Content
Desperate Universities' Advertising
24 January 2009
There is a sense of desperation about the advertising being undertaken by a number of other universities on the Sunshine Coast at the moment. They are bombarding the cinemas, newspapers, websites, buses, billboards, letterbox drops and television. Every one of them is in serious trouble with falling enrolments, and they divert millions of dollars from core activities, to attract students from anywhere and ensure their viability in their home locations. The consequent benefits for the Coast itself are limited.
The deeper the trouble, the more they spend: $2M, $5M and other sums, compared with USC’s expenditure of $¼M. USC prefers to spend its monies on developing academic programs in areas that will benefit the Coast and its students in a much more direct way.
Despite the downturn in demand for university places nationwide in recent years, that has impacted on most, but not all universities, there has also been an element of competition that is resulting in some regional universities losing focus on what should be their main, but not only, constituency – their local region.
Some universities have manufactured their own problems with expeditions into other regions, into international programs of varying quality, being subject to intense media scrutiny over years, falling student numbers, laying off huge numbers of staff, prompting closer governmental scrutiny, and which has all led to the Bradley review recommending a greater concern with university standards, quality, and accreditation.
Despite our modest advertising budget, we have never lost focus on our own region of the Sunshine Coast, and have refused to proliferate campuses, and we have a balanced approach to internationalization, for example.
On the Commonwealth’s own official figures it is USC and Tasmania that have grown most in the sector in recent years, defying the downward trend in most other areas of regional Australia, even in similar growth areas of Western Australia.
USC is continuing to grow its main campus, which is what the great majority of students want – quality programs, staff, and facilities of the highest standard.
We would rather spend the $5M on $2M, or whatever, on building up the quality provisions that modern students want. In that way we are already creating a reputation where students themselves become our advocates, friends, and ambassadors, rather than placing such heavy reliance on generic marketing campaigns.
Every Australian regional university is faced with unique challenges, but the best way to address those challenges we believe is first and foremost within our own region.
At USC we will continue to contribute, not only to high, focused, sectoral standards but also to the advancement of this Sunshine Coast region.
From the outset we have valued working collaboratively with a myriad of community groups because we know that the bond between a university and the community is ultimately the major determinant of its eventual success. We have a bond that strengthens annually and is symbiotic.
Professor Paul Thomas AM is Vice-Chancellor and President at the University of the Sunshine Coast.