Term Paper
Term Paper
Introduction
The primary strategic objective of the University of Idaho is to make growth in enrollment at the Institute. The primary strategic objective is set by the current President Chuck Staben. The University of Idaho is not the only institute that has developed this strategy, but several colleges and universities across America are also focused towards the growth of enrollment. It is observed that there is intense competition among different institutes for the growth of enrollment. The reason that all the universities want to increase enrollment at the college is that it is a source of the stream of revenue at the Institute. The revenue can be utilized efficiently to enhance, support, and strengthen the educational experience of the students. For Staben to achieve this objective, it is necessary that he must be aware of complete market analysis as it will help them in making better strategies to attract more students. Currently, Staben has made moves for his assistance in reaching the goals, but the market analysis is important for the growth of enrollment in undergraduate programs. Therefore, key marketing factors are discussed in the paper.
A strategy that involves division of a broad target market into subsets is called Market Segmentation . The market segment for the University of Idaho is based on the different programs and courses offered by the university. For this current assessment, the university’s market segment are the students who will enroll themselves for the undergraduate program at the University. For the students to find a perfect fit for their academics, the university offers a wide range of programs. Collectively for undergraduate and graduate programs, the university offers 300 courses. The marketing segments for the undergraduate programs at the university are several as it offers different language course along with their writing skills, general studies, geology, history, arts, finance, medical, etc. All these mentioned subjects are different market segments for the University of Idaho. Social and physical environmental science, dietetics, and information system, engineering are also a part of the university’s market segment.
As the university has different segments, it is easier for the university to market themselves and attract more students towards them for enrollment. The diverse market segment of the university is extremely favorable for the university as there are many colleges that do not offer a vast variety of courses. Therefore, the students will be more attracted towards this university. The market segment of the University not only allows the local student to enroll in this institute but also influences international students to enroll themselves at the Institute.
Target Market
The main target market of the University of Idaho is are those students who are eligible to enroll themselves in the undergraduate program. As the market segment of the University of Idaho is extremely diverse, the institute has a big target market. The university target students from all background like science, commerce, arts, etc. For the science students, the institute offers various courses like biological, environmental science, exercise science, and health, pre-medical: chemistry, engineering, etc. Students of business and finance are also the target market of the University as it offers courses like business and marketing, business economics, finance, etc. The student of arts is a major market to which the university targets. The University attracts the art students by providing them with a wide variety of courses that ranges from advertising to art education and from designing to dance. There are numerous courses that lie in the category of arts and therefore attract several students.
The university also targets those students who are focused on learning the local or foreign language. The University caters such student by not only providing them with an opportunity to learn a particular language but by also offering them courses to develop a good understanding and writing skills in such language courses. The target audience of the university is not only limited to local students, but the university allows international students to complete their bachelor’s degree from this platform. To cater the international students, the company has serval courses and an easy enrollment process.
Product Offering
The products offered by the University of Idaho are the courses that the institute offers to the students. There are around 300 programs offered to the students which are related to different fields. For the students who are related to agricultural studies can avail the opportunity to join courses like agricultural education, agricultural system management, agricultural science, agribusiness, etc. Advertising, architecture, graphic designing, interaction design art, paintings, photography, sculpture, etc. are some of the courses that are made available for the students of arts. The University offers a wide variety of products to the students of science. There are more than 50 courses that are related to the field of science that are offered by the university. Many colleges do not offer such a wide variety of courses. The courses of science involve a variety of courses related to chemistry, engineering, biology, social environment, veterinary courses, dietetics, nutrition, etc. The university also caters the students of business and finance through a variety of products. Latin American courses are also offered at the university that is the products for both local and international students to develop an understanding of Latin American culture and its economy. Overall, it can be said that the university offers a wide variety of products to the students who belongs to different fields so that they can facilitate themselves and find a perfect fit for their education.
Place
The products and services offered by the University of Idaho are made available for the students easily. The students can visit the University and take information about different courses and then enroll themselves into their desired undergraduate program. The facility of viewing the courses is also made available at the official website of the university. From the website of the University of Idaho, the students can search for the programs offered and the learnings from such courses. The website of the university also provides an option of ‘Degree Finder’ where the students can easily search for the degree program offered. The website also helps the student in making a decision about the degree program and which program perfectly fits for their academics.
Promotional Mix
The University of Idaho can promote their products and services through various channels. Press in one of the most suitable options for the university to engage with people and help them in providing information about the programs that are being offered. The reason of promoting the product through this channel is because of its vast reach. Newspaper are read by many, and it is, therefore, one of the best ways to market such product. The University should also promote themselves through emails. The University of Idaho can hold promotional activities to bring awareness amongst students who are interested in bachelor’s degree. Moreover, the enrollment is seasonal. Therefore, the university must establish a proper plan so that they can attract the right type of audience to promote their product. Different fields of education have different timings of getting enrolled. The promotional campaigns held by the universities must be timed according to the seasons as it will help them to make better strategies to attract student and influence them to enroll at the University. The university can also look at the promotional activities of its competitor’s do that they can cater their target audience through different channels used by other institutes .
Price
The University of Idaho provides an ease to the students as the courses offered at the university are affordable. The university has two pricing plans for the undergraduate, and one is for the residents of Idaho, and the other is for the non-Idaho residents. The full-time student fees for the Idaho residents is around $7020 whereas, for the non-Idaho residents, it is $21,024. From this pricing strategy, it is obvious that the university is providing the Idaho residents a great opportunity to enroll in the university. There are additional costs for room, books, transportation, etc. The total cost per year for the Idaho residents is around $20,400 and for non-Idaho residents is $34,436. Moreover, the university offers scholarships to the deserving students and has a financial aid program to help the students to pay their fees easily without a big burden .
Competitive Positioning
There are several competitors of the University of Idaho. Some of the main competitors are Boise States University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Idaho State University, College of Southern Idaho, and College of Western Idaho. There are several other universities in Idaho, but competition from other universities is not as tough as compared to the competitor universities mentioned above. Within the state of Idaho, the University of Idaho is at fourth position amongst its competitors. Boise States University and Brigham Young University-Idaho are at the top, and the University of Idaho needs to offer several courses to come into direct competition with these universities. A cut throat competition is observed between University of Idaho, Idaho State University, College of Southern Idaho, and College of Western Idaho. As per the number of enrollments, the highest position is that of Brigham Young University-Idaho as it had around 36,624 enrollments in the year 2014 whereas, the University of Idaho was only able to enroll 11,702 students.
Conclusion
References
Barnds, W. K. (2014). The Case for Placing Marketing within Enrollment Management. Retrieved from http://www.academicimpressions.com/news/case-placing-marketing-within-enrollment-management
Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2016). Principles of Marketing. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
