Abstracts Category : Other

Strategic analysis for marketing graduate education at a public university

by Glenda Obando

This report presents the strategic issues facing the client in relation to marketing graduate education at a large public university. Our team used the university???s websites, interviews with the university???s and the client???s key stakeholders, prior thesis written about the university, and secondary sources such as articles on higher education. These sources of information allowed our team to develop a situation, SWOT, and industry analyses to better understand the loosely-coupled nature under which most universities operate. Once we understood how universities operate, our data gathering became more targeted. We could clearly identify the strategic issues facing the client and how the university and units within the university benefit and/or hinder the client. Furthermore, we began identifying potential collaboration alternatives between the client and other units within the university.We ended up having to cross out some of our initial ideas of collaboration because such ideas did not align with the interests of all parties that would be involved. Consecutively, we looked externally at what technology could help the client improve its marketing activities and recruitment functions. Our team researched Customer Relationship Management Systems as a potential tool that could help the client. After all, our team provides a descriptive strategic analysis for marketing graduate education at a large public university, and we believe that the alternatives and recommendation posed to the client where the most appropriate given the strategic issues the client faces. Given the nature of this abstract, the findings and recommendations are proprietary to the client and shall remain confidential.Advisors/Committee Members: Heisley, Deborah (advisor), Moore, Richard W (committee member).