When facing an enrollment challenge, academic leaders must resist the urge to think that the product they go to market with is a credential. That is too limiting and is not helpful when thinking about how to compete better or when modeling a prospect’s decision process.
An institution’s product is not a credential and not a degree.
The product an institution offers is the combination of the experience, outcomes, and connections it provides from application through the learning experience and into the alum experience.
Further, do not think that the learning experience is just the program’s learning objectives. It also includes the process of achieving the objectives and the relationships that are built with other students and everyone involved in delivering the experience.
Once you think about your product this way, you have a better path to determining how you might differentiate yourself from other schools offering the same degree or credential.
