| Many universities use marketing communication strategies to attract and recruit new students. The purpose of this study was to determine students' awareness and effectiveness of many of these strategies. Considerable secondary research of both marketing and educational publications was conducted. Use of government information on changing demographics and attendance at relevant professional meetings led to the inclusion of two other issues of significance: attributes of importance (university image) and influence of other people on the students' final university selection.; A primary survey was carried out, primarily of freshmen, at the two universities studied, one private and one public. Six null hypotheses were postulated. Surveying was conducted in required English courses. Nearly 400 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. A SPSS analysis of grouped dependent variables found statistically significant differences for five of these hypotheses. Independent variables included type of university (private or public), gender, ethnicity, geographic area of origin, and age.; Dependent communication variables included printed materials, advertising, on and off-campus visits by high school and college personnel, and/or students and parents, and the Internet. Dependent attributes of importance included both academic and nonacademic factors. Dependent variables of influence included relatives, friends, alumni, employers, and high school and college personnel. Statistically significant results showed that there were differences by type of university, gender, and ethnicity. Non-statistically significant analysis identified single, dependent variables for future research.; In addition, at the private university, there were two additional questions asked concerning religious spirituality/private, conservative university and the influence of religious personnel. |
