Marketing Research Brief
1. Market and Strategic Overview
The Post Graduate Taught (PGT) market is becoming increasingly important to
Universities both as a tool to foster reputation within the market place and as an
income generator. At present there is very little market analysis conducted before a
new course is introduced – it is very much dependent upon the resources that are
available and also what the academic would like to introduce.
At the University of Edinburgh we would like to change the way this process is
managed by introducing market analysis prior to developing a course.
2. Background and Role of the Research
The reason for this research is to allow the market to drive how we introduce courses
rather than our own, somewhat more detached opinions. The findings will have a
direct impact on how we introduce courses and what information we gather prior to
this introduction.
The areas within the University who will be most affected by this change will be the
individual schools and academics in charge of introducing the new courses. In
addition to this primary audience a secondary audience consisting of college staff
and publications teams will be affected.
It is important that the academics are consulted on their preferred way of introducing
courses as they may provide the main constraints to the introduction of particular
courses.
3. Objectives
Business Objective:
• Our overall aim is to introduce new courses that are well received by potential
students and ultimately well attended.
Research Objectives:
The aim of the research will be:
• To identify how potential students choose where to study, both in terms of
institution and course
• To prioritise the different elements of this decision process
• To recommend a best practice model of course introduction:
o Course title...
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