Discover 19 opportunities in student recruitment

How does a University create value? Can it be priced, monetized or measured by the products delivered by the University? For whom does the University create value? Susana Borras suggests that the main way to produce value is research1.  Moreover Robert Thornton mentions2 that a university can be run as a market institution, but ultimately the aim of tertiary education is the production and sharing of knowledge.

Valuated at approximately $4.4 trillion in 20131, the education market is one of the largest markets of all and shows signs of continuing to. If some years ago pursuing a master’s degree was an extraordinary goal, nowadays many bachelor’s graduates consider a Master’s degree as a must, radically increasing the market size. Moreover, if we sum up the technological development of E-learning and the expansion of universities in the field of international cooperation and recruitment, the education sector looks very promising for continued fast growth, with at least 23% annual growth in the coming years according to the IBIS Capital investment bank.

The United Kingdom has been recognised for years as one of the most popular destinations for postgraduate education. The international reputation of British education, the diversity of culture and the connections to other European countries have made the UK one of the favorite destinations for students.

For a student faced with the daunting decision of which university to attend, paying a visit to a university fair can be a great way to get your thoughts in order and discover some of the programs and institutions on offer. These fairs can vary in size from the small to large-scale (such as UniFair in the UK), and can be quite confusing.

It often happens that potential students show interest in a specific program by visiting the webpage, pre-subscribing for the next semester, or sending enquiries via email, however the number of completed applications is much lower than the number of people interested. We decided to research this issue and discovered the factors potential Master’s students take into account when choosing a university and type of degree. What we found is that the possibility of receiving funding motivates potential applicants and develops added value for students.

Continuing with last month’s topic, it is known that quality information increases student interest in universities. We pointed out the relevance of giving detailed information in the promotion of programs, courses and scholarships. If a prospective student finds quality information and thereby recognizes the value of an institution, he or she is more likely to apply and stay engaged with the university over a lifetime. So how else can universities provide information to their candidates?

When a student chooses a program, it’s not only a decision about a subject and place of study, but also a choice regarding future career. Such a choice has a big impact on students’ dreams, plans, budgets and decisions that affect their personal and social life for at least the next 2 or 4 years.

Globalization has changed the panorama of the education, giving more options to students to choose the place where they want to study next. Nowadays, students from all over the world can enroll in a program in destinations they had never imagined. Moreover, high quality of education, career options and discovering of new cultures encourage young people to increase the percentage of foreign students at prestigious universities around the globe.

It is no secret that Summer Schools are among the most visited types of Announcement on INOMICS. As many PhD and Masters students aim to be awarded external funding or need to go through complex bureaucratic procedures inside their own institutions before they can attend, their decision about which Summer School(s) to attend often needs to be made several months ahead.

In the light of global demographic changes, universities increasingly have to look for lead sources from abroad. Traditionally, exhibiting at study fairs has been the most common way to attract students internationally. However, technology is moving fast and in recent years a number of effective marketing channels for universities have developed online. Some course marketers still argue that study fairs are the only way to establish personal contact with the students, but a comparison of the benefits of both channels gives the best illustration of their effectiveness.

Less than a decade ago student relied on word of mouth and the information available in their universities when choosing a Masters Program. Today, internet-based searching is the foremost source of advice when it comes to exploring opportunities for postgraduate education. Students who are interested in studying abroad in particular turn to search engines and course-listing platforms in their search, and often make their decisions based on the information presented online. Using our own and published data about online behavior, it is possible to identify the key trends in how people search for study programs. Understanding these trends is vital for universities to stay competitive in the global educational market.