University Image:

Abstract

The declining number of university age students, and decreases in state and federal funding for higher education contributed to the need for many institutions of higher education to create and maintain a distinctive image (a niche) in the marketplace. New trends already evident, as higher education copes with these changes, include the increasing use of advertising, promotion and other strategic marketing tools which are applied to position or reposition institutions. This article investigates the formation of university images by applying information processing theories in relation to consumer decision-making. The study takes the perspective reflecting interests of students whose major concern is their employability after graduation. It examines the number of attributes on which graduates are evaluated, composition of these attributes, the method of attribute processing, and the effect of the university overall image on the evaluation of its graduates.