IQ Case Study: MacEwan University

INSTITUTION OVERVIEW

Public undergraduate university in Edmonton, Alberta

18,000 students

5.5% international

Q&A with Erin Wight Director, MacEwan International

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE OUR IQ SERVICE OFFERING OVER ANYTHING ELSE YOU COULD HAVE DONE?

A couple of things – capacity and access to data. We wanted to look at our position in the industry based on real-time data and what is going on in key markets now. Access to IDP’s team of counsellors who know us and our competitors as well as what speaks to students and their families was key to finding out where we are positioned. We could have pulled study permit data but that looks into the past of a market and our resource capacities still would not have been able to get us what we were really looking for.

HOW HAVE YOU OR WILL YOU USE THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CONSULTANCY?

The results narrowed down our competitors so we know which universities and colleges we actually should be benchmarking against based on data. A couple of competitors surprised us and we now know we need to be considering them in our strategies.

The key findings and recommendations have started to inform our marketing and branding strategies based on a better understanding of different market drivers and where our offerings align. Most general information on markets can only speak to drivers for the whole country but this allowed us to focus in on perceptions of us and our competitors by focusing on drivers and perceptions of students who are looking for our type of programming, not all students in the market (i.e. taking out drivers and perceptions of students seeking graduate level programming). The noted perceptions of our city, province, and school helped us understand where we have work to do.

WHAT STRATEGIES HAVE YOU IMPLEMENTED OR WILL BE IMPLEMENTED FROM THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS?

We are working on ways to boost our branding digitally and adjust marketing materials to align with program demand and drivers in different markets which speak to students seeking our type of programs. We are also looking at our identified top competitors to evaluate where we can stand out in offerings.

WHAT IMPRESSED YOU ABOUT THE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS?

The matrix of analysis. Information on general market interest and drivers is accessible but this project analysed our position against our competitors (quantitatively identified, not perceived) and drivers of the subset of students in the market who are actually looking for programs we have (rather than to include students who aren’t our target). We now know how we stack up against our competitors for students in key markets with clear recommendations on how we can advance our position.

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE OF WORKING WITH IDP CONNECT IQ?

The ease of the project on our side really stood out. We met a couple of times to ensure the IQ team was addressing our primary questions and understood our specific context. Then the team took it away. They kept us informed and asked clarification questions but we didn’t need to spend a lot of time focusing on the project. Outcomes from the findings are our work but that is a much better starting point for us.