By Kevin Phang, VP, Partnership Development, Marketing & Enrollment, Noodle

Marketing plays a key role in shaping a company’s success, and in higher education it’s no different. Colleges, universities, and other institutions face more competition every year, and with market demands and trends in constant flux, the need for strategic, impactful marketing that delivers has never been greater. With that in mind, let’s explore how higher ed can learn a thing or two by adopting marketing strategies proven successful in the corporate world, and why a unified approach is emerging as a preferred solution.

It starts with understanding the need for change

Higher education brand and marketing agency SimpsonScarborough compiled a 2022 study urging institutions to begin treating marketing as a vital investment—as the corporate world does—rather than merely a strategic one. This requires universities to adopt a more proactive and strategic approach that starts with understanding the importance of aligning institutional goals and priorities with marketing efforts. And while there are many parallels between higher education institutions and corporations, that doesn’t mean higher ed should train its focus on the bottom line.

First of all, yes—encouraging institutions to adopt corporate practices to drive innovation and success challenges our traditional view of higher education as completely distinct from the corporate world. Some suggest that universities are already run too much like businesses, and that teaching and learning have taken a back seat to generating revenue. But if you look at the mission of most higher ed institutions, you should see some areas that would benefit from a more businesslike approach. Take, for example, the way in which companies identify talent and provide the resources to support and advance it; or the agility and speed at which a successful company can pivot in response to market trends.

Higher ed would benefit from a more businesslike approach. A Twitter post from mathematics professor Robert Talbert didn’t mince words, stating that higher ed “needs to treat teaching innovations like (good) businesses treat innovations.” Talking with users, developing products, and iterating on them—just as businesses do—is the way. You can’t wait for a problem to arise before addressing it.

Others have examined the potential benefits of applying corporate management strategies to higher ed, arguing that adopting more businesslike approaches would improve an institution’s operational efficiency, enhance its financial sustainability, and help them better meet the needs of their students and stakeholders.

It’s a compelling case. By recognizing marketing as a strategic investment and aligning their practices with corporate principles, universities can improve their chances of achieving their goals while navigating the complexities of the modern higher education landscape.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the current challenges facing higher ed marketing and look at some practical strategies for overcoming them using a corporate-inspired approach.

Recognizing the challenges

Higher education institutions face more than enough challenges when it comes to marketing themselves—culture, programs, and offerings alike. The biggest may be their competitive internal dynamics. Unlike corporations, where departments work collaboratively towards common goals, colleges and universities can struggle with siloed departments and conflicting priorities. This often leads to disjointed marketing efforts and a lack of cohesion in messaging that can damage the institution’s brand.

Inefficient ad spending is another pain point. Many universities allocate their marketing budgets haphazardly, with little attention paid to ROI or strategic alignment. This leads to wasted resources and outcomes that fail to move the needle in terms of effectively reaching and engaging their target audiences. Further supporting that point, the SimpsonScarborough study notes that only a fraction of higher ed marketing budgets are allocated towards research and strategic planning.

A rapidly evolving higher education landscape compounds these challenges. With online learning on the rise, alternative credentialing options increasing, and an ever-growing percentage of learners coming from new and or underrepresented demographics, universities must focus on adapting their marketing strategies to remain relevant and competitive by focusing on agility and innovation. However, many institutions struggle to keep pace with these changes, leading to stagnation and missed opportunities for growth.

What lessons can we learn from the corporate world?

Given these challenges, higher ed can draw valuable marketing lessons from the corporate world. An excellent David Rosowsky article in Forbes emphasizes the potential benefits : treating colleges and universities as businesses by adopting corporate strategies can lead to operational efficiency, financial sustainability, and better results across the board.

Consider the importance of strategic planning and data-driven decision-making. Corporations invest significant resources in market research and analysis to inform their marketing strategies and help them allocate resources effectively. Higher ed institutions can certainly benefit from conducting market research—both to understand the preferences and needs of their target audiences and to develop tailored marketing campaigns to reach them.

The concept of brand management is key to corporations and higher education alike. Just as corporations carefully cultivate their brands to position themselves in the marketplace, universities must develop and promote their unique value propositions to attract their target audiences. Articulating your institution’s mission, values, and strengths in a compelling, authentic way will help your story resonate with prospective students and donors.

Current spending indicates that higher ed is not getting the message. In general, institutions spend over half of their marketing budgets (56 percent) on labor. Corporations? Less than half that amount (25 percent). Corporations also direct nearly nine times more of their budgets to marketing technology than higher ed institutions do, and spend about 25% more on advertising than higher ed spends on all marketing expenditures combined.

Higher education institutions can overcome the challenges facing their marketing efforts and achieve greater success and sustainability in the competitive landscape by adopting corporate management strategies and principles.

The Noodle solution: A unified marketing approach

Noodle believes that a unified marketing approach is the solution to the challenges facing higher education marketing. This approach follows corporations’ focus on efficiency and consumers, and aligns institutional goals with market demands to drive success. Students are increasingly savvy customers. By adopting a research-led marketing model and treating them as discerning consumers, institutions can enhance enrollment and meet evolving educational expectations.

The unified approach emphasizes cohesion and collaboration across departments and internal stakeholders. Rather than operating in silos (as many institutions do), marketing efforts should be integrated seamlessly across all other functions, including admissions, academic departments, student services, and others. That’s the roadmap to achieving consistency in messaging and maximizing the impact of your marketing campaigns.

The importance of leveraging technology in higher ed marketing can’t be overstated. We’re in the midst of the digital age, and embracing the innovative tools and platforms is a must in order to effectively reach and engage your target audiences. From social media advertising to personalized email campaigns, tech offers endless possibilities for institutions to connect with prospective students and differentiate themselves in the increasingly competitive marketplace.

Steps you can take

A corporate approach to marketing in higher education requires planning. Consider these practical strategies on your road to transforming your institution’s marketing efforts:

• Develop a comprehensive marketing plan — Begin by conducting a thorough assessment of your institution’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). Results will help you develop a plan that outlines clear objectives, target audiences, messaging strategies, and tactics for reaching your goals.

• Collaborate across departments — Build a culture of collaboration among all departments involved in marketing efforts. That means admissions, academic departments, student affairs, alumni relations… everyone. Cross-functional teams working together towards common objectives sharing resources and insights can break down walls and maximize your efforts.

• Invest in market research — It’s true: putting resources towards market research is the only way to gain insights into the needs, preferences, and behaviors of your target audiences. Conduct surveys, hold focus groups, and arrange interviews with prospective students, current students, alumni, and other stakeholders. They’ll go miles toward informing your marketing strategies and messaging.

• Embrace analytics — Data analytics is one of your most valuable tools in tracking and measuring marketing campaign effectiveness. Key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rates, web traffic, and social media engagement provide a window into how you’re doing and help you make informed, data-driven decisions that get you better results.

• Go all-in on digital marketing — You’re at the party; you might as well dance. Digital channels like social media, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and content marketing are here to stay. Don’t shy away; they’re all necessary to reach and engage your target students. Create compelling content that resonates with them, then use targeted advertising to reach them where they are. You’ll maximize the bang for your buck.

• Personalize communications — Tailor your marketing communications to the specific needs and interests of each segment of your target audience. Segmentation and personalization techniques can help you deliver the relevant messaging and content that speaks directly to your students’ preferences.

• Be agile! Be responsive! — Higher ed is a constantly evolving landscape. Learn to be agile and more responsive to changes in the market. Monitor trends, the competition, and student feedback with an eagle eye, and use that info to decide how to adjust marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve and stay in front of your competitors.

Implementing these corporate-flavored strategies can help institutions overcome the challenges they face and achieve greater success in attracting and retaining students, securing funding, and enhancing their reputation in the marketplace.

Where to go from here?

Adopting a more corporate approach to marketing shows true promise in driving success for higher ed institutions. Viewing marketing as a strategic investment and embracing corporate management strategies can help universities overcome challenges and achieve greater marketing success. Noodle recommends a unified marketing approach that creates a usable framework for aligning your goals with your market demands. Cohesiveness, collaboration, and technology are your keys to optimizing marketing efforts and distinguishing your institution in the marketplace.

As you look towards the future, it’s important not to lean on one success for too long. Institutions need to continue evolving and adapting their strategies to meet the changing needs and expectations of students and the higher ed market. Embracing the lessons the corporate world has learned can position your institution for long-term growth, sustainability, and success.

Kevin Phang is VP, Partnership Development, Marketing & Enrollment for Noodle. Noodle is the leading tech-enabled strategy and services partner for higher education. A certified B corporation, Noodle (founded in 2013) has developed infrastructure and online enrollment growth for some of the best academic institutions in the world. Noodle empowers universities to transform the world through life-changing learning. It offers strategic consulting to advise partners as they navigate their futures, provides services tailored to meet their growth aspirations, and deploys technology, tools, and platforms that integrate for scale, making our partners more resilient, responsive, efficient, and interconnected. Noodle.com

References

“What If Higher Ed Marketing Budgets Looked More Like the Corporate World?” SimpsonScarborough, February 28, 2022.

John Warner, “Where Higher Ed Should Be More Businesslike,” Inside Higher Ed, November 17, 2022.

David Rosowski, “If Colleges Are Businesses, Why Not Run Them That Way?” Forbes, May 10, 2020.

As innovators and changemakers in the adult learner space, you’re always looking for the best ways to support the students you serve and help them overcome obstacles on their educational journey. Through coaching, you can provide adult learners with a personalized approach tailored to each individual, ultimately giving them the tools and techniques they need to advance toward their educational and career goals. In this blog, we explore three main challenges faced by adult learners — with actionable insights for each one.

#1 — Stabilize support for students struggling to connect

Disengagement is a major obstacle for adult learners, especially in an online setting or on a campus that was designed for traditional students. Working and older learners can struggle to connect with their campuses, professors and peers. Consistently engaging with learners through regular check-ins lets them know they’re supported and provides an easy-to-implement solution. 

Establishing a connection begins with assessment. By asking assessment questions upfront, student supporters can better understand exactly where an adult learner is on their journey. InsideTrack’s research-proven coaching methodology leverages the power of assessment to gauge learner progress and uncover their core values — their “why.” Aligning learning goals with personal values helps learners tap into their motivation, which bolsters engagement and perseverance. Beyond exploring their core values, student supporters can help learners feel confident and ready for the challenges ahead by assessing their KSBs: Knowledge, Skills and Beliefs. Not only will it give them the insight as to how to best support them, but it also helps adult learners feel seen, heard and understood.

The solution in action

When Penn State World Campus set out to create a better experience for their prospective learners, they made tailored coaching support available to students during the pivotal time from acceptance through the end of their second term, keeping learners connected and on track. In addition, insights gleaned from coaching connections with students helped Penn State develop a deeper understanding of student attitudes, behaviors, and needs — and create tailored support for key student populations. 

#2 — Bolster soft skills to help students balance priorities

Being an adult online learner is a juggling act, with competing priorities from family, work and academics. It’s easy to become overwhelmed. That’s why time management skills are so critical. Embedding a coaching methodology into staff support can give student-facing staff a proven framework to help learners effectively manage their time and commitments. 

Asking learners questions that dig deep — How are your time management skills? What are some things you could do to improve? Are you using any strategies or tools to help you succeed, like a calendar to help keep track of important dates and deadlines? — is a great way for student supporters to get a sense of how well learners are handling the load. Managing commitments is one of eight key focus areas that impact student satisfaction and success. Using these focus areas to understand a student’s individual strengths and stressors helps student supporters enhance learner experiences.

The solution in action

While redesigning the school’s advising department, Illinois Central College was committed to enhancing the personal and professional development of all their students and improving student support. From implementing direct one-on-one coaching to training staff members to integrate coaching methodology into student-facing interactions — including working with learners on job-ready skills like time management — they were able to measurably improve retention and satisfaction among coached students. 

#3 – Focus on career through every stage of the learning journey to maximize opportunity

Too often, online learners face the prospect of limited job opportunities during their educational journey. Yet the link between education and the workforce is the primary reason many learners are in school. That’s why it’s so important to make career readiness an integral part of any student support program, from day one. Adult learners in particular are looking to update their current skills, gain new ones, or change careers altogether — which means earning the necessary credentials required to succeed and advance in the workplace. Integrating Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs with degree programs is a great way to improve the student experience while boosting enrollment. 

Student supporters can also help connect students to their career by drawing the link between their present (attending college classes) and their future (achieving their career goals). Students who understand the importance and relevance of school to their careers often become more motivated academically and the sooner they identify and can start working toward their career goals, the better prepared they’ll be when it’s time to actually start that career. An early understanding of how dollars spent now, on tuition, translates into future earnings would also prove helpful. Adult learners especially would benefit from knowing the investment they’re making to earn their degree will lead to career opportunity and success when they graduate. 

The solution in action

Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides learners with the tangible skills and knowledge they need to move into or along a career path that leads to a quality job. Connecting community college CTE and degree pathways not only give students a clearer sense of belonging, purpose and direction — these program pathways also align with labor markets, reflect current trends and fuel socioeconomic mobility for all types of students across the country. When Dallas College decided to place more emphasis on career preparation and meeting the needs of the region’s employers, they took steps to integrate CTE programs into a guided pathways model in a way that would benefit the learners, the institution and employers.

InsideTrack uses the power of coaching to keep adult learners on the path to success

InsideTrack is a mission-driven nonprofit that fuels positive change by empowering and advancing all learners to achieve their educational and career goals through the transformative power of coaching. We help people get the education they need to enhance well-being, create opportunity and secure meaningful employment — ultimately facilitating economic and social mobility. Since 2001, we have served over 3.2 million learners, partnering with more than 350 institutions and organizations to directly improve enrollment, retention, completion, and career advancement – tailoring our coaching outcomes to fit the needs of our partners and the learners they support. Our coaching methodology is evidence-based and research-confirmed, supporting all types of learners at every stage of their journey — especially those who face systemic barriers to postsecondary success. We are a catalyst for transformational impact, ultimately empowering learners and the organizations who serve them. To learn more, visit our website.

In an ever-evolving job market, higher education plays a crucial role in preparing students for strong career outcomes. I’m excited to share that Coursera’s third annual Job Skills Report is here to guide higher ed leaders as they navigate this landscape by highlighting the essential skills and credentials that are shaping the workforce. 

The Job Skills of 2024 report draws from a diverse learner base of over five million individuals spanning 3,000 businesses, 3,600 higher education institutions, and governments across 100 countries to provide a comprehensive view of this year’s fastest-growing skills. These learners, who are central to our mission of employment readiness and upskilling, form a key subset of our overall 136 million learners. By analyzing the fastest-growing skills among our enterprise learners, we are able to surface meaningful skill trends for 2024 and beyond.

This year’s report explores key global job skill trends, including: 

Trend #1: Leadership skills for supporting teams through organizational change are a growing priority. This year, we’ve seen a notable rise in the importance of leadership skills, especially those centered around empathy, strategic thinking, and nurturing employee growth. The rapidly shifting macroeconomic landscape, coupled with the proliferation of technologies like AI, is creating new demands on leaders. By equipping students with leadership skills, higher education leaders can enhance their employability and empower them to be effective leaders in an ever-evolving professional world.

Trend #2: AI-related skills are driving record-breaking course enrollments. At Coursera we’re witnessing a remarkable surge in AI-related learning. In just this past year, our catalog of over 800 AI-related courses has attracted more than 6.8 million enrollments collectively. The course Generative AI for Everyone from DeepLearning.ai amassed 43,000 enrollments in the first 7 days, making it the fastest-growing course in 2023. Investing in AI-related skills will be key for preparing students for an AI-enabled world.

Trend #3: Demand is surging for cybersecurity and information security skills. Half of the top tech skills listed in the report are cybersecurity skills. Given that there’s an estimated shortfall of nearly 3.5 million cybersecurity workers, investments in cybersecurity skills development programs mark an opportunity for higher education institutions to ready students for the job market. 

Trend #4: Skills for understanding and communicating data continue to be among the fastest-growing. Data visualization’s continued growth as a top skill in 2024. With research indicating that 70% of employees will need to heavily use data by 2025 and that only 11% of employees currently feel confident in their data skills, there’s a clear directive for higher education leaders to enhance curricula with a focus on data literacy and storytelling. This approach will empower students to excel in a data-driven professional world.

Trend #5: Demand for web development and computing skills remains high. Several of the fastest-growing tech skills are focused on web frameworks and cloud computing skills. With the global cloud computing market expected to reach $591.8 billion in 2023, and 73% of employees feeling underprepared for digital skills needed in business, there’s a clear opportunity. Higher education leaders must prioritize incorporating these tech skills into their curricula to address a critical skills gap and provide students with a viable path to employment in these high-growth areas.

Trend #6: Curated learning paths, like Professional Certificates and Specializations, are driving the largest skill rank changes. Enterprise learner enrollments in entry-level Professional Certificates have increased by 27%, non-entry-level Professional Certificates by 34%, and Specializations by 18% this past year, reflecting a growing adoption of micro-credentials. Our partnership with the University of Texas System exemplifies this, offering access to more than 35 Professional Certificates—from leading companies such as Google, IBM, and Salesforce—to over 246,000 individuals. For higher education leaders, this trend is significant. That employers are 72% more likely to hire someone with a Professional Certificate highlights the critical role of these learning paths in enhancing student employability and meeting the evolving needs of the job market.

​​The Job Skills of 2024 Report provides a valuable signal for leaders in higher education who are dedicated to equipping students with the skills they need to secure and advance their careers. By investing in these rapidly evolving skill areas, higher education institutions can create a workforce equipped to tackle current challenges and poised for the future.

To explore the findings and key global trends underlined in Coursera’s third annual Job Skills Report, visit: coursera.org/skills-reports/job-skills.

Marni Baker Stein is Coursera’s Chief Content Officer. Coursera was launched in 2012 by two Stanford Computer Science professors, Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, with a mission to provide universal access to world-class learning. It is now one of the largest online learning platforms in the world, with 136 million registered learners as of September 30, 2023. Coursera partners with over 300 leading university and industry partners to offer a broad catalog of content and credentials, including courses, Specializations, Professional Certificates, Guided Projects, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Institutions around the world use Coursera to upskill and reskill their employees, citizens, and students in fields such as data science, technology, and business. Coursera became a Delaware public benefit corporation and a B Corp in February 2021.