Undergraduate profiling and segmentation brief

The University is looking for an experienced partner to profile and segment potential undergraduate applicants and students who we may be able to reach out to, but who we are currently failing to attract. We are keen to understand the characteristics and behaviours and how we might approach groups of young people.

This partner will be experienced in higher education statistics (for example, those provided by HESA and UCAS), will have conducted similar work before and to provide relevant references.

Aims

To reach a greater number of enquirers by expanding reach to a greater number of leads who 'look like' they are Bedfordshire students;

To boost the recruitment of the traditional school/college leaving market, where we have seen a decline in recruitment over a number of years.

Objectives

To identify:

School and college-leaving audience and market segments which mirror but also build on those Bedfordshire has been successful in engaging with in the past;

New audience and market segments of applicants and student who won't have previously engaged with us but who may have the potential (specifically around our regions (Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, London; plus areas in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex etc within an hour's drive/commute from Luton/Bedford);

Application behaviours of groups of higher education applicants who may be persuaded to apply to the University of Bedfordshire;

Improvements for the focus, target and effectiveness of our communications to future enquirers, applicants and offer holders.

We are looking for the project to:

Focus on data-evidenced quantitative profiling;

Deliver and prospect score existing and new market segments;

Give us a strong platform for conversion activities; and so

Increase the number of applicants aged 20 or younger by 10%;

Increase the recruitment of main campus home UG students aged 20 and under at the time of enrolment by 5%.

The outputs, detailed in specification, will need to be able to be able to be readily communicated with different parties across the University, as well as informing marketing and recruitment activities.