Course Concept Testing
We offer a number of services that can support the market evaluation for a new course proposal including secondary analysis, qualitative and quantitative primary methods..
To discuss our services please contact Lisa Thompson Senior Researcher lisa.thompson@theknowledgepartnership.com or call 0113 3944552.
Success rates for comparator courses
Primary research for innovative courses
Case studies of programme development
Subject market trends
Our SubjectView reports are a good starting point. They provide an in-depth overview of each HE subject and you can customise them by requesting data at a more refined level. For example if the new course being proposed is in the field of International Relations the Politics SubjectView report will provide valuable contextual data and you can also request that more specific data on international relations trends is included.
If you know there are similar courses in the sector already we can use of PESP tool to produce an ad hoc benchmarking report. This will tell you how many students each comparator course has recruited and the profile their students (mode of study, the proportion that is overseas, region of domicile, demographics, tariff achieved, etc).
We have researched our own national database of taught postgraduate courses and their fees. We also have a database of subject ranks for all universities. This allows us to correlate recruitment volume with fee charged or subject rank covered by a course and recruitment success.
If most similar courses have recruited well, the proposed new course has a high chance of success. Our report would also evaluate if certain course titles are more associated with successful courses which can inform course branding decisions.
Reference to secondary data is less useful for assessing the likely success of innovative courses – ones that break new ground. Our analysis of these types of courses over a 6 year period suggests that the chances of success are sadly very slim indeed. However, part of the mission of the sector is to innovate, otherwise all new programmes will simply be derivates. The role of market research is as much to support course design and market definition as it is about business case evaluation.
The market for innovative courses can only be evaluated using primary research as there are no existing courses to benchmark against.
If the course is primarily aimed at self funding students (postgraduate or undergraduate) proposition tester methodology is ideal. This evaluates variables known to impact on demand such as course title, fee, course content, award, etc, and brand fit (this may be an attractive course but does it fit with your university brand?). To deliver this we work in collaboration with OpinionPanel as they can deliver tightly defined samples from their pre-recruited panels.
If the programme is applied, professional or vocational in nature you will want to engage with relevant employers. Our unique graduate employer targeting process will enable us to locate the most appropriate employers with whom to engage in qualitative research about your course concept.
We can also evaluate innovative courses in international markets through our network of researchers in the key recruiting markets, co-ordinated from our Singapore office.
A client for whom we have worked on course development projects for several years asked us to evaluate the market for a new Art Therapy MA. This involved research with existing practitioners, health and education employer segments, competitor intelligence, researching probable progressing students and alumni.
This was a fascinating project for a design school aiming to develop a major new MA in Innovation. In addition to conducting primary research with OpinionPanel we also reviewed extensive secondary data on competitive UK courses using our PESP programme enrolment and student profiling database. This enabled us to locate successful courses in similar fields and the profile of their students, thus aiding positioning guidance. We also researched courses across Europe and in the “D Schools” in the USA, exploring curriculum and positioning issues.
This was commissioned by a modern university where the school of art and design wanted to explore whether there was a gap in their market for fashion study and whether more specialist courses might appeal to its target segments. This involved work with feeders and secondary analysis. One key issue in this project was whether the course concepts would fit with the school and university brand or be strongly enough associated with its location (some courses are good opportunities but not for the client in question).