Introduction This case study will focus on marketing and recruitment strategies at the four-year private university where I am employed, William Peace University. WPU has been through a few major changes over the last six years, which led to a major rebrand of the institution’s profile. With the case study, I intend to include an analysis of the current issues, competitions, and stakeholders. After successfully indicating these issues, there will be a “secret shopper” exercise completed to gather the needed information.
Institutional Analysis
Competition
“Higher education is an intangible product working for market differentiation in a crowded field” (Anctil, 2008). William Peace University is a small private four-year university located in downtown Raleigh, NC. Within the triangle region of North Carolina, the competition in higher education is extremely prevalent. With a total of nine colleges and
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The university was facing a tough enrollment decline, which decisions had to made to change that trend. Six years ago, WPU transitioned from a single-sexed (women’s) institution into a coeducational institution. During that phase, the university also changed the name from Peace College to William Peace University. These changes led to a major backlash by the alumnae base, which has impacted the marketing advancement of the institution. To assist in the recruitment efforts to enroll their first coeducational class, the university added many programs that would capture the interest of males. One of the most popular majors that were added was Simulation and Game Design. In addition, male sports were added, and recruitment of male athletes began as well. After these changes were made, the WPU started to see an increase in the enrollment. Shortly after the transition, the president announced her