Executive summary
Much has been written about the current challenges facing the HE sector
For the headline writers the crisis is existential. For those running higher education institutions it can feel like constant firefighting as they deal with the complexities of budgetary pressures and new demands on service delivery in a rapidly changing economic and cultural environment. For those working in student recruitment, we simply need to get on with the business of attracting a new cohort of students every year.
At Eleven, we have been working with Universities to tackle these issues for many years now, so we understand the complexities. But we recognise that during the past 12 to 18 months in particular the negative noise around the value of a University education has gained pace. It prompted us to take a deep dive into the issues and think about how individual Universities and colleges can respond to this new reality and apply some new strategies to help their recruitment marketing succeed.
For HE marketers it’s all about acquisition.
Other than retaining students for postgraduate study, 90% of the focus is on a brand-new set of prospective students each and every year. This new cohort may well have never given our institution a second thought before now, so we there is a constant need to re-establish the brand for a fresh audience. And the speed of change is so much higher at this age: motivations, attitudes and needs can shift rapidly and often unexpectedly. As a result, assumptions around targets must be reviewed and revised almost with every intake.
Of course, there is still a sizable proportion of sixth formers for whom the transition to University remains a given. The question for them is where to go and what to study, and HE marketing has traditionally been laser focused on persuading them of the value of X University over Y.
We’ve focused our attention on this group of ‘Undecideds’ to unpick the nuances of their arguments for and against – and along the way uncovered some truths that help our understanding of the whole pool of potential undergraduates.
However, the latest UCAS data1 demonstrates a persistent decline:
Over the past decade there has been a 5.8% drop in applications, while in 2024 applications were down 1.6% year on year. The figures support widespread media commentary that suggests a growing cohort who are ambivalent about going on to Higher Education at all.
With recent research2 suggesting that 68% of prospective University students were considering an alternative pathway to an Undergraduate degree (Havas the focused generation) it is clear that considering how you respond to people with this perspective may well make the difference between missing those recruitment targets and hitting them.
We’ve distilled our thinking to give you three new strategic perspectives to apply to your own brand and communication strategies to help build the relevance and appeal of your offer to a rapidly evolving target audience.
Reframing the Concept of Investment
Seizing the Power of Now
Reflecting the fluidity of students’ futures
The need for competitively driven brand differentiation remains key, but aligning your campaign messaging to the concerns of the ‘Undecideds’ cannot help but strengthen your overall impact.