University reputations and international student recruitment

Abstract

Universities have had to change rapidly in recent years to cope with major challenges to their traditional positions, and, further, to successfully compete in the recruitment of international students. As a relative latecomer to this market, HKU, over just ten years, now attracts, on average, some 10,000 unique applications a year from Mainland China alone for the 300 places available. The strategic and action plans mapped out to achieve this focused on the reputation, perception, image, or brand of the university, with recruitment itself following on as a lower priority set of actions. The necessity to understand the target market, the psychology and motivation of the Chinese applicant, and what determines reputation in this part of Asia, and to differentiat6e amongst diverse markets as well as amongst different providers, is critical. The presentation will also emphasize the importance of alignment, that is, a consistent message that emerges from a set of actions, in the development of brand.