Higher Education Market Research Articles

International Students as Sources of Income? Moving Beyond the Neoliberal Framing of Internationalization

This paper focuses on international student mobility and the funding of higher education. We theorize that relying on international students for funding is stronger for institutions in developed English-speaking countries because they more often adopt marketization practices. Compared to Northern and Southern European countries, we find that they had the largest decrease in public funding and largest increase in private funding. The relative number of international students has also increased for English-speaking countries, but not for other country groupings. Furthermore, we found associations between public/private funding and international student enrollments, but these patterns were not uniform. These results show that a decrease in public funding and a reliance on international students as a source of income is not equally important everywhere. This opens new avenues for research on the marketization of higher education, including the role that differences between cultures and types of governments play in shaping international student mobility.

A cross-cultural study on the career counseling service ecosystem: implications for higher education marketing

ABSTRACT A career counseling service (CCS) provides an important measure of student satisfaction and contributes to the shaping of a higher education marketing strategy. However, the body of knowledge in the higher education domain is scant on how a CCS is created and delivered to suit the needs of students and the wider society. This study uses an explorative multiple-case study of the CCS across three different cultural contexts: UK, Italy, and China. The study adopted a service ecosystem perspective, building on contingency theory (i)to analyze the CCS as a tri-level scheme – that is to say, at the micro, meso, and macro levels – and identify the themes and underlying constructs in the co-creation of the CCS at each level and (ii)to highlight the disparities in CCSs across different cultural contexts. Six dominant themes in CCSs emerged – namely, quality assurance, a student-centered approach, mental health, industry collaboration, promotion of service, and digital platforms. The findings revealed that the role of the CCS is transitioning from a mere job placement service to a strategic and administrative function, which interacts with and influences various actors in the higher education ecosystem. Across the different cultural contexts, disparities in the identified themes were ascertained and explained.

The Decision to Study Abroad at Hungarian University

Globalisation is driving the internationalisation of higher education, promoting open access to universities, enhancing educational programs with an international focus, and stronger presence in the international higher education market. Thus, globalisation stimulates the internationalisation of universities. For universities to attract international students successfully, it is necessary to understand general issues regarding the decision-making process. The study aims to analyse the benefits of studying abroad at a Hungarian university among international students. To fulfil the aim of this study, a questionnaire was administered to 100 international students, aged 18 to 38. The study results showed that international students had been looking for benefits while studying abroad, such as personal development, cultural experience, career prospects, and the possibility of travelling. Some benefits were also related to social and economic factors such as access to unique courses and knowledge, positive country image, safety situation, and affordable living costs in Hungary. The decision to study at a Hungarian university was made according to such benefits, including a desired program of study, comfortable facilities, flexible schedule, admission criteria, opportunity to improve English language skills, good reputation of the university, European degree, supportive environment, related costs, and future career prospects. At the same time, different age groups of international students considered the importance of benefits differently. Also, different groups of international students based on perceived social family status paid attention to different benefits. The findings of this study can be used for the promotion of Hungarian universities internationally to attract more international students with benefits that they look for when studying abroad.

Exploring the role of leadership in facilitating higher education internationalization in Japan: a mixed methods study

ABSTRACT Amid stiff competition in the burgeoning East Asian higher education market, Japan has implemented a series of internationalization initiatives to buoy its floundering HE sector. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design to explore Japanese and non-Japanese faculty and leaders’ views of effective leadership and its role in internationalization processes. Utilizing Bass’s full range leadership model, this study first elicited faculty and leaders’ (n = 162) views on three leadership constructs (transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant) using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). The results of the MLQ informed semi-structured interviews with five Japanese and five non-Japanese (n = 10) faculty and leaders, exploring their views regarding effective leadership and its role in internationalizing their institutions. The results suggest that while both groups identify transformational leadership as most effective, there is a significant difference in terms of how they perceive its efficacy. The qualitative analysis offered further insight into how cultural norms affect leadership in Japanese universities and offered ideas regarding how leaders can more effectively integrate non-Japanese faculty and develop cohesive, diverse faculty units. The results suggest the high degree to which leadership affects the readiness of Japanese institutions to adapt to an increasingly transnational landscape.

The politics of government intervention in the HE market: Andrew McGettigan talks to Kirsten Forkert

The last twenty to thirty years have seen a big push to create a market in higher education, but there have been frequent interventions by governments both to sustain the 'market' and to alter its operation for policy reasons. The sector has massively expanded since the 1990s because of a cross-party consensus that the country needed more skills - though this view is now less popular; however, there still seems to be consensus that higher education should be substantially funded by (capped) domestic student fees (the price of a degree for international students is largely unregulated). A big subprime market has developed in Higher Education; and there has also been an increase in third-party private providers: much recent regulation is necessitated by adapting the system to these providers. The market is frequently set aside when it comes up against the establishment privilege of Oxbridge and the Russell Group. And tweaks to the market made since 2010 have largely been designed to steer more resources to already privileged institutions. For example the recent announcements about capping foundation year fees, and limiting dependant visas for international students, will have a greater adverse effect on non-elite institutions because of the kind of recruitment they're involved in, and the kind of offer they make to students. The same logic applies to removing the cap on recruitment to elite universities, and the reduction of funding for Foundation Years. The 2023 announcement that the government wished the regulator, OfS, to make more use of its powers to restrict funding for 'low-value' courses was accompanied by culture wars rhetoric, but should be understood as an attempt to limit university autonomy, even while it also addresses concerns around the 'new providers' that have been allowed to access government-backed loans since 2010.

A university in Buxton - a place of extinguished chances or a promise delayed?

The University of Derby opened a new university campus in Buxton in 2000. The aim was to produce a socially desirable outcome - better prospects for jobs and lives, and more freedom through learning. The university would help people overcome limits on their lives by openly examining them: the true purpose of education. It represented a challenge to the neoliberal idea that the vitally important social and economic function of learning could be left to market forces. Like many former industrial centres, the town needed to re-invent itself and find creative ways to adapt to the new economic realities. Buxton was different from almost anywhere else in the UK because it offered further and higher education on a single campus, with a unified staffing structure and a single academic management. It offered vocational degrees such as Tourism and Hospitality, Outdoor Pursuits and further education teacher training. In November 2019, however, it was announced that all HE courses at the campus would be closed. The story of this abrupt volte face raises many questions about the way higher education is run in the UK today. The decision was made as if the central university was a business with different cost centres. The article explores the background to this story: it covers wider issues such the chaotic marketisation of higher education, which appeared to offer choice but in fact was managed in such a way as to privileged existing elite institutions; the rules of a numbers game that favoured approaches based on conservatism and corporate uniformity, so that campuses are no longer able to reflect the diversity of our communities; the running of universities as businesses, so that educational concerns are excluded from decision–making; the centralisation of control by those who restrict to themselves the ability to collect and analyse the metrics which are used to legitimise and justify decisions; and the arbitrary power of Vice Chancellors. Ultimately, the closure was the result of a management system that was no longer commensurate with the university's stated commitment to the opening up of higher education to a wider range of people.

Multilingual writing in a marketised university: a critical multimodal study of student service advertisements

ABSTRACT The global marketisation of higher education has been evidenced by a wide range of discursive phenomena. This article examines how several sets of student service advertisements in a Hong Kong university employ multilingual writing to promote tailored services and experiences to different groups of student ‘consumers’. It draws on approaches from critical discourse studies, multimodality and research on language and the market to unpack and critique the semiotic and discursive mechanisms through which several deliberately designed multilingual texts help the advertisements pursue specific marketing goals. The analyses show that the examined multilingual writing practices (help) promote consumerist and hierarchical ideological approaches to multilingualism and multiculturalism in a higher education institution under the continuing influences of its Western colonial history and a globalised, Asian neoliberal knowledge economy.

Higher Education Marketing Strategy: Comparative Study of State Islamic High Education Institution and State Higher Education

The increasing of State Islamic High Education Institutions (PTKIN) in Aceh is contradictory with the minimum interest of Acehnese to study PTKIN. This phenomenon shows an anomaly in Acehnese religiosity level. This paper aimed to seek higher education (HE) marketing strategies in Aceh and to describe the reason for Acehnese low interest in PTKIN. A mixed method was used in this research; meanwhile, an explanatory sequential design was chosen to be the research design. This research was done in 3 PTKIN and 3 State Higher Education (PTU) in Aceh, where 60 Acehnese students were chosen as respondents. Besides quantitative data, qualitative research was done by interviewing, observing, and studying documentation to get more information. The result showed that the products (departments and accreditation) significantly affected students' interest in HE. This article suggested that PTKIN add more departments to present many choices for society as a place to study at a high education level.

Analisis Implementasi Strategi Pemasaran Digital dengan Pendekatan Model SOSTAC di Universitas Putera Batam

Digital marketing has become a crucial element in the marketing strategy of higher education institutions. This research, adopting a qualitative descriptive research approach and conducted on September 2-3, 2023, aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the practical application of the SOSTAC Model within the framework of Universitas Putera Batam. The research results indicate that the social media performance of Universitas Putera Batam is excellent. On YouTube, there are 428 videos ranking first in terms of video content quantity, along with 1,970 subscribers ranking third among private universities in the Riau Islands. On Instagram, there are 2,887 posts and 11,400 followers, while the Facebook account has 7,500 likes and 7,900 followers, demonstrating excellent performance across all platforms. To enhance engagement, Universitas Putera Batam can take several strategic steps. On the YouTube channel, they can create more informative content that piques the interest of prospective students, such as admission announcement videos. On Instagram, the focus can be directed towards increasing the number of likes by organizing contests or campaigns involving followers to boost engagement. Meanwhile, on Facebook, it is crucial to respond promptly to comments and follower messages and consider sharing more diversified content to improve user interaction. By leveraging the SOSTAC Model and continuously monitoring digital media performance, Universitas Putera Batam can maximize the impact of digital marketing strategies in achieving marketing goals and maintaining attractiveness in the competitive higher education market.

Marketisation in higher education and quality concerns

ABSTRACT This article discusses the impact of marketisation on the quality of research and education in Turkey and the USA based on the narratives of higher education scholars. It also compares the perception of Turkish and American scholars regarding the implications for Turkey and the USA. It is concluded that there is a link between marketisation and the quality of teaching and research in higher education. While the concerns of Turkish scholars associated with higher education are systemic and perennial regardless of the marketisation process, American scholars tend to associate quality problems in higher education more with the marketisation trend in the country.

Brand Image and Social Influence Analysis on Students' Decisions in Choosing Private University With Digital Marketing as Moderating

This research analyzes brand image and social influence on students' decisions in choosing private universities, with digital marketing as a moderating variable. Private universities increasingly utilize digital marketing to increase their visibility and attractiveness in the current digital era. This study uses quantitative methods with a survey of prospective students as respondents. The collected data was analyzed using multiple regression analysis techniques to identify the relationship between brand image, social influence, and student decisions, as well as the role of digital marketing in strengthening or moderating this relationship. The research results are expected to provide insight into how brand image and social influence influence college selection decisions and how digital marketing can be used to increase the effectiveness of private higher education marketing strategies. This research can help private university managers formulate marketing strategies that are more effective and relevant to the needs and preferences of prospective students. Based on analysis of variables that have a significant influence on student decisions, namely brand image, digital marketing and social influence

APPLICATION OF MARKETING TOOLS IN INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

In recent years, large-scale work has been carried out in the Republic of Uzbekistan to modernize the system of higher and secondary special education, the development of science, the introduction of modern forms and technologies of education. Based on the needs of the real sector of the economy and the social sphere, over the past period, new universities have been formed in the regions of the country, including branches of leading foreign higher educational institutions, modern levels of education have been introduced, training in popular areas of education has been established. The article presents the results of a study that analyzes the changes in the higher education market over a ten-year period in order to determine the state and trends in the development of higher education institutions at the national level.

Third-party arrangements between private and public colleges in Ontario: benefits, threats, implications for policy

ABSTRACT Ontario’s Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) were established as an alternative public postsecondary choice for students to provide vocational education programmes to serve Ontario’s labour market. In the past 20 years years, neoliberal policies have pressured CAATs to be more entrepreneurial, efficient, and fiscally sustainable. Declining funding and enrolment and burgeoning demand from international students led some colleges to enter third-party arrangements (TPAs) with for-profit private career colleges (PCCs). This research used a qualitative research design to examine the development, growth and impact of TPAs between 2005 and 2019. Two overarching theoretical frameworks grounded the research: historical institutionalism (Streeck & Thelen, 2005) and Principal-Agent Theory (Mitnick, 1973; Ross, 1975). Document analysis and 25 semi-structured interviews were used to elucidate the trajectory of the formation, growth and cementing of TPAs into the Ontario college system. Inflection points were conceptualised to explain how decisions and conditions contributed to the trajectory. Competition, marketisation of higher education, economics, demographics and policies were seen as contributing to the formation, growth and formalisation of the TPAs. TPAs were perceived to introduce strategic risks to public colleges concerning future funding and enablement of PCCs, which have implications for system design, including further privatisation of Ontario’s public college system.

The Push to 120: Reconciling Credit Hours in Undergraduate Music Education

Bachelor of Music Education degrees, like many professional programs, require a high number of credit hours for graduation. The marketization of higher education and efforts toward equitable access to a college education drive efforts to eliminate “excess” credits. Despite state and institutional mandates to reduce credit requirements to 120 hrs, many programs still exceed this target with some reaching nearly 150 credit hours. This descriptive survey study with follow-up document review examined how schools of music are responding to credit hour reduction policies limiting credits at or near 120 hrs. The findings of this study confirmed tensions between accreditation requirements, credit hour reduction policies, and curricular aims of music teacher preparation programs. The authors present reports regarding influencing factors and strategies for reconciling credit hours. They further discuss emerging questions regarding credit allotment and course hours, implications for student wellness and curricular reform, and suggestions for future research.

Precarity in Higher Education: Perspectives From The 1.5 Generation in Israel

ABSTRACT We examined perceptions of precarity in higher education by conducting interviews with a cohort of academics in Israel. The participants were 1.5 generation immigrants who were born in the former Soviet Union (FSU) and then moved to Israel as children or teenagers with their family, typically in the 1990s. Using a narrative research approach, we examined the personal perceptions of 43 academics employed at colleges and universities in Israel. Despite differences in their employment status and contract conditions, our findings made clear that all the academics in our cohort had experienced employment precarity. Using a Bourdieusian framework, we attribute Israeli academic precarity to a deficiency in the cultural and social capital necessary for establishing relevance. Although they had been relatively successful in integrating into Israeli society, and had decades of living within it, our interviewees from all types of academic institutions reported feelings and experiences of extreme precarity. This precarity was ascribed by interviewees to the structure of the Israeli higher education market, which is characterized by an unstable, hyper-competitive, and neoliberal environment, leaving minority groups employed within it particularly vulnerable.

Dark Sde Case We are all Misky Sonqo:Teaching and Struggling Against Higher Education Marketization

Dark Sde Case We are all Misky Sonqo:Teaching and Struggling Against Higher Education Marketization

Breaking down barriers between brand and enrolment marketing

There exists an ongoing debate within the higher education marketing and communications disciplines on the merits of having a centralised versus decentralised structure. At the University of Arizona, the institution's two largest marketing teams chose collaboration as a third path — embracing and combining the audience and content expertise of the decentralised model with the brand consistency and breadth of centralisation. This collaboration has effectively broken down the barriers between enrolment and brand marketing and thereby enhanced the effectiveness of each unit's individual marketing efforts, making the whole greater than the sum of the parts. This paper will reveal how the teams came together on media strategy, brand strategy and creative execution to achieve significant application and enrolment growth.

Similar but different: How University College Cork created a brand identity for Alumni and Development (and brand value for the wider university)

This paper analyses how University College Cork successfully created a unique and vibrant brand identity for their Alumni and Development office while simultaneously creating value for the overall brand of the university. It reviews the challenges that exist for many higher education marketing teams in complying with overall university brand guidelines, yet successfully creating an alumni and development brand identity to meet the needs and wants of their target audience. The ‘Connecting You’ visual identity innovatively uses the key motif to connect alumni back to their alma mater on both a metaphorical and literal level. Drawing upon University College Cork's experience in creating a meaningful visual identity from the ground up, the data-driven research, traditions and components for success will be identified. You will be taken on a creative journey outlining the steps taken to develop a new vibrant alumni and development brand identity — focusing on the power of symbols, effective storytelling, compelling multi-media content and emotive design that evokes a sense of connection and opportunity with the university.

To impart knowledge or to adhere to policy: Unpacking language ideologies and practices in Chinese EMI courses through a translanguaging lens

Due to the internationalization and marketization of higher education and the increasing prevalence of English as a global language, higher education institutions worldwide have implemented English medium instruction (EMI) courses, highlighting the necessity to examine how languages are chosen and practised in EMI courses. With a mixed-method triangulation approach, this study collected data through classroom observation, questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews in order to investigate teachers’ and students’ language choices and practices in EMI classrooms at a Chinese university. The questionnaire results showed that although the respondents slightly preferred English-only practice, they found it difficult to implement it and would resort to translanguaging practices, confirming an inconsistency between language ideologies and language practices. The observation findings revealed the adoption of translanguaging for meaning comprehension, terminology explanation and translation of local elements, while interview findings revealed three types of student participants, i.e. believers, sceptics, and inbetweeners, towards translanguaging practice in EMI courses. In contrast, most of the teachers held a favourable stance towards the English-only practice in EMI courses. While the participants all regarded translanguaging practices as facilitators for language and content learning, they believed that hierarchical relationships do not exist among languages. This study carries important implications to bridge the gap between language ideologies and language practices and call for attention to developing language practice from a multilingual perspective.

OVERCOMING THE GAP BETWEEN THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR AND THE LABOR MARKET AS A FACTOR OF REALIZING INTELLECTUAL POTENTIAL

Introduction. The role of intellectual potential in the conditions of the fourth industrial revolution is growing significantly. Dynamic technological changes form new demands on the labor market and, accordingly, the market of higher education. The ability of the higher education system to respond to the demands of the labor market and quickly provide them by training specialists of the appropriate level and qualification is becoming more and more relevant. Due to the low level of coherence of these processes and the lack of effective tools capable of maintaining the relevance of the competencies acquired by university graduates, the gap between the labor market and the higher education sector is growing. Overcoming this gap will significantly increase the level of intellectual potential and strengthen the competitiveness of the national economy. Methods. The research methodology involves a combination of theories and practical principles of studying higher education, employment and the labor market, which are combined with the processes of scientific and technological progress in the conditions of the fourth industrial revolution. The main methods used in the work are based on a systemic and interdisciplinary approach and include general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, observation and generalization, methods of dialectics, extrapolation and statistical analysis. Results. The article defines the peculiarities of the interaction of the labor market and the higher education sector in the conditions of the fourth industrial revolution, defines the importance of intellectual potential for ensuring the transition of the economy to a new technological system, characterizes the main manifestations and problems caused by the gap between the parameters of the labor market and the higher education system. Separate indicators of the labor market by level of education were analyzed, as a result of which a direct connection between the level of education and employment was revealed, as well as the fact of an increase in the number of people discouraged from looking for work among university graduates. The main reasons for the gap between the labor market and the higher education market are given, as well as the directions for overcoming it in modern conditions are substantiated. Discussion. Further research prospects are related to the identification and study of specific cases of non-compliance the higher education system with the requirements of the labor market, as well as the development of an effective mechanism for the implementation of «lifelong learning», «open science» and self-education tools in higher educational institutions and workplaces.