Positioning of The University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg) as a Service
3.6.7 Demographic Results
At the end of collection there were 226 completed questionnaires made up as follows:
• Gender:
• Year of study:
• Racial:
• Degree choices:
Females - 56%
Seniors - 46%
Black-29%
Coloured - 3%
Asian-2%
BSc-44.7%
BSocSci -19.5%
Males -44%
First years - 54%
White-48%
Indian -18%
BCom - 30.1%
BA-5.8%
• With an average age of 20
3.6.8 Factors Influencing Student's Choices Between a University and Another Tertiary Institution
The key factors that made students choose to study at a university as opposed to any other tertiary institution were identified and are discussed below.
3.6.8.1 Top Choice of Universities
The results are represented in Table 3.3 below (with no difference between years). It is understood that there would be a bias towards the University being the best institution as they had made the choice to study there, however the findings still give valuable information about the competition UN P is faced with.
Table3.3 - Top Choice of University
University
University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg Other**
University of Cape Town University of Natal, Westville Wits
Chosen by (%) 58.8%
13.7%
11.5%
6.6%
4.0%
Rhodes 3.5%
International universities 1.3%
** Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), University of Zululand and University of Stellenbosch were among the options entered under "other".
3.6.8.2 Influencing Factors (University vs. Other Institution)
This question intended to find which of the factors listed had the strongest influence when the students chose to study at a university as opposed to another tertiary institution. The results are found in Table 3.4 below:
Table 3.4 - Strength of influencing factors
Factor None NoI little Neutral Strong
Bursary or scholarship offered 51.3% 11.5% 9.7% 27.4%
Bursar recommended 58.0% 12.4% 6.2% 23.4%
Location 15.5% 11.0% 13.7% 59.7%
Get away from home 58.0% 9.3% 11.5% 23.2%
Res. life 64.6% 6.7% 7.5% 23.2%
Campus life 30.5% 14.6% 18.1% 36.7%
Courses offered in English 11.5% 9.8% 11.9% 66.8%
Courses offered
A university is best 7.5% 5.3% 14.2% 72.5%
International recognition 10.6% 5.7% 4.4% 74.3%
If students felt that the courses offered by a university (highlighted block) were an important influencing factor when deciding to study at a university as opposed to another tertiary institution they would have given it a strong rating (4 or 5). If they felt that the factor had little or no influence they would have given it ano / little rating (1 or 2). If they felt it had no influence, nonewould be allocated (0). Neutralwould be in-between little to strong (3).
Table 3.4 shows the factors that had the most influence on the respondents - Le. Courses offered, International Recognition, and A University is Best.
3.6.9 Factors Influencing Students' Choice to Study at The University Of Natal, Pietermaritzburg
The research determined what factors the students have placed emphasis on when choosing to study at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. In other words the research determined what is important to the customer when choosing a particular good/service over another one. This question involves identifying the key factors that made students choose to study at UNP as opposed to any other tertiary institution. Table 5 represents the strength of the influence of various factors listed below:
Table 3.5 - Strength of Factors Influencing Student Choice of UNP
Factor None No I little Neutral Strong
Bursary or scholarship offered 54.4% 11.9% 6.6% 26.5%
Bursars 61.9% 10.2% 8.8% 19.0%
Location 13.7% 9.3% 13.3% 63.3%
Get away from home 59.7% 6.7% 11.1% 22.1%
Res. life 65.9% 6.2% 9.3% 18.6%
Campus life 33.2% 15.3% 15.0% 34.1%
Courses offered in English 14.2% 6.7% 12.4% 66.8%
University was well advertised 40.3% 20.4% 12.4% 27.0%
UNP the best 11.1% 9.3% 17.7% 61.9%
Courses offered
International recognition 15.9% 4.8% 13.7% 65.1%
3.6.9.1 Influencing Factors (UNP)
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Graph 9 - Influencing Factors
Graph 9 shows various factors that were listed as influencing factors (specifically with regards to UNP). It can be seen from this graph that generally the influencing factors that were important to the seniors were important to the first years, and vice versa. The graph shows the importance of factors similar to the findings in Table 3.5.
The factors that influenced students in choosing University of Natal over another university are summarised briefly: in order of importance as rated by the students.
1. Courses offered by the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.
2. Courses offered in English 3. International recognition 4. Location
5. University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, is the best
Identifying the University's strengths and opportunities is essential to discover what they are doing right in the eyes of its customers. Possible strengths and weaknesses included the following:
• The most prominent strength is the reputation of the University. Many students are drawn to it merely by its name. This is a potent strength that must be utilised to its fullest - it is an invisible weapon that can be used very effectively in a campaign.
Besides all this it is an asset to the University, which must be maintained and marketed to those who need to hear it.
This strength creates many opportunities for the University as the reputation it has is something that other tertiary institutions will take many years to develop. Opportunities arising from this reputation are things like market development: if the University enters a market of its own those following it will battle against the formidable weapon of reputation.
• The courses on offer from the University are a major strength in competing against the other universities in the country - perhaps in the world. These courses are unique as has been identified by the students, it being the most influential factor in choosing a university.
• Location has played a pivotal role in the students' choice of university - it has been one of the biggest draw-cards for the University.
• Advertising could be a weakness for the University. The University has been slow in grasping the importance of advertising and marketing - evidenced by the employment of a PRO only in the early part of 1999 for the Humanities Faculty. It has been a misconception that the University (or any university for that matter) does not need to advertise due to their strong reputations.