ABSTRACT
Private universities have become institutions of choice for many African students. So far, our knowledge of their marketing strategies to influence prospective students’ choice remains weak. In this chapter, we have attempted to understand better students’ recruitment in the context of a young North African university. First, we explored rational and emotional issues that influence students’ choice for a higher education institution. We distinguished student’s self-centric criteria referring to social and self-esteem motivations, and university centric issues related to the perceived value of the university offer. Then, we identified three ‘informational cognitive dissonance’ situations where university messages mismatch with prospective students’ representations: a space and time dissonance related to divergent visions of the job market’s future; a programme content and teaching methodology dissonance that highlights differing representations of learning; a programme purpose dissonance that reflects students search for assurance on the ROI of their studies. Finally, we made a set of strategic and operational marketing recommendations, highlighting two perspectives. On the one hand, universities should provide a universal, forward-looking, and globally oriented strategic vision. On the other hand, operational marketing actions should be locally oriented towards students’ expectations and ability to assess innovative messages.
