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Having
no budget for advertising does not mean you cannot have
a brand. There can be a virtue in small budgets; they
demand hard thinking and subtlety, whereas huge budgets
can lead to laziness and bludgeoning. Indeed, having a
small budget can sometimes be worse than none at all.
Tens of thousands of pesos wasted on a tacky (and all
too obviously home-made) advert can do more to harm a
brand than almost any other activity short of making a
bad product.
If a
brand is no more than its advertising, if it lacks
substance in the final assessment, then it runs a big
risk of being “found out.” In academe, Southville
Foreign University (SFU) was a big hit in the 1990s when
it brought high-quality education to the
Philippines
to enable students to be globally competitive in the
industry. Partnering with known overseas colleges and
universities and delivering their curriculum and
programs using physical facilities and academic faculty
similar to those of the partner institution is the route
SFU has taken. The kind of brand advertising that lasts
is often the kind that has solid connections to the
reality of the product and/or service—an institution for
global leaders and professionals.
RODOLFO
G. IBAÑEZ, outstanding alumnus, educator/corporate man
In
business, positioning is occupying a key strong point in
the mind. You “own” a position in the mind either
because you are the leader or because of significant
differentiation. The unique concept of SFU provides a
significant differentiation to deliver a transnational
education, and is recognized in the Philippines by the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which has now
instigated a procedure for the recognition of such
overseas programs—largely due to the pioneering work of
Southville.
Consistently maintaining high standards creates the
environment where discipline is effective and accepted.
In these circumstances, morale is high.
“Our
prime responsibility is to our students and our faculty,
going beyond their expectations and learning and
achievement,” says Rodolfo G. Ibañez, in a recent
interview with this columnist. He is the first president
of SFU and also the dean of graduate school of the
American City University, a professor in Human Behavior
in the Organization (University of Santo Tomas),
Marketing Management (De La Salle University), Corporate
Philosophy and Strategic Planning (University of Asia
and the Pacific). He owns the global distinction of
being cited twice in Marquis’ “Who’s Who in the World.”
Ibañez’s
insistence on good intelligence is crucial to any
serious enterprise. In his view, knowledge is the key to
victory. Every other aspect of SFU’s education system is
subordinate to the need for intelligence. Without it,
plans are built on sand and guesswork instead of hard
fact. “The beginning line of the mission statement of
SFU projects the powerful image of what we are about, of
the kind of thinking that should permeate the
university,” he stresses.
He adds:
“We all bring a sense of responsibility that inspires.
The university core purpose where 35 percent of our
population hugs the honor list. It speaks well of the
kind of effort, attention and care we provide without
taking away their innate intelligence. The encouraging
attempts in the development of performing arts and
sports, the focus on values enhancement are milestones
that direct us to our mission. I’d like to think
everyone has a common goal: that we are imbued with the
spirit of learning espoused by Socrates, that learning
is an exchange of ideas between us and the student, and
we gain as much wisdom from this exchange.”
As
somebody without any formal experience in teaching, it
was amazing to get an insight into this new world. Never
before had learning been so interesting and such a
pleasure! It is important for SFU to maintain a
continuing relationship. A good relationship with
student and faculty is something very precious. To make
a student happy and fulfilled is the best advertisement
you can have because happy parents and guardians will
recommend you to their would-be enrollees. I learned
that SFU had applications I did not realize. It was
particularly relevant to recognize that SFU’s work deals
with human beings and their endeavors.
“In the
Philippine method, learning is teacher-driven. In our
system, it is student-driven and teachers are
facilitators,” Ibañez says. Southville’s partner
institutions are responsible for providing the
curriculum, instructional or delivery method, academic
administration guidelines and quality control. The
partner institutions have regular access to key
personnel to ensure that the programs delivered in the
Philippines
have no difference in standard to the program delivered
at the main institution. The partner institution is also
responsible for providing a mechanism for the student to
transfer to the foreign campus should they decide to
complete their degree abroad.
“We have
higher national diploma granting institutions in 120
countries. SFU is the Philippine campus of
University
of Sunderland [of the UK] and Schiller International
University [of the US]. It is the Philippine center for
courses that are conducted on a trimestral basis using
curricula and methods of assessment from overseas. This
integral connection with outstanding international
affiliates makes SFU stand out from other schools in the
Philippines. Students’ transcripts and diplomas are
issued by the overseas universities after one or two
years in the Philippines. They then have the option of
pursuing further qualifications in the affiliated
institution overseas,” Ibañez explains.
He
further says that students earn institutional
credentials at one-third the cost of studying abroad.
Students enjoy automatic transfer of credits to any of
the colleges abroad. Through SFU’s focused curriculum,
the British Education system grants a bachelor’s degree
in just three years of study. While studying abroad,
students may work part-time and enjoy paid internship.
Through the sponsorship of a British-based company,
students may acquire a three to six years working visa.
Its
commitment to attain a community of academic and
professional achievers is manifested through the
school’s program of continuing scholarship. “Unknown to
many, we have a very strong scholarship program.
Although outsiders think SFU as an elite school, we have
about 35-percent scholars coming from the marginalized
sector. Half of them are coming from the public
schools,” he adds.
Ibañez
emphasizes that SFU will sustain a balanced campus life
where academic excellence, spiritual and cultural
upliftment and physical development are equally valued.
The school’s principles are worth considering in every
walk of life, but all, its insistence on good
intelligence and winning is crucial to any enterprise.
In business as in war, ignorance is not bliss and
head-on collisions are to be avoided.
“A
nurturing environment seeks the kind of preparation
where the student sees the classroom as an arena of
intellectual exercise allowing minds to clash in search
of the truth, where one never fails to take home lessons
that echoes tradition, explodes the present with ideas
that create blueprints for the future,” he says.
It is an
arena where only the deserving can participate. “I know
we are equal to the task.” |
