Identifying the Basis for Segmenting Higher Education

Abstract

This paper reviews the developments taking place in the Higher Education (HE) industry. The focus of the research is to identify the main variables used to segment universities in Egypt. The research is qualitative in nature as the dimensions for segmentation were derived based on a series of in-depth interviews followed by two focus groups. Perceived quality and level of internationalization were found to be the two most important dimensions for classifying HE institutions in Egypt. These two dimensions formed the basis of a two-by-two matrix, which was used to segment HE universities into four main segments. The four HE segments that were identified are: legacy, prestigious, imitators, and the uncertain. Each quadrant was identified based on the level of perceived quality and the degree of internationalization. The matrix is useful for universities’ administrators to identify their current position and assess their future positioning strategies.