Integrity in higher education marketing? A typology of misleading data-based claims in the university prospectus

Abstract

This paper examines misleading marketing claims in UK university prospectuses. It reviews earlier studies suggesting that the imagery and language of university marketing can be misleading. It considers the use of data and statistics by universities in their advertising – a topic not previously studied. From a sample of UK university prospectuses a typology of misleading data-based marketing claims is proposed, with nine categories: omission of facts and selective reporting; misleading wording; misleading inferences about an attribute; misleading associations between attributes; misleading endorsements; claim-fact discrepancies; falsehoods; carefully crafted comparisons, and claims without a reference point. Because choosing a university is so important to students and because universities aspire to high ethical and scholarly standards, the issues raised by these findings are significant. The two bodies empowered to address this issue in the UK do not take a proactive approach and so it must fall to universities themselves to address the ethical challenges raised by misleading marketing.

Thematic analysis of marketing messages in UK universities’ prospectuses

“…This suggests the need for universities to realise that they can be held responsible for the promises presented in their marketing material. Bradley (2013) observed some misleading data-based marketing claims in prospectuses. It is important to make sure the perception the students have from the prospectus concurs with what they experience on campus.…”

“…The marketisation of higher education, lifting the cap on university tuition fees and numbers of students, has actually led to increasing emphasis on universities to market themselves to prospective students (Bradley, 2013;Hemsley-Brown, 2011;Molesworth et al, 2009). There is competition among all institutionsnot just the very best (Levy, 2013) and they are adopting different ways to reach out to the prospective students.…”

Integrity in higher education marketing and misleading claims in the university prospectus: what happened next…and is it enough?

“…This model also seems to fit the issue of misleading university marketing. In the author's earlier paper (Bradley, 2013), the literature review identified numerous writers, over many years, who had expressed awareness of misleading marketing in the higher education sector. So this was not some secret, unknown issue.…”

“…In 2013 this journal published the paper 'Integrity in Higher Education Marketing: A typology of misleading data-based claims in the university prospectus' (Bradley, 2013). The paper examined the misleading use of data and statistics by United Kingdom (UK) universities in their advertising and proposed a nine-part typology to describe such claims.…”

Research claims within the education industry: managing reflective practice

“…For example, education marketing often relates to expensive, potentially life-changing purchases that cannot be trialled or returned by the individual or their families. In addition, this consumer decision has the potential to have far-reaching social implications, as the education of youth and young people occurs during a very formative and vulnerable period of their lives (Bradley, 2013). Furthermore, sharing high-quality education research can increase stakeholder understanding of education, which can help institutions and individuals find solutions to meet their needs (Tseng et al, 2017).…”