Marketing Mismanagement in Higher Education. Working Paper.

The usefulness of marketing functions as they relate to higher education enrollment and financial problems is addressed, and proven marketing principles that have been violated by higher education decision-makers are considered. It is suggested that a college or university operation can be examined within the same context as any product organization, if focus is on basic customer groups. The university can be viewed as marketing services; research services to society generally and institutions specifically; instructional services to both undergraduate, graduate, and nondegree customers; and auxiliary services to the public, such as theater and football. It is suggested that variable pricing of tuition offers a reasonable alternative to higher education pricing. Variable pricing would provide a better balance and relate costs more realistically to demand, although it would have a detrimental effect on high-priced special programs. It is suggested that many colleges need to assess their current advertising approach and perhaps undertake a readership study of its catalog to determine what students and parents have or have not read or to determine why and how they arrived at the decision to register at the school. A market analysis tool that may be helpful to higher education is psychographic segmentation: examination of the behavioral patterns or life styles of various groups within the total market. It is suggested that if colleges carefully managed their marketing functions, they would assume the responsibility to provide an information base that students could use to assess the education they received. (SW)