Using Market Intelligence as part of the Course Approval and Periodic Course Review processes
The Market Intelligence team in the Strategic Development Service (SDS) is here to help your school with both
processes, providing both resources and specific expertise in the area of market research and intelligence
within the Higher Education sector.
Course Approval process
As you will be aware, the course planning process considers the business case for a proposed new course. In
many cases, market research/intelligence will be a useful component in supporting this business case.
We are aware that there are various types of intelligence/information to consider within the course approval
process and that market intelligence is just one piece of the jigsaw. ‘Soft intelligence’ provided within the
schools (in the form of ‘inside knowledge’, experience, or even gut feeling) also has its place within this
process, but the skill is in piecing all the types of information together to create a strong evidence base to
support your new course idea.
Some Questions you might want to ask?
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What is the current market for programmes like this? Is it increasing or decline?
Who is the market? Student Profile by gender, age, or ethnicity.
Where is the market? – Geographical distribution?
What is the best course title?
What should be included in the course/what do other HEIs offer? – Modules, USPs, assessment, contact
hours
Are prospective students interested / what do they want?
How much to charge?
What entry tariff requirement?
Periodic Course Review process
The Market Intelligence Team is able to support Schools in the course review process by providing a number of
different analyses, such as, a competitor comparison/review of course portfolio or with a focus on more
specific aspects of a School’s portfolio, e.g. fees, unique selling points, delivery, etc.
Our Service to schools:
Desk Research:
Data  HESA data by domicile - 4 years of student course data for all UK HEIs
 UCAS Applications - Applications/Accepts, 3 years data, All HEIs, by JACS Subject line
 Mapping analysis (GIS) – Can map HESA, Census, data, any postcode data from Banner. Various boundary
sets including Local Government, Super Output Areas, etc.
 Subject View Reports – Provided by an external HE agency, providing a substantial base of market
intelligence for a large number of subjects at UCLan, including trends in Further and Higher Education.
 Web search – Scanning for intelligence (Institution websites, HE external agencies, international sources,
basic digital listening).
 HE publications – Academic journals, publications.
Primary Research:
 We are able to access current students, prospective students, parents, influencers, etc.
 Access to research panel of 1262 current students, and in the future (Winter 2012), a sizeable panel of
prospective students
 Online quantitative surveys – writing, designing, programming, and analysis services.
 Focus Groups and in-depth interviews – available face-to face or run entirely online.
 Short-term online research communities – design, administration, and analysis services. (Wider research
aim than focus groups, can run over one to two weeks)
 Support with commissioning research from external agencies.
The Process:
1. Look at the Subject View Reports – It is always a good idea to check the baseline intelligence before
considering launching a new course. The Market Intelligence Team purchase a number of self-contained
intelligence reports by JACS subject/4-digit JACS code (50+ reports) that provide useful insight into:
a. prospective student numbers,
b. competitor HEI student numbers
c. market size and growth
d. UCAS applications/accepts
e. Tariff on entry
f. International profile – student numbers
g. Decision-making factors
h. Return on investment
Reports are available on the intranet at - https://intranet.uclan.ac.uk/ou/sds/market-intelligence/Pages/MIReports.aspx
(We do not have reports for every programme at UCLan, if your subject is missing and you feel it shouldn’t be,
please contact us to see whether it can be purchased this year, or placed on the list for the next purchase
cycle).
2. Contact your Schools Advancement Business Partner to discuss requirements – they will help formulate
your request and liaise with the Market Intelligence team on your behalf (if required). They can also advise
on the new course marketing requirements at this stage in the process.
3. Request to Market Intelligence Team
Requests can take any form; whether a well-defined request for a particular type of analysis, or a general
research enquiry which might need further definition. If it is the latter we can arrange to meet and discuss
your requirements, before settling on the most appropriate methodology to provide you with the answers
that you are looking for.
We will also consider the scale of the work required. We will try to balance a number of factors in order to
ensure that the time put aside for any work is appropriate to the level of priority for the university and
school - risk; potential size of course; single course or multiple courses; understanding of current market
for this subject; ‘soft intelligence’ available; cost/income.
Consideration of these factors will influence the time, expenditure, and methodology appropriate for the
research request.
4. Receipt of completed work
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Does the research answer your questions?
Does the evidence support the development of a new course?
Please provide feedback to the Market Intelligence Team, to help us to continuously improve.
July 2012