SWOT/TOWS Matrix

1
SWOT/TOWS Matrix
SO pursue opportunities good for course WO
overcome weaknesses to pursue opportunities ST
how can you use strengths to reduce vulnerability
to threats WT plan to prevent weaknesses so not
susceptible to external threats
2
StrengthWeaknessOpportunityThreatScenarioMark
eting a Course

• You have noted a decline of about 10 percent
  annually over the past three years in your
  enrolments. In addition the quality of the
  applicants (reduced grade point average/TER and
  background experience) has declined.
• You have been asked by your Head of School to
  work with University marketing to start preparing
  a new plan to market the course more aggressively
  to try and increase your enrolments as well as
  retain your students. A change in strategy is
  needed.
• There is one other University in the State that
  offers a similar program as well as 5 other
  programs across Australia.
• Five of you have come together to start
  conceptualising a marketing plan. They are
  yourself (CC), University Marketing
  representative, Student Services Administrative
  Officer, member of academic staff who teaches in
  the course, and a final year student.
• Use the SWOT analysis tool to analyse the status
  of your School and how this information can then
  be used to address the issues related to the
  marketing of your course.
• (Nominate a course to use as your example for
  example, Engineering.)

3
Force Field Analysis
Driving Forces should be greater than Resisting
Forces
4
Force Field Analysis ScenarioIndigenisation of
the Curriculum

• The university has endorsed its Reconciliation
  Action Plan and one of the elements in it is the
  Indigenisation of the curriculum. Within your
  faculty it has been interpreted as the inclusion
  of one first year unit, followed by vertical
  integration and the use of examples which
  specifically relate to Indigenous peoples. Staff
  are opposed to including a unit at year one
  level, but support the concept of including some
  information and examples in some units.
• You would like to work with the academic faculty
  staff to try and change their approach and
  response to the Facultys interpretation of the
  Indigenisation of the curriculum.
• You anticipate that there may be some resistance
  by the staff who are reluctant to give over one
  unit exclusively to Indigenous content as they
  believe that their courses should focus on
  professional content only. There are a couple of
  staff who you feel could be talked round to
  support the proposal as they are supportive of
  the notion of producing graduates who are better
  adapted to be global citizens and culturally
  aware.
• As you feel strongly about the issue, before
  calling the staff together for a big meeting to
  discuss the issue, you decide to do a Force Field
  Analysis so you can gain a better perspective on
  the issue, which will prepare you more readily
  for the meeting and possible resistance to the
  proposed changes.
• (Contextualise to a faculty for example, Health
  sciences.)

5
Ishikawa (Fishbone) Diagram

• Culture/language
• A
• B
• C

Quality Issue Group Work Experience

• Class Size
• A
• B
• C

6
Ishikawa ScenarioGroup Work

• There has been an increase in the number of
  student complaints about the nature of group work
  in the course. You have asked 4 other academics
  who teach in the course to undertake a quality
  review of this assessment practice.
• You find that over half of the units have group
  work assessment ranging in value from 25 to 40
  per cent.
• Class sizes in the lower years are in the range
  of 60 - 100 and in the upper years in the order
  of 50 70.
• Approximately 25 per cent of the students have a
  first language other than English. Over 90 per
  cent of these students are from the Asia Pacific
  region.
• (Contextualise to a course for example,.
  Architecture.)