Marketing in a Higher Education Institution Essay

I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Jake Ansell, for entirely his plump for and encouragement during this challenging dissertation period. My gratitude in any case goes out to all schoolman and support staff of the MSc Marketing and Business Analysis blood greenback for what was an commandal stimulating faculty member category. All the familiarity passed on and assistant inclined formed a solid justtocks that was invaluable during the run of working on this dissertation.I would like to also like to sprout this opportunity to extend my appreciation to my family members, course mates and friends, who acted as pillars of faculty by continuously tutelage check and giving out row of encouragement during the dissertation phase.ABSTRACTThe nature of the rapidly changing high Education (HE) perseverance has crowdd universities to implement more than innovative market strategies. In order to remain competitive, thither is a deprivation for universities to non only engage in trade strategies that ar relevant to the quick HE background, but also be aw ar of foreseeable changes that argon taking maneuver to alter them to alter their positions and adapt smoothly without being left behind. This determine subscribe tos the selling strategies employed by the College of Humanities and hearty lore at the University of Edinburgh and the relevance of these strategies in the context of the fast-moving HE intentness. cardinal main aras were merchant shipvass in the literary productions review- call fors of the industry, watercourse market philosophies and practices indoors the industry and course of instructions that likely to shape the in store(predicate) of the industry.A proper discretion of these aras is cardinal as it used as a comparative yardstick to evaluate the Colleges existing strategic position and the direction it is top dog towards. Qualitative explore was used attached the exploratory nature of the theme that aimed to uncoer thoughts, experiences and ideas of respondents. In-depth interview was used as the main interrogation regularity as on that point was a specific need to gather little information from select-few respondents based on their job expertise. On a bantam scale, focus group interviews comprising school-age childs were also conducted as a complementary question to generate their in tuition fee and views regarding the high Education Industry.Upon abbreviation, discussion of the purposes was divided into terzetto slits based on their relevance to the research questions and the gaps observed in the literature review. The chance upon findings was that the general school of thought of the Colleges trade is in line with the existing ensamples pass judgment of the HE, but at that place is inadequate merchandise for undergraduate directs which was brought most(predicate) by an arguably bogus interpretation of high demand. The need also immortal izes that on that point is under-utilization of the role of school-age child embassador and lack of gender-based market, twain of which were identified in the literature as consequential in keeping up with fiercer competition and addressing challenges of the future. In term of fee structure, high-income household scholarly persons are expected to turn out the largest share of costs because of their ineligibility to apply for some loans and grants. However, they are seen to be forgeting to pursue HE studies and view it as an investing for a better career.Low and middle-income household bookmans, although are not affect much at undergraduate suck up, are likely to seek purpose after their studies instead of commencing a graduate student degree. The findings and analysis brought about several(prenominal) recommendations which allow in foc utilise on outside(a) merchandise to ontogenesis the level of international students, thusly generating high r pull downues th at could be channelled at funding purposes for postgraduate level to increase company of low and middle-income household students. Recommendations for strengthening trade efforts at undergraduate level, tailoring gender-based marketing and efficient utilization of student ambassador connives were also sufferd. The get a line concludes that while the afoot(predicate) marketing philosophy fits the existing context (with exception to undergraduate level), a lot toilette be through with(p) to profitd on emerging trends to ensure that the College is better lively to deal with the changes of the future.1.0 CHAPTER cardinal INTRODUCTIONThis Chapter go out present the purpose of the research, on with the objectives that are aimed to be achieved. It also brings into attention the relevant research questions that the study seeks to answer. The Introduction Chapter concludes with a structure of report to demonstrate the organization and geomorphologic design of this study.1.1 Purp ose of StudyThe purpose of this study is to analyze the current marketing strategies employed by the University of Edinburghs College of Humanities and Social intuition and its relevance to the rapidly changing high reading industry, to enhance the friendship ready(prenominal) in existing research and also to tick the foundation for further research. Existing research on high gentility is ample but there is limited research on contemporary strategies in the fastchanging high learning industry. More importantly, there has been very few studies through on the University of Edinburgh and the Colleges associated with it, in price of its stiffness in executing marketing strategies and preparatory measures in dealing with future challenges.The objectives of this research are1) To investigate the relevance of marketing strategies adopted by the College of Humanities and Social Science with regards to the existing context of the high Education industry.2) To investigate the co mpetitiveness of marketing strategies employed by the College of Humanities and Social Science with regards to the foreseeable changes to the high Education industry.In order to do this, there was need to piddle a general understanding on the high(prenominal)(prenominal) Education industry and also the transformations that it has witnessed and are likely to face in the recent future. Upon identifying the central and emerging accompanimentors that are set to affect the marketing strategies under take holdn by the College, the study was limited to a focused area of study and the following research questions were derived1) Are the general marketing philosophies of the University of Edinburgh in line with contemporary standards expected in the high(prenominal)(prenominal) Education industry?2) To what extent are disciple Ambassadors being empowered and utilized as a marketing asshole to provide the edge in a competitive student enlisting market? 3) Are there initiatives on gend er-based marketing to capitalize on the trend of consistently increase event of female students in Higher Education? 4) How would a new fee-structure, if implemented, affect marketing strategies in recruiting UK, EU and Overseas students?1.2 Structure of ReportThe report is organised as followsCHAPTER ONE Reveals the purpose of the study and central hit sexs that are observed. It moves on to identify the research objectives that the study endeavours to appreciate through the assessment of key research questions ( old instalment). CHAPTER deuce Provides an overview of the Higher Education industry and explores three main section- demands in higher readingal activity, contemporary marketing philosophies and practices of the industry, and the higher preparation fee structure. Each section is concluded by establishing their relevance to the research questions being posed. CHAPTER THREE Discusses the methodology used in addressing the research questions. This Chapter establishes the reasons for the selection of methods and techniques used, and highlights the limitations in place. It also provides reasons as to why opposite methods were not employed.CHAPTER FOUR Provides findings from the primary research and analysis linking the findings to the literature review. This Chapter is divided into three sections- New-age marketing philosophies of the higher grooming industry, alliance between tuition fees structure and marketing strategies with regards to recruitment for UK, EU and Non-EU students, and under-utilization of resources to capitalize of emerging trends (student ambassador and gender-based marketing). It also critically discusses the strengths and weakness of the Colleges marketing strategies. Recommendations were also provided in this chapter to counter weaknesses that were observed.CHAPTER FIVE Concludes the study and reiterates the summarized findings, analysis and recommendations of the previous Chapter. Areas for future research and research limitations that could be improved on were also highlighted. Note In this research, College would call forth to College of Humanities and Social Science, University of Edinburgh. This is distinct from University which would refer to the University of Edinburgh as a whole. Although this study is done in the College, the word University will be used in some discussion areas which encompass twain the College and the University.2.0 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEWThe Literature review will punctuate on three areas demands for Higher Education, contemporary marketing philosophies and practices of Higher Education, and Higher Education fee structure. A firm comprehension of these areas will provide a good understanding on the current structure of Higher Education and the direction it is drift towards.2.1 Demands for Higher EducationThe implementation of effective marketing strategies depends significantly on clear understanding of demands within an industry. This section of the literatur e review aims to look into the patterns seen in demand, from two local anaesthetic and international perspectives, and how they arrive evolved over the years. It would seek to review motivations that drive demand for higher program line and identify emerging trends that could have an effect on future demands in the higher education industry. Such understandings are vital for knowledgeabilitys in continuing to remain competitive and also in laying the foundations to avail possible changes in strategies for the future.Statistical figures show that in 1950, about 50,000 third level students examine in triggers outside their home country (Brickman 1975). europium and North America were the most popular continents of study destination and a vast studyity of the students were from these regions. In terms of Asiatic students, few studied a focussing from their home countries and for those who did, the majority followed the colonial path with students from India, the Malay Penins ula and Hong Kong heading to the United Kingdom and ones from Indochina preferring an education in France (Cummings and So 1985).Out of a marrow of 900,000 students who studied abroad in third institutions in 1984, Asian students constituted about 45% of them in 1985. The sharp increase of Asian students was contributed by factors such as ontogenesis in income per capita in Asia which make it affordable for them to pursue a degree overseas and also the perception that overseas degrees were viewed as a platform to achieve good drill opportunities. Another contributing factor was the rapid amplification of secondary education in numerous Asian countries, hence creating more qualified tertiary-level applicants that the local education strategy could accommodate (Cumming 1984).Over the last decade, developed countries virtually the world saw a significant increase in demand for tertiary education and there have been a large glitz of research in economical literature to assess a nd analyze the driving forces that brought about this shift. Albert (2000) states that all these studies lead to one major contributing force that has resulted in high demand for higher education the peremptory intimacy between level of education and income and career prospects.Testing this hypothesis in the UK context, Greenaway and Haynes (2000) reported that an add up earning difference between a graduate and a nongraduate stands at 410,000 while Skidelski (2000) through a study using a different methodology projects the figure at 400,000. These figures are supported potently by the report of UKs Department of Education and Skill using Labour Force Survey data which estimated a lifetime average differential of 400,000 as well (Greenaway and Haynes 2003). Therefore, given the confusable period in which these studies were done, the UK figures asserts the findings of Albert (2000) whereby there is validity in the perception of association between income and level of education. Another important finding by Albert (2000) is the role of gender in explaining demand, in which women were noted to be relatively more motivated and attached than men to demand for higher education on the basis that it would enable them to compete on par with men in career promotional material opportunities. This is supported by Broecke and Hamed (2008) in which they stated that although women has been historically under-representation in higher education, statistics show that by 1992, they have caught up with men in terms of participation in England and as of 2008, are ahead of men by 7.2%. In a report submitted to the United Nations, Johnson and Vanderpool (2003) found that in the Carribean, the name of women in higher education outnumber that of men, and in some institutions even show 3.21 ratio.It is also estimated that the ratio could go up as high as 81 in favour of women. In the United States, the participation of women in higher education increase from 43% in 1971 to 56% i n 1997 and the gap continues to widen (United States General bill Office 2000). In the UK context, the numbers of undergraduate female student applicants over the past 3 years have been consistently placed at 56% compared to male student applicants at 44% (see Appendix 1).This trend is of importance to higher education marketing in terms of weigh the importance of gender in relation to the establishment of draw a bead on groups. term women may be seen as the ones more inclined to embrace higher education, it also indicates that little focus have to be channelled to them in marketing campaigns as compared to males.In terms of undergraduate students in the UK higher education industry, a significant portion of 88% consists of UK students in 2009/10. This is followed by Non-EU and EU students at 8% and 4% respectively. Figures based solely on undergraduate students enrolled on a full time basis indicate that UK students turn up as the significant front runner with 84% ahead of Non -EU students at 10% and EU students at 6%. As for part-time undergraduate students, UK students are a pass the majority at 94% followed by Non-EU students at 4% and EU students at 2% (see Appendix 2). Although the pattern crossways both these modes of study is quite similar, there is a difference in terms of percentage variation between the 2009/10 enumerations compared to the previous academic cycle of 2008/2009. While all full time students regardless of geographic background recorded a confirmative variation in memorandum, UK and EU part time students recorded a decrease in enumeration by 3% and 7% respectively. Only Non-EU part-time students registered a positive increment from 2008/09 to 2009/10 with an increase of 6% (HESA 2011).Sastry (2004) argues that the number of students obtaining postgraduate courses flat after their undergraduate studies is expected to rise collect to the fact that there has been increasing number of graduates over the years. Therefore, as suppo rted by Hesketh and sawbuck (1999), postgraduate study is viewed as an option for undergraduates to differentiate themselves from the pool of other graduates seeking employment. Non-EU students make up about 43% of overall full-time postgraduate students in UK in 2009/10. This consists of a significant portion of total postgraduate students and the number has nearly doubled in the past seven years, indicating that this is a recent and emerging trend (HESA 2011). Overall, without taking UK into account, Non-EU students constitute 69% of students at all levels of study (see Appendix 3).This trend has seen the number of Non-EU students increase by almost 200% from 1995 to 2010. Income received by higher education institutions from Non-EU students during this same period has also increased significantly from 455 million in 1995 to 2,580 million in 2010 (see Appendix 4). Given that this is now a major market for UK tertiary institutions, there has been a rise in efforts interpreted to continue reaching prospective students abroad (Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka 2006). Important factors that come into sour when assessing the ability of the UK higher education to remain attractive are the standard and re investation of institutions, the expansion of local education system in countries abroad, peculiarly China and India, and the competitiveness of the UK market as opposed to other study destinations (Ramsden and Brown 2008).Employment opportunities in the UK is also a reason for Non-EU students to take up a postgraduate course as students who have studied in the UK for at least one full academic year would be eligible to apply for a Post-Study Work Visa. Guruz (2009) stated that incentives in the form of research grants and employment opportunities abroad are major forces that are considered by foreign students when choosing a study destination. However, it has to be brought into attention that the current UK organisation has tightened visa regulations and the Post-St udy Work Visa would be abolished in 2012 (The withstander 2011).Therefore, the changes in regulation may bring about significant changes to the enrolment of international students in postgraduate courses in the UK. UK students consist of about 45% of the total number of full-time postgraduate students in the region, almost similar to the number of Non-EU students. However, UK students make up 82% of the part-time postgraduate students in 2009/10 (HESA 2011). This is partly due to the fact that the high postgraduate fees gather up students to work in order to finance themselves. Other contributing reasons include company scholarship and students not wanting to leave their jobs in multiplication of economic turmoil (Jongbloed 2003).EU students make up about 12% of full time postgraduate students, with most of its students coming from the new countries admitted into EU since 2004. However, increasing or perhaps even retaining the current level of enrolment of EU students may be a ch allenge as projections show that the population of 1830 year olds in EU are set to twilight by 14% over the next 20 years. Of the new countries admitted into the EU in 2004, it is projected that their combined population of 18 year olds will decrease by a significant 37%, from 1.5 million in 2007 to 1 million in 2027 (Ramsden and Brown 2008).Reviewing this section shows that there is an increasing number of Non-EU students, particularly Asians, opting to study out of their home countries. Overall, over the years, there are a growing number of students who embark on higher education and one of the major contributors to this is the positive association between level of education and career prospects. The secondary research also reveals that although the majority of undergraduate students come from the UK, most of the postgraduate students in the UK are made up of Non-EU students. The trend of growing number of female students in the higher education industry was also observed.2.2 Con temporary Marketing Philosophies and Practices of Higher EducationIn order to remain relevant in rapidly changing industry, it is important for institutions to keep abreast with current needs of the market and changes that are mandatory of the industry to remain competitive. Therefore, this section of the literature review attempts to assess the figure of speech shift of traditional higher education marketing to contemporary strategies ask by the industry and also look at key areas that could be fully utilized to enhance the efficiency of higher education marketing campaigns. The marketing of higher education needs to encompass the traditional emphasis on product, place, price and promotion but also include people, bidding and physical differentiate through a service-oriented marketing approach which gives due credence to the value of the intangible and inseparable.In this context, the components of people, process and physical evidence have been altered slightly to represent a more entrance connotation in regards to the higher education industry. Newman and Jahdi (2009) described people as calibre or champions whereby such human qualities in an institution would be pivotal in attracting students. This echoes the view held by McGrath (2003) in which a positive correlation between the development of education market and high antecedency on variables such as managerial competence, role-model associations and performance. The component of process has been define as capacitance, where issues such as communication between the institution and prospective student, blood marketing and enrolment procedures should be handled efficiently to gain competitive advantage.Newman and Jahdi (2009) further asserts that considerations as small as publicising opening hours for consulting and enrolment purposes as well as offering refreshments could, once combined, prove to be the added value that would inevitably enhance the end service that is being marketed. The last component, physical evidence was represented by charisma, whereby elements such as geographical location, facilities and amenities are taken into account. Factors such as level and heritage of a location and the tradition of graduation ceremonies could provide a disposition of identity that students would take pride in being associated with the institution (Roper and Davies 2007). However, Newman and Jahdi (2009) stated that the implementation of marketing mix could potentially lead to contrary consequences as marketing rhetoric may not necessarily eternally reflect educational reality.They go on to state that although there are indications that higher education marketers have started to take the leap into focusing on people, process and physical evidence, these elements need to be expanded to include observation and thoughts of higher education from staff and students as this would be able to pick at the mismatch of the marketing rhetoric and the reality of the environs. Cri tically, Newman and Jahdi (2009) also argued that knowledge and skills acquired in tertiary educational institutions should not be conveniently marketed as sheer commodities that are to be sold as predetermined packages to those who have been targeted. Instead, there should be a genuine attempt to convey that education is a challenging industry that would require effort and planning by students, hence projecting the reality.Evans (2004) holds similar views about the need to craft a marketing effort that is as close to reality as possible, particularly given the context of the current climate whereby effectiveness, quality, competition and evaluation are a matter of public discourse and information are widely available and easily accessed. This is supported by Crosby et al. (1991), in their argument that a false representation in marketing could lead to adverse effects and contradictly impact upon the credibility of an institution. Therefore, although not predominantly derived fro m a moral standpoint, the need to eliminate unsubstantiated benefits and other positive associations with an institution is vital in terms of marketing implications as failure to appreciate this growing issue may cause an institutions credibility being put to question. savant ambassadors are very much part of UK higher education institutions and they have been known to assist in marketing efforts of their respective universities, predominantly via engagement with prospective students through campus tours. In recent times, student ambassadors have widened their scope of marketing operations and have now extended their operate through handling multiple tasks, which include organizing residential summer schools to aid prospective students to gain insights into university lifestyle in hope that this would encourage them to take up higher education courses. Another new area embarked by student ambassadors is their participation in mentoring activities, particularly for the disadvantage d young persons (Ylonen 2010).These recent expansion in their activities have been encouraged the former Labour governments initiative to expand participation in higher education for groups that are under-represented through its Aimhigher broadcast. In analyzing the relationship between higher education decision-making amongst the juvenility and the role played by student ambassadors in this aspect, Gartland and Pacsuzka (2007) found that student ambassadors who are deemed trustworthy by prospective students could play a key role in widening their participation gap as prospects are more likely to consider them as a preferred cream of contact point when making further enquiries, especially if they do not have a family background in higher education. This is supported by Reay et al. (2005) in their argument that information gathered through relationships and networks are taken more seriously compared to ones obtained from official sources such as prospectuses and the Internet.There fore, student ambassadors can potentially be seen as mediators and their interventions would greatly influence decisions made by prospects. Taylor (2008) argued that one of the challenges faced in institutions is to connect the territories of academia and school environment and hence, the role of a student ambassador fits in well as although they speak from the standpoint of the institution, there is not much difference in the age bracket between both these groups and this would create a more casual and appropriate comfort zone for prospective students to engage in. This finding is particularly relevant to marketers in determining the age group of candidates to be selected as student ambassadors, given that they consist of not only undergraduates but also mature postgraduate students.In a study of an Aimhigher programme in south-east London, Ylonen (2010) found that most student ambassadors had very unnoticeable ideas of what they thought their tasks would be like and many a(prenom inal) of them stated that their expected roles as perceived during training and their actual roles were very different. Although they generally had sound knowledge of higher education lifestyle and its environment, many lacked the thorough knowledge of procedures that travel by within an institution, such as pecuniary issues.Coordinators, most of whom are marketing officers within their respective universities, have also noted that many potentially good student ambassadors failed to apply because they did not see themselves to fit into the characteristics set by the coordinators (Terion and Leonard 2007). These weaknesses are of relevance to higher education marketing units as contemporary research suggests that despite having a valuable student qualification in the form of student ambassadors, their potentials are being under-utilized due to administrative and training setbacks. The flaws seen in this system is viewed to be largely due to the fact that there isnt a national mode l of the student ambassador scheme to be used as a guideline and all higher education institutions are expected to craft and implement their strategies independently. Although it is important to have flexibility and a certain degree of autonomy, a scheme without guidelines can arguably be go astray and lose its sense of direction (Ylonen 2010).Literature in this area of study reveals that in terms of higher education marketing, there should be a focus on service-oriented marketing through an innovation of the extended 4Ps, which would include the elements of calibre, capability and charisma. apart from that, it also indicates that the growing importance of the role of student ambassadors have gone large unrecognized. Despite them being available in most universities, there is a lack of effective utilization of these roles.2.3 Higher Education Fee StructureThe future of higher education in the UK has been put into uncertainty by the recent changes in tuition fees polity and many ar e unsure as to how these changes would impact on demands by students across levels of households. Although the changes have been made effective in England and Wales, the Scottish Government has yet to make an official announcement on this issue. However, a across-the-board review of the changes that have been taking place in the fee-structure and how it has touched the industry as a whole and demand, in particular would enable higher education marketers to prepare for the changes that although unclear, appear to be imminent.The funding of the higher education industry has been a subject of debate for the past five decades and had been given high priority by successive governments, regardless of political inclinations. During this phase, there has been a shift from a fully-funded taxpayer scheme to a cost-sharing system, whereby students are indispensable to cover a certain portion of their tuition fees (Dearden et al. 2010).The change of system sparked a wide range of concerns, p articularly the reservations that it would lead to a visit level of participation (Connor and Dewson 2001). The introduction of the 1998 Teaching and Higher Education figure out was the first significant change made to the higher education financing structure as it marked the unprecedented introduction of tuition fees at a cap of 1,000 a year for degree courses (Claire and Jonathan 2005).Maintenance grants that were previously offered were reducedin stages and by and by eliminated only to be replaced with maintenance loans which were completed in 1999 (Christie and Munro 2003). The 2004 Higher Education Act paved way for another significantly policy to be put in place in 2006, which saw the implementation of deferred fees which was applicable to all students, regardless of economic background (Harrison 2011). The new fee had a cap of 3,000 and universities had the prerogative to fall the amount to charge each student (Dearden et al, 2004 2005). Fee loans were provided, only to be repaid by students after graduation if theyre earnings were above 15,000. Apart from that, the 2004 Higher Education Act also reinstalled maintenance grants which were to be distributed to slimy students (Harrison 2011).In the year 2006, the value of this grant was significantly increased. As a result of the introduction of tuition fees along with the substitution of maintenance grants with loans, many argued that it would not only pull down participation but also be discriminative against students from lower-income households (Dearden et al. 2010). On the contrary, there were also proponents of the new system who claimed that requiring student to contribute to their studies would instil a sense of responsibility in them and hence, at a larger scale, increase efficiency and quality of higher education (Greenaway and Haynes, 2003 Goodman and Kaplan, 2003).Apart from that, the benefits gained by higher education in terms of earnings and salary brackets would offset the negative impact caused by the introduction of tuition fees. Another advantage of imposing tuition fees is that only students who are perpetrate on acquiring skills and knowledge would enrol into institutes and not ones who wish to have prolonged laddish times, hence in a way addressing the issue of youth unemployment (Lange 1998).It is also interesting to note that in the UK, government spending on higher education continues to grow despite larger share of financial burden beingon placed students as shown by 2007 figures whereby 918m, 349m and 564m were spend on maintenance grants, student fee loans and maintenance loans respectively (Dearden et al. 2010). In 2010, another significant policy change was made to the higher education financing structure in England and Wales, whereby the upper tier for tuition fees was increased from 3,000 to 9,000 (BBC 2010). While poorer students would be protected by a large number of scholarship and bursaries, students from middle and high-income househol ds would be the group that is most negatively affected (Directgov 2011).Highly successful students who go on to land high paid jobs would also be affected as they would be required to pay loan amounts that are significantly higher than those with average incomes (The Guardian 2010). In the case of Scotland, the Cubie committee was formed in 1999 following the Scottish degeneracy to look into the higher education financing. The Cubie Report (2000) proposed that an endowment scheme be put in place and through the Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001, students were required to pay 2,000 when their annual earnings reached 10,000. The repayment was later raised from 2,000 to 2,289 for students commencing their studies in 2006/07 academic period (The Cubie Report 2000). However in 2007, the government tabled the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill which aimed at sugar the endowment scheme and the move was approved in 2008, hence restoring dis patch education in Scotland (BBC 2008).Based on the United States context, Kent (1994) studied the relationship between the states public spending on higher education and the impact of tuition fee costs on higher education participation. The finding was that $1,000 increase in tuition fees would bring about a 3.7ppt reduction in participation among African Americans. On a wider scale, Kent (1995) found that there was a reduction in participation among Americans in higher education, in which a $1,000 increase in fees resulted in a 2.4 decrease in participation. On assessing a policy made in 1982 which led to financial aids being removed from students with deceased, disabled or retired father, Dynarksi (1999) found that the impact of aid withdrawal led to decrease tertiary participation by 3.6ppt.Supporting this finding is a study done by Seftor and Turner (2002), whom upon analysing the impact of aid withdrawal, found a small impact of reduction in participation by 0.7ppt per $1,000 of aid withdrawn. The UK context of higher education financial constraint on students and its effects on participation can be viewed at two separate phases the 1998 reforms and the 2006 reforms as described earlier. The 1998 reforms, in terms of grants alone, saw low income students being the most significantly impacted, with participation estimated at 2.3ppt lower than what it would have been without the abolishment grants (Dearden et al. 2010).On the other hand, the increase in loans received by this group resulted in an increase in participation and hence, offset the negative impact brought about by the abolishment of grants. Therefore, there were no significant changes to participation for the lower income group. High income students, however, recorded a reduction of 5.4ppt in participation as even though the abolishment of grants had no impact on them, the increment of tuition fees was a significant impact (Dearden et al. 2010). Study on the 2006 reforms showed that both the lo wer and higher income groups did not record overall changes in participation (Forsyth and Furlong 2003).Therefore, this section of the literature indicates that despite concerns by many that an increment in tuition fees can be discriminatory towards lower income groups, studies have shown that the negative impact brought by the hike in fees are often outweighed by grants or loan packages. This also brings about serious implications to higher education institutions on deciding the type of financial assistance and the accurate target groups to ensure that participation does not see an unhealthy dip. Such a consequence could be detrimental to the economy of the country as many research seem to suggest that the economic well being of a nation state is directly associated with the level investments spent on education (Barro and Sala-i-Martin, 1995 Bassanini and Scarpenta, 2001).