Does branding impact student recruitment: a critical evaluation

Abstract

This study focuses on segmentation feasibility within the private college/university market. There is considerable overlap for private and public college/university students with respect to their consideration criteria; however, previous research suggests that there are some criteria that appear to be differentially important based on the type of student and institution. Therefore, using factors considered by university students in a previous study, the current research sought to further explore the existence of segments within a private university. The findings suggested that three segments of students exist – one segment considers all university criteria as important, another places high importance on the financial aspects of attending a university, and another segment moderately evaluates all university criteria. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords:

• university branding
• university selection
• academic branding
• branding

Notes

1. Note that 19 participants did not answer all of the questions used in establishing clusters, which reduced our sample size to 227.