and other processes like enrollment. Just imaging if people simply need a computer and an internet connection without requiring people to be physically present to complete all the processes the it would be great for the university and the applicants since it lessen the efforts on both parties.

Good Online Reputation also means landing great deals on business partners and any other support from other companies. Because of the university's reputation, it is easy to convince other companies for support since they would also be helping themselves. Though your reputation, they may also improve their businesses. And lastly, it also provides your students good reputation by studying and graduating from your universities. it may give them better opportunity for work. Not only making the your Higher Education Business a success but also provides young people a better chance for a successful life.

Me, My School and Data Mining

Its been about six years since I've entered here in De La Salle - Canlubang and a lot have changed since then. The system before was a lot lenient and free. Most students would have liked it and I sure did love the environment but now I felt it would not help freshmen as myself back then grow. The environment is pretty laid back and relaxed that I don't feel the drive to exert more into my studies. It may be the reason that I developed such bad habits which up to now I'm having difficulty do correct. I remembered my parents telling me that how come they didn't received any news about La Salle and my studies which they have a right to now. With that kind of system it would be very easy to hide my grades and lie to them and my six years in college was the result. I got addicted to skipping class that my habit became a tradition. I felt so relaxed that there were times that I didn't even care nor feel any pressure even with my grades hanging by a thread.

But during the years the system have been improved a lot but I still think that it would always have a room for improvement. Since change is the only thing that is constant in this world then I think our school should also be sensitive and flexible to these changes and so are we the students. I also believe that the students should coordinate with the school because it is of utmost important that the students and school understands and compromises each other. And by doing so is the only way to further improve the school and the students in this school.

Speaking of improvements I not only see the need for the schools improvement but also myself and I believe that I can accomplish that though this Data Mining class. It may be a bit too business-related which I personally consider my weakness that is why I didn't go for Business Administration but I think it would enhance my analytical skills which is also important in programming. Although it has more business to it rather than the technical stuff that I have been doing for about 6 years now, it provides me another option for the future. I can use what I have learned here if ever I decided to invent on a business. Since this deals with data and analyzing the pattern for that data which gives you a preview of what may be the next data then it would help me in every aspects of my life since everything in this world involves in data and information which I think essential to your success in whatever business you are involved in.

Gaining Competitive Advantage with IT

With the fast growth and development of the IT industry, more and more people are gaining access to the internet. It improved a lot during the past few years and it kept on improving, giving us unlimited possibilities. Now the internet is better in terms of speed and quality, cheaper and more affordable for everyone.

Since the internet gives us more possibilities, it can be advantageous in many ways, especially in business. The main reason for the creation of the internet is to create an invincible or at least difficult to destroy means of communication during war, and nowadays, it is considered to be one of the most widely used communication medium in the world. This can be used as a major advantage in business especially if the company has branches in different locations. It can be used to mange the company's supply chain. If company has this kind of system, then they can easily monitor and track inventory and information among business processes and across companies. It also opens a possibility for Just-In-Time(JIT) delivery of product and/or services which is actually a good idea since it maintains the inventory low and only receive the delivery whenever a product or service is needed.

IT can also be exploited in customer relationship management. Like most of the companies especially e-commerce businesses like e-bay, they provide their services through the net and in case of non-digital products; IT makes it easier for their clients to buy using online catalogs. They can also collect information about their clients which could help them provide their needs and wants thus giving them a better product or service. IT in customer relationship management focuses on three things;sales force automation, customer service and report and marketing campaign management and analysis. In sales force automation, it simply automates the sales process to improve its speed, quality and gives your clients the convenience of being able to shop at home. Not only that it improves processes but it allows customer service and report though call centers which is now one of the fastest growing industry here in the Philippines. It allows clients to offer feedback and suggestions while giving them the support they needed at the same time making the relationship of the company and the client closer. And lastly it provides a cheap but effective advertisement for the company.

IT may provide businesses a competitive advantage but no one should take it as a perfect solution for their business needs. As I have explained it provides people with infinite possibilities whether good or bad. IT also has risks to consider since it may cause a business's downfall. There are a lot of ways how IT can be disadvantageous for a company such as the possibilities of hacking and system failures. But like any problem it has a solution. But as solutions are created for a problem people still find a way to get what they wanted so it will be a never ending battle. One should also not rely on IT so much since it won't always guarantee success. Success comes from a good decision and a little bit of luck. So are you decided on using IT as an advantage for your businesses?

References:

http://quantifactus.wcupa.edu/lab/mis/CC02.ppt
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Murphy/?p=600