Office of Pre-Professinal Advising

2015 STRATEGIC PLAN

This strategic plan was prepared by:

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary.................................................................. (3)

Organization Background.......................................................
- Business Definition.........................................................
- Vision ...............................................................................
- Mission .............................................................................
- Value Propositions .........................................................
- Structure .........................................................................
- History and Culture .......................................................

(5)
(5)
(6)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(10)

Situational Analysis,................................................................
- Definition and Scope of Situation ...............................
- Stakeholders ...................................................................
- Competition ....................................................................
- Opportunities/Problems (SWOT Analysis) ................

(11)
(11)
(11)
(12)
(14)

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Plan............................................................................................
- Objectives, Strategies and Tactics..............................
- Critical Success Factors................................................
- Key Performance Indicators.........................................
- Timelines.........................................................................
- Evaluation Method and Anticipated Results.............

(15)
(16)
(29)
(34)
(40)
(43)

Appendix..................................................................................
- A: Organization Chart...................................................
- B: Benchmarks ..............................................................
- C: Facebook Examples ................................................
- D: Intern Posting Email..... ...........................................
- E: Fraternity Email Example .......................................
- F: Marketing Material Examples .................................

(48)
(48)
(49)
(50)
(52)
(53)
(54)

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Executive Summary
The Office of Pre-Professional Advising assists pre-med, pre-health
and pre-law students acquire the knowledge and opportunities to help
them prepare for their applications to professional schools. Its goal is
to ensure students are doing everything in and out of the classroom to
create a competitive application for professional school.
The office offers pre-professional advising, drop in hours, career
observation, application preparation and mock interviews for students
who seek its help.
The Office of Pre-Professional Advising, OPPA, is located on the
University of South Carolina Columbias campus. After meeting with the
office, our group realized there were a few key issues we could work on
in our strategic plan. Social media activity was almost nonexistent and
not many students know about the organization. Our group focused
our strategic plan on creating more awareness of the organization.
At the second meeting with OPPA, we received benchmark numbers which we based our objectives on. We wanted to increase the number of likes on Facebook and wanted to post more on social media.
Another objective was to create a key message platform for OPPA.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

With time as a limitation, we designed rack cards, fliers and a sticker that OPPA has the option of putting around campus. Our group also
suggested to OPPA that they hire an intern for the Spring semester to
help boost social media. Other strategies we suggested were for the office to create relationships with pre-med and pre-law fraternities in order to reach more students and to attend ten fairs within the next year.
We also outlined key performance indicators that our client should monitor closely.
The Carolina Creative team believe that implementing our strategic plan at OPPA will help in raising awareness of the organization and
will increase the number of students who visit the office.

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Organizational Background
Business Definition
The Office of Pre-Professional Advising (OPPA) exists to assist
University of South Carolina (USC) students and alumni with the essentials in successfully competing for professional school acceptance.
OPPA provides all students, regardless of major, pursuing a law, medical or other health professional program with the necessary tools for
success. The office does this by offering specific academic advising for
pre-professional school requirements and suggestions for out-of-theclassroom experiences. Although pre-professional advising is not a requirement, as standard academic advising is, the staff of OPPA works
closely with academic advisors so they can accurately assist students
with their professional school preparation, application and competitiveness. Other services include career observation, application preparation, personal statement and resume review, and mock interviews. To
ensure maximum success, OPPA has implemented initiatives that help
students become involved in the community through service, including
medical shadowing in a professional setting. OPPA also helps students
develop habits that encourage lifelong learning and assists them in creating a three-year plan for out-of-the-classroom activities to clarify career goals.

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Vision
The Office of Pre-Professional Advising has a need for improvement in engaging and branding. To maximize progression, OPPA should
have immediate, long-term, and ideal goals set up that they will work
toward accomplishing. Their immediate goal needs to be to create a
logo, brochure, posters, and other promotional materials to reach more
students and inform them of the services OPPA offers. One long-term
goal would be to create improved and effective marketing, advertising
and branding efforts - also to reach more students. Another long-term
goal would be to increase the acceptance and success rates of academically qualified applicants. An ideal goal would be to work closely with
every USC student interested in or actively working towards enrolling in
a professional school.

Mission
The mission of the Office of Pre-Professional Advising is to help
students successfully prepare for professional school. The office has the
opportunity to serve thousands of pre-professional students each year.
Whether students are applying to medical, dental, veterinary, or law
school, OPPAs helps them acquire the knowledge and opportunities to
prepare for the application process. The Office of Pre-Professional Advising works with students academic advisors to ensure they are doing

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everything necessary in and out-of-the-classroom to have a competitive application for professional school.

Value Proposition
The Office of Pre-Professional Advising is unlike any other organization because it serves to help undergraduate students gain the knowledge and credentials to attend medical, dental, veterinary, law or other
professional school. This organization is valuable because there is no
other office on campus that specializes in professional school preparation. Academic advisors, the Career Center and Student Success Center
can offer guidance and advice to students, but OPPAs sole purpose
is to provide services throughout students undergraduate years that
fully prepare them for professional school. Without this office, students
would need to look towards services outside of USC, which are usually expensive, to help them during this competitive process. Currently,
OPPA does not have a single theme or slogan that translates the severity of how important utilizing its services is to students. This will be one
of Carolina Creatives highly suggested aspects of this Strategic Plan.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Structure
The Office of Pre-Professional Advising is located in Sumwalt College. The organization is a part of the Career Center, which is a division
of Student Affairs at the University of South Carolina (See Appendix
A). The office is staffed by three full-time employees. The employee
positions include director, assistant director and office manager. OPPAs
director is responsible for supervising one full-time professional staff
member, a full-time staff assistant and part-time student and graduate assistants while providing advisement to pre-professional students
and alumni. They must work cooperatively with faculty members and
advisors at USC-Columbia to prepare pre-professional students in the
application, interview and admission process to professional schools
in the state, region and nation of their choice. The assistant director
assists in advisement of pre-professional students individually and in
groups, specifically by being the lead contact for pre-law advising and
by designing, developing, implementing, and assessing the pre-law series of three to five events per semester. The assistant director also implements and assesses the Pre-Med Academic and Career Exploration
Series (PACES) program within OPPA. The last full-time employee, office manager, manages administrative activities, daily office operations,
student contact via mail, phone and computer operations, and assures
compliance with department budgets, availability of funds and preparation of budgetary requests. They also assist in coordinating meetings,

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

resources, programs, operational matters, and management activities.

There is a finalized plan to build a test center as well, but the office is currently searching for a location to place the center. Although
students are not required to visit OPPA, the office provides advising
services to students on the pre-professional track, both academically
and related to out-of-the-classroom endeavors. OPPA works with USCs
Medical School to set-up job shadowing for pre-professional students.
We suggest they build a similar relationship with the Law School.

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

History and Culture

In 1995, the USC provost tasked a committee to look at pre-professional students advising. During this time, advising for pre-med and
pre-law students was done by faculty members who were also full-time
professors. After reviewing this process, the committee suggested hiring one person to create a freestanding office that would solely handle
pre-professional advising. In 1996, Eileen Korpita was hired as the director of the Office of Pre-Professional Advising. About three years ago,
OPPA made a large structural change. Formerly, the office was under
the supervision of the Central Office of Student Affairs, but it has been
moved under the Career Center. While the office remains in Sumwalt
College, the new reporting system is working out well. In the past year, a
second advisor has also been hired to expand the services of OPPA and
cater to all pre-professional students of this large university. OPPA is an
important resource that can be of great use to students in their pre-professional years, which is why they need to gain recognition on campus.
The office would like to gain awareness across the freshman class specifically to inform new students of the resource they have available to
them throughout their entire undergraduate career. The office would
also like to continue to grow its relationships with organizations and
pre-professional fraternities on campus, as the director is current the
advisor for the Association of Minority Pre-Health Students, Gamecock
Pre-Veterinary Association and the Pre-Dental Club.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Situation Analysis
Definition and Scope
The current situation of the Office of Pre-Professional Advising is
that they are not well-known throughout the Carolina community. As
an office dedicated to the assistance and support of college students
on the pre-professional track, it is imperative that students are aware
of the resources offered. The office faces a lack of funding, which is directly correlated to their minimal presence across campus. With a very
low budget for marketing and a lack of effective public relations knowledge, the office is struggling to gain recognition as a core resource for
students. Free promotional opportunities, such as bulletin boards and
social media, are not being utilized and contribute to the offices marginal presence.

Stakeholders
The biggest stakeholders our client has are the students at USC,
specifically those on the pre-professional track. The office was created
for students; therefore, they establish the offices overall success or failure. If students do not know about the office and its resources, they will
not benefit from the services offered, which directly correlates to the
success of their application. This is why it is critical that the office en-

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hances its campus presence. In the last academic year, 2014-2015, 73%
of pre-professional students used OPPAs services in some way.
Another stakeholder is the staff at USC- Columbia. If the office
carries a good reputation with professors and advisors, they are more
likely to refer students to OPPA. We hope they hold the closest relationship with the science departments staff, which tend to hold most of
the pre-medical majors. The students and staff at USC are the ones that
hold the power to make a difference in OPPAs future success.

Competetion
The Office of Pre-Professional Advising has an interesting set of
competitors due to its position as a University of South Carolina office
under the Career Center, which is a part of Student Affairs. Because
OPPA is not a required advisement for students, general academic advising is a form of competition. All students are required to meet with
their academic advisors before registering for classes each semester,
and in the Pre-Professional field, they get even further guidance from
their academic advisor regarding post-undergraduate plans, but not
many students know about or utilize this supplemental advising office.
OPPA assists academically, but they focus on helping students stay on
the right track with out-of-the-classroom activities; preparing students
for professional school, developing a three-year plan for pre-professional students, providing additional activities and services for students to

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

be in a competitive position against other professional school applicants, and assist students in showcasing their skills and abilities for their
applications.
Outside services are OPPAs most influential competitors because
they will directly take students away from USC and OPPA and towards
their services. Dr. Lisabeth Saunders Medlock at Life by Design Coaching is a life coach, psychologist and consultant who has the ability to
assist students in deciding their post-undergraduate plans and how to
get there - very similar services OPPA offers. There are also many online
opportunities today, and many other universities offer assessments and
resources online so this could take USC students away from sc.edu itself. OPPA could include more online information on their direct website
to alleviate this competitor.
Other general competition for OPPA includes all USC offices and
services because they each have to fight for the attention and interest
of students. For example, the Office of Pre-Professional Advising has a
bulletin board outside of their office where they post information about
their services, events they are involved in and to simply gain awareness.
These materials are in direct competition with every other flier, event,
bulletin board, and promotional efforts posted by any office across
campus.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Opportunities/Problem (SWOT Analysis)

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Opportunities:

Threats:

Offers important services to Pre-Professional students

Number of Pre-Professional students
(Medical/Dental) is growing at USC
and nationally
Receives 70% of funding from the
state and must produce 30% from revenue
Distinct difference from academic advising (but not many students know/
utilize it)

Become a well-known office whose

services are utilized by students
Create promotional material to raise
visibility and awareness across campus
Host events for Pre-Professional students to interact with one another
Assist in test preparation
Create higher revenue so further initiatives can be put in place
Hire an intern to maintain social media accounts, get perspective from
student

Ineffective marketing and promotional materials

Inactive social media accounts, lack
of followers
Lack of logo and brochure
Small staff
Students are unaware of services and
some may be unaware of offices existence
Office is located in classroom building so students do not pay attention to
anything else in building (but no other offices to divert students attention
away from OPPA).
Other USC offices offer similar services, such as the Career Center and
academic advising
Students may take a gap year before Med School, Dental School, Vet
School, PA School, Law School, and
therefore think it is not helpful to them
Test preparation materials are offered online
All efforts must be approved by Career Center/Student Affairs/USC
Can find similar services outside USC

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Stategic Plan
Plan
The ultimate goal for our client is to become more well known
throughout the Carolina community, and to reach more students who
are on pre-professional tracks. Our plans for OPPA will hopefully promote office awareness and encourage more office visits. From the information received, OPPA is facing a major problem in their ability to
establish themselves as an on campus expert. Since OPPA is challenged
by competitors that are also on campus, the office needs new strategies to set itself apart, and also focus on building a reputation among
students to generate a buzz about the services provided by creating
and maintaining a key message platform.
The plan to enhance the clients status in the Carolina community
will include a complete overhaul of OPPAs current strategic plan. To
start, promotional materials need to be designed, such as a brochure
to be placed in other campus offices so that more students have the
opportunity to learn quick facts about the services that OPPA provides
without having to find the preliminary information on their own. Creating fliers with the offices services and contact information will be
beneficial, along with the brochures, to hand out at USC events and career-based fairs.
Promoting the office and its services is the main goal of the new
strategic plan, and this requires a basic understanding of the way stu-

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dents communicate and gather information. Social media is a huge

factor in students lives today, so the new plan includes tactics to bring
OPPA into the digital age. Forming a consistent and effective presence
on social media platforms, also incorporating the key message platform,
will allow our client to reach a broader audience faster and easier. Hiring
an intern to manage the social media accounts, the website, and any
other online presence will be valuable to the client as well. Having more
student insight and perspectives will be helpful when trying to reach
the student body.
The client has both minor and major adjustments to make. The
Carolina Creatives Strategic Plan suggests these fundamental changes
to the Office of Pre-Professional Advising.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives, Strategies and Tactics Chart

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Informational: Increase
number of followers and
likes on social media
platforms by 40% by
the end of Spring 2016
semester.
Benchmark: 248 Twitter
followers, 258 likes on
Facebook as of October
1, 2015.

Strategy
1:
Promote
audience
participation
on social media platforms
including Facebook and
Twitter.

Tactic 1: Post on Facebook

and Twitter frequently to
create a recognizable and
informative profile that
students will want to follow/like.
Tactic 2: Encourage followers to share content
by including a call to action in posts, which will
make OPPAs profiles visible to more users, creating more opportunity for
follows/likes.
Tactic 3: Create an incentive at organization and
career fairs for students
who follow/like OPPA
on social media at that
time. For example, every
student who shows the
OPPA representative that
they just liked/followed
OPPAs accounts will receive a piece of candy.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Informational:
Produce 30 posts and
tweets on Facebook and
Twitter by the end of
Spring 2016 semester.
Benchmark: 10 posts on
Facebook and 3 tweets
on Twitter during the
Spring 2015 semester.

Strategy 1:
Post informative messages using selective exposure on Facebook and
Twitter to encourage the
awareness and utilization
of OPPAs services. Interactive media should be
included, such as links to
OPPAs website, Listserv,
appointment sign-up, etc.

Tactic 1:
Find intriguing and relevant articles and pictures
to post on Facebook.
Tactic 2:
Include links to OPPAs
website and information
about OPPA in social
media posts.
(See Appendix C for examples).

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Informational:
Increase student awareness of the OPPA office
by 5% by the end of the
academic year Spring
2016.
Benchmark:
73% of pre-professional students at USC used
OPPA in some form last
academic year.

Strategy 1:
By more students using OPPAs in-office and
digital services, two-way
communication can take
place between OPPAs
staff and the students
they target.

Tactic 1:
If more students are
aware of and utilize OPPAs drop-in hours, they
will communicate with
OPPA staff and overall
be more aware of the
services offered.

19

Tactic 2:
By emailing all pre-professional students as
well as requiring them
to be subscribed to the
Listserv, all students will
be aware of OPPAs existence, services and
updates, and therefore
more likely to use them.

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Attitudinal:
Increase number of student ambassadors who
volunteer to share their
good experiences and
awareness for OPPA and
its services by 20% by the
end of November 2015.
Benchmark:
10 student ambassadors
during Spring 2015 semester.

Strategy 1:
Student
ambassadors
who have used OPPA
firsthand will provide
source credibility, which
will persuade other students to have trust in the
ambassadors, their experiences and OPPA itself.

Tactic 1:
Promote the ambassador program as a leadership experience for students through the OPPA
Listserv.

2015 Strategic Plan

Tactic 2:
Use past ambassadors as
recruiters amongst the
pre-professional
community.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Attitudinal:
Create an in-office bulletin board by end of January 2016.
Benchmark:
Has not been done before.

Strategy 1:
Nonverbal cues on an
in-office bulletin board
will provide easily accessible information to students and promote the
office in a favorable light.

Tactic 1:
Post alumni success stories and how their utilization of OPPA assisted
them in their success on
the bulletin board.
Tactic 2:
Create a calendar to post
on the bulletin board
highlighting
important
dates and events/fairs
that OPPA is attending.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Attitudinal:
Promote 4% higher overall satisfaction ratings
among students that visit the office by December 1, 2015.
Benchmark:
81% of students reported having complete satisfaction with OPPA in
Spring 2015 survey.

Strategy 1:
Create more opportunities that enable two-way
communication between
the office and students.

Tactic 1:
Add Ambassador Office Hours each week so
students have the option
of talking with a knowledgeable peer in a comfortable setting. This will
also allow more students
to be helped.

Strategy 2:
Promote two-way communication that allows
students to provide constant feedback so the office can continue to improve.

2015 Strategic Plan

Tactic 2:
Utilize a feedback box
where students can make
suggestions and address
concerns anonymously.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Behavioral:
Attend 10 events/fairs by
the end of Spring 2016
semester.
Benchmark:
Attended 8 fairs last academic year.

Strategy 1:
Become aware of job
fairs, career fairs, open
houses, etc. that OPPA
has attended in the past
as well as new opportunities on USC campus
and the surrounding area
to promote verbal cues
to attendees.

Tactic 1:
Contact USC and the
Columbia
Convention
Center to find dates and
details for events/fairs,
such as first-year student orientations, freshman seminars and fairs,
sophomore September,
professional fraternities
rush, and career fairs.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Behavioral:
Reach out to students
outside of the office twice
a month during November and December 2015
to show pre-professional
support.
Benchmark:
Has not been done before.

Strategy 1:
Create incentives and
spread information at
fairs on campus and in
Columbia, utilizing audience participation.

Tactic 1:
Host contests during
student
organization
fairs and job/career fairs
to build interest. Contests will include raffles,
drawings, and interactive
games where prizes can
be won, such as t-shirts,
pens and candy.

Strategy 2:
Set up informational tables around campus
which promotes verbal
cues.

2015 Strategic Plan

Tactic 2:
Set up an OPPA table
at organization fairs, job
fairs and on select days
in the pre-professional
college buildings for students to have multiple
opportunities to obtain
information directly from
OPPA staff.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Behavioral:
Increase number of office visits by students by
20% by the end of Spring
2016.
Benchmark:
1,495 office visits last academic year.

Strategy 1:
Identify target audiences to engage and supply
them with information
that will bring them into
the office and achieve
higher audience participation.

Tactic 1: Place rack cards

throughout target market areas, including biology department, living
and learning communities.
Tactic 2: Use ambassadors to promote office
use to new/unaware students through class presentations.

Output: Get student intern to assist OPPA for

the Spring 2016 semester.
Benchmark: Has not
been done before.

Strategy 1: Acquire a
student intern who can
assist in office management, online and social
media presence, and design promotional materials, which will provide
the office source credibility.

Tactic 1: Contact intern directors in various

schools on campus to
post the application for a
student intern (See Appendix D for actual email
client already utilized
this strategy after we
pitched it to them in first
meeting).

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2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Output:
Contact pre-med and
pre-law fraternities presidents to inform more
students about the office
by December 1, 2015.
Benchmark:
Has not been done before.

Strategy 1:
Set up meetings with
the presidents or representatives of the pre-law
and-pre med fraternities
on campus. Give them information on why OPPA
is beneficial for their
members to know about.
Bring rack cards with
business hours, phone
number and email. This
will increase knowledge
about OPPA through
group influence.

Tactic 1:
Contact pre-law and premed fraternity and give
them information about
OPPA (See Appendix E
for email draft).

2015 Strategic Plan

Tactic 2: Send ambassador to fraternity meetings to talk about OPPA.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Output:
Create five informational
fliers to post around the
Universitys campus by
the end of the Fall 2015
semester.
Benchmark:
Has not been done before.

Strategy 1:
Design posters and rack
cards with information
that drives students to
the office so they are reminded of OPPAs message through noninteractive selective exposure
(see Appendix F for fliers
and rack card examples).

Tactic 1:
Put informational fliers
in advisement offices
around campus as well
as in the cross-campus
advising office, Russell
House, Thomas Cooper
Library, campus buildings where pre-professional students have
classes and other popular spots on campus that
will effectively and subconsciously remind students of the office without requiring them to go
out of their way.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Strategies

Tactics

Output:
Create a key message
platform for OPPA by the
start of the Spring 2016
semester.
Benchmark:
Does not currently exist.

Strategy 1:
Create a slogan and
theme for OPPA to follow in all promotional
materials that will provide consistent verbal
cues students can identify and recognize.

Tactic 1:
Ensure a slogan is created that is reflective of
OPPAs mission and services, then make it visible
on all informational fliers
and rack cards that will
be placed around campus, as well as the website, social media profiles
and emails sent from
OPPA.

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Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Critical Success Factors (CSFs)

Objectives

Opportunities

Barriers

Reach more stu-

Students lack of

Strengthen

and

dents

and

awareness of OP-

tionship

likes on social me-

them

aware

PAs social media

OPPA

dia platforms by

OPPAs

presence.

dents.

40% by the end

as well as provide

tion.

of Spring 2016 se-

them information.

Provide intern with

Increase
of

number

followers

make
of

services,

Environment
rela-

between
and

stu-

Increase
base

follower

and

create

a consistent platform of informa-

mester.

a daily task.

Produce 30 posts

Educate

and

on

tweets

Facebook

on
and

students

advancement

opportunities,

of-

happenings

Limited
edge

knowlof

social

Strengthen
OPPAs

the

presence

media within the

on different social

OPPA.

media

Twitter by the end

fice

of Spring 2016 se-

and provide a con-

in order to reach

mester.

sistent source of

a broad range of

information.

students.

Increase

Resources

Provide intern with

a daily task.

platforms

student

Assist more stu-

Lack of materials

Create a student

Increase

awareness of the

dents in the pro-

and

base on campus to

of

OPPA office by 5%

cess of applying

employees to han-

promote OPPA.

campus that are

by the end of the

for

dle increased vol-

aware

academic year

School and expand

umes of students.

and its services.

Spring 2016.

the offices reach.

29

Professional

support

by

2015 Strategic Plan

amount

students
of

on

OPPA

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives
Increase

number

Opportunities
Provide
to

Barriers

Environment
a

stu-

Resources

another

Limited amount of

Create

promote

student ambassa-

d e n t - to - st u d e n t

amount
dents

of student ambas-

way

sadors who volun-

OPPAs

resources

dors willing to vol-

relationship

teer to share their

and reach pre-pro-

unteer their time

carries

good experiences

fessional students.

to

OPPA.

and awareness for

promote

the

back

that
to

Increase

the
of

stu-

who

are

able to fully educate students who

OPPA.

are not aware of

OPPA and its ser-

OPPA.

vices by 20% by
the end of November 2015.
Create an in-office

Allow

easy

ac-

Creates more work

Create a relation-

Provide an intern

bulletin board by

cess to upcoming

for the OPPA em-

ship through con-

with

the end of January

events and import-

ployees to main-

stant display of in-

must keep infor-

2016.

ant information.

tain.

formation.

mation up-to-date

daily

work,

weekly.
Promote 4% high-

Assure

er overall satisfac-

students

No way to track

Provide

are pleased with

satisfaction

communication

awareness of the

tion ratings among

the

of newer students.

and

services of OPPA.

students that visit

are receiving while

between students

the office by De-

keeping OPPAs fa-

and OPPA.

cember 1, 2015.

vorable reputation.

service

they

rates

2015 Strategic Plan

greater

satisfaction

Promote

greater

30

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Opportunities

Attend 10 events/

Promote the office

Finding time in the

Build a relationship

Creates

fairs by the end

to all USC publics,

OPPA employees

with a broad range

network

of Spring 2016 se-

including prospec-

schedules or vol-

of students across

dents for OPPA to

mester.

tive students, par-

unteers to partic-

campus.

help.

ents, faculty, staff,

ipate

campus represen-

fairs.

tatives,

Barriers

in

Environment

Resources
a
of

larger
stu-

events/

students,

and alumni.
Reach out to stu-

Create a person-

Limited help in the

Build a relationship

Forms more per-

dents outside of

alized

OPPA to be able

between OPPA ad-

sonal relationships

the office twice a

for

to contact all stu-

visors and the stu-

between students

month during No-

OPPA works with.

dents.

dents.

and employees of

experience

the

students

vember and December

show

2015

OPPA.

to

pre-profes-

sional support.
Increase

Allow face-to-face

Inability to spread

Build a more per-

Generate

of office visits by

interaction

for

awareness to gain

sonal relationship

student awareness

students by 20%

maximum benefits

new visitors to the

with repeat visits.

of OPPA.

by

to the student.

OPPA.

the

number

end

of

Spring 2016.

31

2015 Strategic Plan

more

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Opportunities

Barriers

Environment

Resources

Get student intern

To

accomplish

As a paid intern-

Allow for the in-

Creates a constant

to assist OPPA for

goals set by Car-

ship, budget may

tern to relay stu-

student ambassa-

the

olina

be

dent

dor on campus.

Spring

2016

semester.

Creatives

Strategic Plan.

affected

other

and

resources

thoughts

about OPPA.

may have to be allocated elsewhere.

Contact

pre-med

Reach

broad-

Requires

more

Allow for a more

Creates

group of pre-pro-

larger

and pre-law frater-

er

communities

out-of-office time

professional

nities

who

are

and work for OPPA

important reputa-

fessional

employees.

tion through orga-

relationships.

to

presidents

inform

more

relevant

already
to

the

and

students about the

pre-professional

May be difficult to

nizations on cam-

office by Decem-

track.

contact them and

pus.

ber 1, 2015.

student

build an effective
relationship.

Create five infor-

Promote

mational fliers to

to

post

campus

around

Universitys

the
cam-

pus by the end of

services

Students may not

Awareness spread

Create a larger au-

on

read or pay atten-

throughout differ-

dience for the in-

without

tion to the fliers

ent parts of cam-

formation to reach.

action

and therefore they

pus.

everyone

requiring
from them.

will be ineffective.

the Fall 2015 semester.

2015 Strategic Plan

32

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objectives

Opportunities

Create a key mes-

Have a consistent

May be difficult to

Create a more well

More

sage platform for

communication

create because it

known reputation

ment by Student

OPPA by the start

strategy to base all

has to be approved

for OPPA on cam-

Affairs.

of the Spring 2016

promotional mate-

by Student Affairs.

pus.

semester.

rials.

33

Barriers

Environment

2015 Strategic Plan

Resources
advertise-

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Objective 1: Increase number of followers and likes on social media platforms by 40% by the end of Spring 2016 semester.
o Benchmark: 248 Twitter followers, 258 likes on Facebook as of
October 1, 2015.
o KPI: Number of likes on both platforms should increase by 20-25
each month during the Spring 2016 semester (January-May).
o Check number of followers/likes on Facebook and Twitter every
two weeks of the Spring 2016 semester beginning January 11, 2016
and add to an ongoing spreadsheet.
Objective 2: Produce 30 posts and tweets on Facebook and Twitter by
the end of Spring 2016 semester.
o Benchmark: 10 posts on Facebook and 3 tweets on Twitter during
the Spring 2015 semester.
o KPI: Post at least two Facebook posts and and two Tweets per
week during the Spring 2016 semester.
o Make sure this is an active duty of student intern and that they
are consistent in their posting, otherwise objective will not be met.

2015 Strategic Plan

34

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objective 3: Increase student awareness of the OPPA office by 5% by

the end of the academic year Spring 2016.
o Benchmark: 73% of pre-professional students at USC used OPPA
in some form last academic year.
o KPI: Post promotional materials across campus buildings, advising centers and pre-professional classroom buildings; online
through social media and website; and in OPPA communications
including email updates and Listservs.
o Continue keeping track of all communication/office visits and
calculate percentage at end of Spring 2016 semester.
Objective 4: Increase number of student ambassadors who volunteer
to share their good experiences and awareness for OPPA and its services by 20% by the end of November 2015.
o Benchmark: 10 student ambassadors during Spring 2015 semester.
o KPI: Conclude student ambassador applications/interviews and
make sure there are 12 total.
o If OPPA does not have 12 student ambassadors by the end of
November 2015, reopen applications and continue interviews in
the beginning of Spring 2016.
o Conclude second round by the end of January 2016 until reaching 12 student ambassadors.

35

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objective 5: Create an in-office bulletin board by the end of January

2016.
o Benchmark: Has not been done before.
o KPI: Design materials every two weeks for the rest of the Fall
2015 semester including calendars, fliers and updates so bulletin
board can be full for the start of the Spring 2016 semester.
o Continue updating materials weekly/biweekly during Spring
2016 semester; create set schedule for updating next semester
based on the offices happenings, pre-professional deadlines, etc.
Objective 6: Promote 4% higher overall satisfaction ratings among students that visit the office by December 1, 2015.
o Benchmark: 81% of students reported having complete satisfaction with OPPA in Spring 2015 survey.
o KPI: Ask students who have used OPPAs services in any way
during the Fall 2015 to complete a satisfaction survey.
o Have a paper survey in the office to give students after an advising meeting/any office visit.
o Have the same survey in an online option to send to all pre-professional students, as well as the Listserv and other OPPA email
updates.
o If 85% satisfaction ratings among students is not met, reevaluate
practices and resend similar or same survey at the end of Spring
2016 semester.

2015 Strategic Plan

36

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

o Continue this process each semester until reaching 85% satisfaction.

o Once 85% is reached, raise to 90% and repeat, then 95%, until
reaching 100% consistently.
Objective 7: Attend 10 fairs throughout the school (job, career, open
houses etc.) by the end of Spring 2016 semester.
o Benchmark: Attended 8 fairs last academic year.
o KPI: Research different fairs the school hosts and find the 10
most beneficial for OPPA.
o Set goals of obtaining a certain amount of new, interested students that give their email and information at each fair.
Objective 8: Promote student awareness by setting up informational
tables around campus twice a month during November and December
2015.
o Benchmark: Has not been done before.
o KPI: Seek out at least one new location every other month to
reach a larger target audience.
o Schedule ambassadors to man tables and create fact sheets to
hand out.

37

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objective 9: Increase number of office visits by students by 20% by the

end of Spring 2016.
o Benchmark: 1495 office visits last academic year.
o KPI: Inform more students of the office through informational
tables, meetings and other arranged events and schedule longer
office hours to accommodate more students.
o Document the number of students that come to the office
through Spring 2016.
Objective 10: Acquire a student intern to assist in office management,
specifically online and social media presence for the Spring 2016 semester.
o Benchmark: Has not been done before.
o KPI: Send out job description to students at the university. Interview qualified candidates in order to find best fit.
o Conduct job reviews every two months to examine work ethic.
Objective 11: Set a meeting with pre-med and pre-law fraternities presidents to inform more students about the office by December 1, 2015.
o Benchmark: Has not been done before
o KPI: Become familiar with student organizations with an interest
in professional careers.
o Talk to their presidents to set meeting time for the chapter and
OPPA. Create documents to hand out to chapter.
o Follow up afterwards.

2015 Strategic Plan

38

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objective 12: Create five informational fliers to post around the Universitys campus by the end of the Fall 2015 semester.
o Benchmark: Has not been done before.
o KPI: Design five fliers on Adobe InDesign with different key messages for OPPA. Find a new place every month to put another flier
on campus to reach more students.
Objective 13: Create a key message platform for OPPA by the start of
the Spring 2016 semester.
o Benchmark: Does not currently exist.
o Analyze OPPAs mission statement and its goal as an organization. Create message that embodies what the office hopes to do
with students on campus.

39

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Timeline
August 25 Groups Meet for First Time and Choose PAALS as Client
September 1 Change Client to OPPA Due to Communication Issues
with PAALS
September 2 Aly and Mary Kate Meet with OPPA
September 24 Organization Background Due
September 24 Situational Analysis Due
September 28 Group Meeting with OPPA
October 6 Group Meeting via Google Doc
October 8 Objectives Due
October 13 Group Meeting
October 18 Group Meeting via Google Doc
October 20 Strategies Due
November 8 Group Deadline for Tactics
November 12 Class Deadline for Tactics
November 16 Group Meeting at Thomas Cooper
November 17 Group Deadline for Sections 3.4, 3.5, 3.7 and 3.8
December 1-3 Strategic Plan Presentations, Final Project Due

2015 Strategic Plan

40

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Proposed Timeline
End of November 2015 Increase number of student ambassadors by
20%
Nov/Dec 2015 Set up informational tables around campus to increase
student awareness of the office
December 1, 2015 Promote 4% higher overall satisfaction rating
among students
December 1, 2015 Set a meeting with pre-med and pre-law
fraternities
December 5, 2015 Choose student intern for Spring semester
Fall 2015 Create 6 informational flyers to post around campus
January 29, 2016 Create an in office bulletin board
End of Spring Semester 2016 Increase followers / likes on Facebook
and Twitter by 40%
End of Spring Semester 2016 Produce 30 posts/tweets on Facebook
and Twitter by the end of spring semester
End of Spring Semester 2016 Increase awareness of the office by 5%
End of Spring Semester 2016 Attend 10 fairs
End of Spring Semester 2016 Increase number of office visits by 20%

41

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Gantt Chart
Sept. 2015

Oct. 2015

Nov. 2015

Dec. 2015

Jan. 2015

Feb. 2015

March 2015

April 2015

Increase # of student
ambassadors
Set up info tables
around campus
Promote satisfaction
rating among students
Setup meeting with
pre-law and pre-law
fraternities
Choose student intern
for Spring semester
Create 6 informational
marketing materials
Create an in-office
bulletin board
Increase followers/
likes on social media
Produce more posts/
tweets on social media
Increase awareness
of OPPA
Attend 10 fairs
Increase # of
office visits

2015 Strategic Plan

42

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Evaluation Method and Anticipated Results

Objective 1: Increase number of followers and likes on social media
platforms by 40% by the end of Spring 2016 semester.
o If by the end of Spring 2016 the number of followers and likes
on social media platforms increases by 40%, the plan was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, post more information and highlights to social media to interest more students to reach 40% by
the end of the following semester.
Objective 2: Produce 30 posts and tweets on Facebook and Twitter
by the end of Spring 2016 semester.
o If by the end of Spring 2016 semester 30 posts and tweets on
Facebook and Twitter are present, the plan was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, increase number of posts for the
following semester.
Objective 3: Increase student awareness of the OPPA office by 5% by
the end of the academic year Spring 2016.
o If by the end of the academic year, Spring 2016, student awareness of OPPA increases by 5%, the plan was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, post more promotional materials, and post more information on social media accounts to
increase awareness for the following semester.

43

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objective 4: Increase number of student ambassadors who volunteer

to share their good experiences and awareness for OPPA and its services by 20% by the end of November 2015.
o If by the end of November 2015 the number of student ambassadors and volunteers has increased by 20%, the plan was suc
cessful.
o If the plan was not successful, continue to reach out to stu
dents who have used OPPAs services to find more ambassadors
and volunteers by Spring semester 2016.
Objective 5: Create an in-office bulletin board by the end of January
2016.
o If by the end of January 2016 a bulletin board was created, the
plan was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, create an OPPA bulletin board by
February 2016.
Objective 6: Promote 4% higher overall satisfaction ratings among
students that visit the office by December 1, 2015.
o If by December 1, 2015, promotion of overall satisfaction ratings
among students that visit the office is at 4%, the plan was
successful.
o If the plan was not successful, continue improving services and
collecting satisfaction surveys until the objective is met.

2015 Strategic Plan

44

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objective 7: Attend 10 fairs throughout the school (job, career, open

houses etc.) by the end of Spring 2016 semester.
o If by the end of Spring semester 2015, OPPA visited 10 fairs, the
plan was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, reach out for more opportunities
to present at fairs around campus and the surrounding Columbia
area.
Objective 8: Promote student awareness by setting up informational
tables around campus twice a month during November and December
2015.
o Benchmark: Has not been done before.
o If promotion for student awareness through information tables
occurred twice a month during November and December 2015,
the plan was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, plan to set up information tables
around campus during the months of January and February 2016.
Objective 9: Increase number of office visits by students by 20% by
the end of Spring 2016. Benchmark: 1495 office visits last academic
year.
o If by the end of Spring 2016, the number of office visits increases by 20%, the plan was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, plan more informational tables,
meetings and events to gain student interest and awareness.

45

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objective 10: Acquire a student intern to assist in office management,

specifically online and social media presence for the Spring 2016 semester.
o If by Spring semester 2016 an intern was hired to assist in office
management, online and social media presence, the plan was
successful.
o If the plan was not successful, an intern should be hired for the
Fall 2016 semester by reaching out to more Colleges across
campus, promoting the intern hire on social media and asking
contacts for referrals.
Objective 11: Set a meeting with pre-med and pre-law fraternities
presidents to inform more students about the office by December 1,
2015.
o If by December 1, 2016, a meeting with pre-med and pre-law
fraternities presidents to inform more students about the office
has been set, the plan was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, a meeting should be set by the
end of January 2016.

2015 Strategic Plan

46

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Objective 12: Set a meeting with pre-med and pre-law fraternities

presidents to inform more students about the office by December 1,
2015.
o If by the end of Fall 2015 semester, five informational flyers
have been created, the plan was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, the informational flyers should
be created by March of 2016.
Objective 13: Create a key message platform for OPPA by the start of
the Spring 2016 semester.
o If a key message platform for OPPA has been created, the plan
was successful.
o If the plan was not successful, a key message platform should
be created by January 2016.

47

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Appendix
Appendix A: Organization Chart

2015 Strategic Plan

48

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Appendix B: Benchmarks

Number of students you advised last year/semester (Office Visits):

Number of student advisers/ambassadors
that helped last year/semester:

10

Number of class presentations last year/semester:

35

Number of Career Fairs/Organization Fairs/

Sophomore Fairs, etc. last year/semester:

Number of views/followers/likes/etc. on
their website and social media outlets:
Number of Student Emails

49

1,495

2015 Strategic Plan

Twitter:
Facebook:
5,875

248
258

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Appendix C: Facebook Examples

Not sure where to begin? Drop in to our office hours to start your application started today!

Applying to a professional school? Check out this link!

http://www.apa.org/education/grad/applying.aspx

2015 Strategic Plan

50

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Come drop by our office hours on Tuesdays 1p.m. - 4 p.m. and Wednesdays 10 a.m. - 1
p.m. to start talking with an advisor about applying to professional schools.

Not sure where to start? Check out our website!

http://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/pre_professional_advising/

This could be you! Come by our office to start the application process!

51

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Appendix D: Intern Posting Email

2015 Strategic Plan

52

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Appendix E: Fraternity Email Examples

53

2015 Strategic Plan

Office of Pre-Professional Advising

Appendix F: Marketing Material Examples

Page 55: Rack Card Example 1

Page 56: Rack Card Example 2
Page 57: Flyer Example 1
Page 58: Flyer Example 2
Page 59: Sticker Example

2015 Strategic Plan

54

The first step to the rest of your life...

The
Office
of
Pre-Professional
Advising (OPPA) is the go-to resource
for Pre-Med, Pre-Health and Pre-Law
students. Let us help you become the
most competitive professional school
applicant you can be.

Services Offered:

Office of Pre-Professinal Advising

Advising
Individual Appointments
Career Observations
Job Shadowing
Application Preparation
Personal Statements
Mock Interviews

Drop-In Hours:
Tuesday:
Wednesdays:

1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Office of Pre-Professinal Advising

For more information visit us at:

208 Sumwalt College
sc.edu/OPPA | (803) 777-5581
facebook.com/UofSCOPPA
@UofSC_OPPA

5
55

The first step to the rest of your life...

University of South Carolina

Office of
Pre-Professional
Advising (OPPA)
The go-to resource for Pre-Med,
Pre-Health and Pre-Law students.

The Office of Pre-Professional Advising

(OPPA) is ready to help you become the
most competitive professional school
applicant that you can be.

Services Offered:

Advising
Individual Appointments
Career Observations
Job Shadowing
Application Preparation
Personal Statements
Mock Interviews

Drop-In Hours:
Tuesday:
Wednesdays:

1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Office of Pre-Professinal Advising

For more information visit us at:

Office of Pre-Professinal Advising

208 Sumwalt College

sc.edu/OPPA | (803) 777-5581
facebook.com/UofSCOPPA
@UofSC_OPPA

56

University of South Carolina

Office of
Pre-Professional Advising
The go-to resource for Pre-Med, Pre-Health and Pre-Law students.

The Office of Pre-Professional Advising (OPPA) is ready

to help you become the most
competitive professional school
applicant that you can be.

Drop-In Hours:
Tuesday:
Wednesdays:

1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Services Offered:

Advising
Individual Appointments
Career Observations
Job Shadowing
Application Preparation
Personal Statements
Mock Interviews
: facebook.com/UofSCOPPA
: @UofSC_OPPA

Office of Pre-Professinal Advising

59

37

Meet the Team

Aly Russo

Mary Kate Korpita

Davonte Biggers

Carson Elyse

Steely Masters

Liz Hefka