CQUniversity – Innovative Education For All

What CQUniversity Offers

The university is offering about 300 courses starting from certificate, diploma, and degree up to doctorate level and also offers training, apprenticeship which are nurturing talents of individual students. CQU has employed a lot of information technology which has helped in enabling distance learning, thus making it easier to offer off-campus courses for students in the rural and remote areas including international students. CQU pioneered distant learning and it has enabled it acquire international markets through effective an efficient technology. This has made it easier to meet students from rural and remote areas of Australia and international students who wants to study with moderate fee.

To offer innovative education to communities, generate knowledge through creation of connection, imparting individual attention which is learner focused.

To be a leading university in innovation, creativity, disseminate knowledge that is inclusive both domestic and globally

To offer exemplary quality education to all

To create awareness both domestically and globally

To gain new markets thus increase the market share

To improve stakeholder relations and internal communications

To enroll more students thus increasing the profits.

CQU as well as other higher educational institutions has undergone reforms and reviews where the federal government has come up with a funding programme which allow an increase in enrolments of students from rural and remote areas of Australia. This funding has allowed enrolment of students from disadvantaged background to be able to access this system of education. In the year 2014 this demand-driven funding registered a high number of students enrolling to universities and specifically CQU which recorded a rise of up to about 32000 students. This was a significant increase since in the year 2013 the university was recording about 19000 number of students. The increase also in the year 2014 was attributed to Commonwealth of Nations which has offered scholarships to disadvantaged students which would otherwise not been able to access this system of education. Commonwealth of Nations is offering scholarships majorly in developing countries from Africa, Asia and some parts of South America which has encouraged students to work harder in order to achieve this scholarships which are offered in terms of merits. Major barrier to increasing market share is federal government which might want to increase revenue of top ranking universities thus cutting of the profit margins of CQU. The government is aiming at categorizing the universities into different levels with the top ranked universities being taxed heavily claiming a higher profit made and inhibits growth in the market to these universities CQU being one of them. This command a bigger share of the institution and thus becomes less profitable thus forces the university to increase fees which will not favor students from rural and remote areas who would like to study with moderate fee, and this being a major market to CQU thus inhibits its growth in the market

Target Markets for CQUniversity

CQUniversity is currently registering an increase in the number of students due to, opening of new campuses, new courses and well-built road and communication networks. Among other factors also the university uses the most recent, effective and efficient technology which gathers for international students and some rural and remote students who wants to acquire knowledge with moderate fee. CQ University has registered a significant growth in the market with over 25% being international markets and another higher percentage are students from disadvantaged background. CQ University is the pioneer of distant learning with half the number of students studying off-campus i.e. from international and those from rural and remote areas of Australia. It is projected that by the year 2018the population is expected to increase which is an advantage to the university.

Market segmentation is the act of categorizing the market into different segments or parts with a particular characteristic and a specific type of customers with similar needs. Overall market is divided into individual groups of interest which enable the organization to deliver services which are consumer specific and satisfy their particular needs. CQU has divided its market into different categories in order to meet different needs of the customers. The first market segment is international and rural/remote students from Australia who want to complete education with moderate fee. The major target market are international students and students from rural/remote areas who want to study off-campus. The university is a pioneer in distance learning and currently recording the highest in terms of distance learning for both international and rural and remote regions. About 50% of the current student population are distance learners with 25% being international students and those from rural and remote areas of Australia who have difficulties in attending classes or want to balance work- study of life, furthermore students from developing countries especially those from disadvantaged background are the target market for CQUniversity. Mass market has been majorly divided into two that is domestic and international market which are further subdivided into students who want to study off-campus and those who want to study on-campus courses. The university also majors on opening up new campuses and also gain new markets due to specific needs and currently it is recording up to 25 operational campuses. The university is looking forward to enrolling more students from around the city which is currently recording the lowest number yet the university is situated in a walking distance from Sydney city. This can only be achieved through media advertisement and use of billboards around the city to make them aware of the existence of variety of courses offered in the university

Market Segmentation for CQUniversity

Target market is based on various factors which include demographic, psychographic, behavioral and geographic profile. Demographic profile categorize into domestic and global students where domestic students are those from Australia majorly rural and remote areas who would like to study in a top rank university because of their interest. In global students different limitations need to be considered that could be English literacy level, the availability of scholarship programs

Also in the target market age group matters a lot in the determination of target group, CQU is target students of age 18 to 26 years since it offers courses from undergraduate to postgraduate level and thus majorly students are from that age bracket who will be paying relatively less fee compared to other universities.

Psychographic profile CQU has various motivational factors which include job placement after studies and pays relatively good amount of salary, this as boost the attraction of the university towards enrolling more students

Behavioral profile there are students from other universities who might want to study during summer break that is November to February, this might make some of the students to sought placement in the CQU in order to travel during this break to various universities.

Geographic profile these are aspect of climate, local population, density of the market, as well as regional topography (Kotler, 2015). During winter periods some universities close their activities of the academic year due to unfriendly weather conditions.

The most effective profile used in the CQU is the demographic which bases the students in terms of domestic or global students. There are some social traits depicted like education, income level and age. Age considers students from 18 to 26 who wants to study for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

CQUniversity is having lowest fees per semester when compared to other universities such as Queensland University of Technology, La Trobe University as well as Deakin University stating that CQUniversity is targeting those students that will be paying relatively less (Baker, 2014). In the year 2018 the number of students is expected to rise with a significant figure. The university in the year 2018 aims at enrolling more students in the city which is recording low levels of enrollment at the moment.

This is a set of factors which the organization uses to transform market strategies and this include: product or service, price, promotion and place. Marketing mix strategies enable the organization and in the case of CQU offer services which are consumer specific and to certain specific areas. in this case the university have three target markets that is, students from rural and remote areas of Australia, global students from other countries, and those from the city and all these need to be addressed by the system of education being offered by the university.

Marketing Mix Strategies at CQUniversity

Services are non-tangible products offered by the organization, CQ University provide services from distance learning and on-campus studies. They offer courses from certificate to PhD which include; law, trade, business, trainings, apprenticeship, engineering etc. The strategy for the year 2018 to offer services which are inclusive to all. To improve these services offered the university is employing efficient and effective technology which gathers for distant learners and achieve satisfaction.

Low prices may depict low quality services offered while high prices may only gather for the well-off thus average prices gathers for both. CQ University provide quality education with moderate fee as compared to its competitors. The university should moderate fees to be less than those of the competitors in order to gain more market share since it is becoming a cash cow. Prices currently are moderate and need to maintain in order to increase market growth moreover gains a wider market share both domestically and globally.

Promotion is the act of marketing the organization in order to penetrate to new markets, this may be done through advertisement, school engagement, publications among others. 2018 strategy is to be effective in media advertisement in order to make interested groups beware of its existence in the market. Promotional strategies include more TV advertisement and publication including billboards. This will major in the city where enrollment is low and require greater improvement.

CQ University is located within a walking distance from Sydney and this has gathered for those students who want to stay further away from the noisy city but within the reach and those who want to be close to the city may be due to job-study so as to commute to and fro. This strategic position has enable CQ University to be more competitive in terms of position and a conducive environment without too much noise from the city. By the year 2018 CQU should strategies on establishing more campuses in other places and majorly on international centers.

These are the political, economic, social and technological factors which affect the organization. CQU is affected by some of these factors and there is need to see each factor and how it affects the organization.

Government regulations affect all the businesses taking place within the organization. For example government pass laws  to reduce the fees of all the institutions of higher learning or cut off entry points to the universities this affect the organization directly in that many students will have to be enrolled and thus there is need to expand. As seen in the case of CQ University where students increased from 19,108 to 32,609 which was due to fee reduction in the year 2014. By the look the population is expected to rise up to 36,288 which is a significant increase.

Prices and Promotion

These are factors that deals with currency exchange rates. CQ University has its target market as international students and currency varies. An exchange with weak currency means the student has to gather a lot in order to meet that amount. An example case was in 2009 where Yuan currency was weakening against the Australian dollar and in this case the university registered a lower number of students recruiting for studies.

This is the participation of the university in social activities like sports and development projects in order to foster the reputation of the organization. This is also called the corporate responsibility where the organization spend some of its profit to benefit the surrounding society. Central Queensland University is paying back to the community by using 10% of its income to participate in these projects like clinical services. 

CQ University is a pioneer in distance learning and this has influence greatly towards its growth. Technology has enhanced online teaching and students from rural and remote areas and also international have been able to access this through efficient and effective technology.

This is a mechanism used to identify strengths/weaknesses and opportunities/threats facing Central Queensland University.

CQU provide flexible education and trainings being the pioneer of distance learning which allow students from rural and remote areas and also international students to study off-campus with moderate fees. It also offers a variety of courses up to 300 which gathers from certificate to doctorate level. Other strengths include enthusiastic campus culture and climate, quality courses and student services, international support programs and location with good infrastructure for easy transportation.

The drawbacks affecting CQU include low penetration in the city where 50% of the students are from rural and remote areas of Australia and international students from developing and developed countries of Africa, Asia and even Europe.

The opportunities that has placed CQU in a competitive advantage include government policy in America and political instability in Europe has made students to opt into Australia universities with moderate school fees and support system to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is the leading university in distance learning and innovation thus becoming flexible. It should also emphasize on enrolling students from the city which is currently low and this will project 2018 to an increase in population.

These are factors which might hinder the future survival of CQU as an institution. One of the threat is change in government policies which will directly affect the enrollment of international students who contribute up to 25% of the total populsation. Other threats include less courses and resources in the city campuses and also growing number of competitors.

Projected Growth of CQUniversity

CQU aims at offering inclusive education and meeting the target of students. This is only made possible by offering unique courses which may not be offered by other universities to make it different. The university target the students from the city and thus have to add value and rebrand their advertisement in TV to enable reach out to the city market. It has to open up more branches in the city which are reachable for those who want to balance between working and studying at the same time and hence gain more markets.

CQU is aiming at various markets like currently it is gaining more markets internationally and remote and rural areas of Australia. Minor market is in the city which is the target for the year 2018. This will be enhanced by promotional objectives which include employing more directors to be involved in advertising and marketing of the university. This team will ensure advertisement in all kinds of media and include direct contact with interested individuals to be made aware of what is going on in the university.

Though CQU has a higher growth in the market it also faces competition from other universities like Queensland University and Federal University which are close competitor for the same market. CQU has employed a lot of technology especially in distance learning and has rendered competitors at a level of incompetency. Another strategy is to build its reputation by offering exclusively quality education which is recognized globally.

CQU is looking forward to increasing the budget for the year 2018 towards media advertisement. This will gather for all media projects starting from publication, TV advertisement, Facebook, twitter handles and gazette in different countries in order to gain global market.

Conclusion And Expected Outcome

CQU is growing gradually where year in year out the total number of population increases gradually due to its competitive nature in the market. All this is attributed to quality education and marketing strategies which have been put in place in order to capture international markets. The future of CQU might be bright if the current trends analysis is not affected by government policies and regulation and majorly on if it will affect international students who contribute 25% of the population. Its current value and brand positioning put CQU at a higher position as compared to its competitors. In the year 2018 the number of students enrolling to CQU is expected to rise up to 32,288 which is a significant increase compared to Feduni which is dropping. This would be of advantage to the university since it is gaining more markets.

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