Rob Gandy, Peter Wolstencroft, Katherine Geer, Leanne de Main
{"title":"Clear vision: a step towards unravelling student recruitment in English universities?","authors":"Rob Gandy, Peter Wolstencroft, Katherine Geer, Leanne de Main","doi":"10.1108/bij-02-2023-0094","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Purpose The recruitment of undergraduate students within English universities is of vital importance to both the academic success and the financial stability of the organisation. Despite the primacy of the task, there has been a dearth of research looking at related performance and how to ensure that the process is optimised. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of variation both within a university and between different universities. The reliance that individual programmes and/or universities place on the Clearing process is key; given its uncertainty, resource demands and timing shortly before students take up their places.Design/methodology/approach The Nomogramma di Gandy diagrammatical approach utilises readily available data to analyse universities’ performance in recruiting students to different programmes, and the degree to which they each rely of the Clearing process. Inter-university performance was investigated on a whole-student intake basis for a sample of English universities, representative of type and region.Findings The study found that there were disparate patterns for the many programmes within the pilot university and also disparate patterns between different types of universities across England. Accordingly, universities should internally benchmark their programmes to inform both strategic and tactical decision-making. Similarly, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service benchmarking inter-university patterns could inform the overall sector.Originality/value The approach and findings provide lessons for analysing student recruitment which could be critical to universities’ academic and financial health, in an increasingly competitive environment.","PeriodicalId":48029,"journal":{"name":"Benchmarking-An International Journal","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Benchmarking-An International Journal","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1108/bij-02-2023-0094","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MANAGEMENT","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose The recruitment of undergraduate students within English universities is of vital importance to both the academic success and the financial stability of the organisation. Despite the primacy of the task, there has been a dearth of research looking at related performance and how to ensure that the process is optimised. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of variation both within a university and between different universities. The reliance that individual programmes and/or universities place on the Clearing process is key; given its uncertainty, resource demands and timing shortly before students take up their places.Design/methodology/approach The Nomogramma di Gandy diagrammatical approach utilises readily available data to analyse universities’ performance in recruiting students to different programmes, and the degree to which they each rely of the Clearing process. Inter-university performance was investigated on a whole-student intake basis for a sample of English universities, representative of type and region.Findings The study found that there were disparate patterns for the many programmes within the pilot university and also disparate patterns between different types of universities across England. Accordingly, universities should internally benchmark their programmes to inform both strategic and tactical decision-making. Similarly, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service benchmarking inter-university patterns could inform the overall sector.Originality/value The approach and findings provide lessons for analysing student recruitment which could be critical to universities’ academic and financial health, in an increasingly competitive environment.
英国大学的本科生招聘对学术成功和组织的财务稳定都至关重要。尽管这项任务是首要的,但关于相关性能以及如何确保流程优化的研究却很少。本研究的目的是调查一所大学内部和不同大学之间的差异程度。个别课程和/或大学对清算程序的依赖是关键;考虑到它的不确定性、资源需求和学生入学前的时间安排。设计/方法/方法nomnomgramma di Gandy图解方法利用现成的数据来分析大学在招收不同课程学生方面的表现,以及它们各自依赖清算过程的程度。大学间的表现是在全学生入学的基础上调查的一个样本的英国大学,具有代表性的类型和地区。研究发现,在试点大学的许多项目中存在着不同的模式,在英格兰不同类型的大学之间也存在着不同的模式。因此,大学应该在内部对其课程进行基准测试,以便为战略和战术决策提供信息。同样,大学和学院招生服务中心对大学之间的模式进行基准测试可以为整个行业提供信息。在竞争日益激烈的环境中,该方法和研究结果为分析学生招聘提供了经验教训,这对大学的学术和财务健康至关重要。
期刊介绍:
Benchmarking is big news for companies committed to total quality programmes. Its enthusiastic reception by many prominent business figures has created high levels of interest in a technique which promises big rewards for co-operating partners. Yet, like total quality itself, it must be understood in its proper context, and implemented single mindedly if it is to be effective - this journal helps companies to decide if benchmarking is right for them, and shows them how to go about it successfully.