Segmenting Markets in Urban Higher Education: Community- Versus Campus-Centered Students

• Published in: Journal of marketing for higher education Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 39 - 61
• Main Authors: Klein, Thomas A., Scott, Patsy F., Clark, Joseph L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01-09-2001
• Subjects: College Students; commuter students; Educational Marketing; Higher Education; Market Segmentation; Market segments; Nontraditional Students; Out of State Students; Student Behavior; Student Characteristics; student database; student recruitment; student retention; student survey; urban higher education; Urban Universities
• ISSN: 0884-1241; 1540-7144
• DOI: 10.1300/J050v11n01_03

Market segmentation in urban higher education has generally divided potential students, primarily based on age, into Direct from High School (DHS) or "Traditional" and adult or "Non-Traditional," based on differences in scheduling and program preferences and media access. One large urban institution, confronted by new competition, experienced a significant decline in DHS enrollment based on policies derived from this delineation. Enrollment analysis and a survey of current students, grouped according to permanent residence, class enrollment, and participation in campus activities, produces a modified picture: local DHS students tend to be more like adult students than DHS students with more distant permanent residence. Based on this analysis, segmentation concepts of "campus-centered" and "community-centered" are proposed to replace "traditional" and "non-traditional." Implications of this reconceptualization for programming and marketing communications are developed.