Newsletter #183: What only university can provide; Why press releases are more important than you think; How to frame the value of higher ed
📝 From the Education Marketer desk
What universities provide that “alternative” routes cannot. Read
Why press releases are more important than you think. Read
How marketers should frame the value of higher education. Read
📰 HE news
Last week, I met several student entrepreneurs, each with a radically different way of looking at the world and business. However, what struck me is that none of their outputs were (currently) being assessed as part of their course. Even though it was their degree experience that directly led to the creation of their businesses - one company only happened because of a chance conversation with a university technician in the lab - none of it (relationship capital, applied knowledge or IP creation) was being assessed. Across the sector, it’s the same for general study too. Wonkhe recently published research exploring when learning sticks for students, highlighting that it mostly happens outside of common modes of assessment - the interaction in seminars, the serendipity that ensues by sharing a studio space with a peer or using AI to practice answering presentation questions. There’s a gap here. Whatever university fills it will carve out a niche for student value creation, rather than competing on “job-ready” graduates for increasingly rare entry-level positions. Read
📊 Marketing and media news
Outreach work has a disproportional impact on recruitment. According to new research published by HEPI, students who participate in an intensive “outreach package” are 29% more likely to enter higher education than peers who received minimal outreach. Additionally, 19% are more likely to enter a high-tariff institution. In marketing, we spend a lot of time reaching new students through paid ads, content and experiences, but relatively little on joined-up activity with our own student recruitment and schools liaison teams. As cost-of-living pressures continue to drive up the number of commuting students, the need for local engagement will increase. In fact, it’s becoming more urgent. A third of undergraduates now come from the highest socio‑economic group, up from 25% in 2021/22 with more than half of disadvantaged students living at their family home. Indeed, there’s a commercial advantage to having those students feel heard, but also a responsibility to ensure higher ed does not revert to elitism. Read
OpenAI has shut down Sora, the AI video-generation app that put deep fake technology in the hands of over 3 million people. The shutdown also heralds the end of the company’s $1 bn partnership with Disney. I wonder what put Disney off? Was it OpenAI being happy to have its technology used in autonomous weapons or Disney having its IP handed over to the internet? I imagine for Disney’s lawyers, it was the latter. However, the “shift in direction” seems to have given OpenAI new clarity. It has appointed David Dugan, previous ad leader at Meta, as the new vice president and head of global ads solutions (wonderful), whilst deciding that the next AI frontier is ad-sponsored consumer robotics. So, if you’ve been busy optimising your career for the low AI exposure areas highlighted in Anthropic’s Labour market impacts report, you’re out of luck. OpenAI’s robots, created to “help people solve real-world, physical tasks”, now have the backing of venture capital and a hyper-personalised ad engine. Good times. Read
?? What unis are doing
University of Sunderland’s London campus had a successful trial of a four-day working week. Since moving to 4 days, there’s been a 5% decrease in sickness, resulting in £72,000 in savings with the university’s staff engagement score rising from 71% in 2023 to 81% in 2025. Read
High Point University isn’t without its controversies. It embraces “education as a luxury brand” tropes with multiple steak houses, arcades and even a campus concierge service. But it knows who it’s for, and that’s why it gets away with among the highest fees for any US institution. Look
Cardiff Metropolitan University partnered with Duolingo to evangelise the return of Erasmus+ from 2027. Absolute boss of a PR piece. Duo came to campus and we get scenes of the owl hugging students and posing for a life drawing class. Look
🧑🎓 What students are saying
“I'm not the only one, there are plenty of people I know in my position and they are all confused and don't know what to do. For the first hour after getting the email, I thought it was fake news, or a prank, or maybe the server was hacked. After two-and-a-half years on this course, I'm only three-and-a-half months from finishing.” Students respond after being told they will no longer receive a maintenance loan due to misleading course categorisations across the sector. Read
👾 Culture shock
Pokémon Go is giving delivery robots an inch-perfect view of the world. Read
Hollywood AI crosses the line with posthumous actors. Read
