The Impact of Technology on Higher Education: A Marketing Dissertation

This dissertation examines the profound impact of technology on higher education, focusing on marketing strategies, virtual platforms, and student recruitment. The research delves into how technological advancements have reshaped the educational landscape, creating both opportunities and challenges for institutions. It investigates the essential components of successful marketing planning in virtual environments, analyzing cross-cultural factors that influence student engagement and loyalty. The study also identifies gaps in current online marketing strategies and provides recommendations for improvement. The dissertation includes a literature review, detailed research methodology, data analysis, findings, conclusions, and personal reflections, offering valuable insights into the evolving relationship between technology and higher education marketing within the UK context.

DISSERTATION IN
MARKETING TOPIC
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ABSTRACT
In the present report it has been discussed that technology has a huge impact on higher
education. It has been evaluated that there are various tools and equipment’s which has been
used by educational institutions to enhance learning process of students. It has been analysed that
now a day’s teachers make use of software and other toolkits to make students learn. During the
time of novel corona virus, it has become necessary to make use of technology, so that better
learning can be provided to students. Personal computers, mobile phones, and internet access
have made higher education drastically more accessible to a larger variety of students. It has
been evaluated that by making use of advance technology, now students do not have to travel
miles, in order to attend the classes. Making use of mobile technology has assisted students in
managing their course work in hand. It has also been analysed that online learning platforms has
made it easier to explore high quality courses. Online learning has also increased flexibility of
students because of which they are able to learn better and increased. It has also been analysed
that educational institutions can adopt different marketing plans so that more of the students
know about the techniques which is being used by them. This has assisted them in achieving the
set target as well as objectives. They have made use of marketing plans so that they can increase
their brand level and also attract more students towards them. If they make students aware about
the type of tools and resources used by them more students will take admission in their
institution. This has assisted them in increasing the admission in their University. It has also been
analysed that there are various gaps in services provided by educational institution.
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Table of Contents
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................................................2
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................5
1.1 Background of the topic.......................................................................................................................................5
1.2 Problem Statement and significance of the Research..........................................................................................5
1.3 Research question................................................................................................................................................6
1.4 Aims & Objectives of the research......................................................................................................................6
1.5 Scope and limitation of the research....................................................................................................................7
1.6 Research Structure...............................................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................................8
THEME: 1.......................................................................................................................................................................8
The Essential components of successful marketing planning for Virtual Platforms: -..............................................8
THEME: 2.....................................................................................................................................................................10
The relationship between the educational institute and the students by the impact of educational technological
factors: -...................................................................................................................................................................10
THEME: 3.....................................................................................................................................................................11
The Gaps of the online marketing strategies used by different institution and the recommendations....................11
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................15
3.1 Research type.....................................................................................................................................................15
3.2 Research Approaches.........................................................................................................................................15
3.3 Research Philosophies........................................................................................................................................16
3.4 Data collection...................................................................................................................................................17
3.5 Data analysis......................................................................................................................................................17
3.6 Sampling............................................................................................................................................................18
3.7 Limitations.........................................................................................................................................................18
3.8 Ethical considerations........................................................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS..................................................................................................20
CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION..............................................................................31
CHAPTER SIX: PERSONAL REFLECTION.............................................................................................................34
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................................................35
APPENDIX...................................................................................................................................................................37
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude towards my supervisor who supported and guided me
throughout this project. I wish to acknowledge the help provided by the technical and support
staff given by Arden University. Without the help and support of these people I would not able to
complete this research on time. I would also like to show my deep appreciation to my
supervisors who helped me finalize my project. Besides my supervisor I would also like to thank
the rest of my thesis committee. I also thank my fellow mates for stimulating the discussion.
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
The topic will explain all the necessary statements of the topic given in the dissertation. The
Research Background will include the problem statement and significance of the research. The
aim and objective, the limitation and the scope with the structure of the research would
highlighted.
1.1 Enquiry overview
The research project has been chosen to address to the impact of technological changes on higher
education. Technological advances have created a gap between students of different generations
due to their varying degrees of familiarity, competence and acceptance of innovation. The
research has made use of qualitative approach which is focused on understanding the in which
technology impacts working of higher educational institution. This enquiry overview provides
the detail about what is expected from the rest of the thesis for readers.
The first chapter of the study provides the overview and introduction of topic. In this the
background information will be provided and also details about aims, objectives and research
questions will be given. The second chapter will do review of literature. In this the gaps in
previous study and changes made in others study will be analysed and evaluated. The third
chapter provides details about research methods that has been used by researcher to collect data
and analyse the results. Additionally, discussion will be made related to research paradigm
selected and ethical code of conduct which has been followed in the study. In Chapter four, the
analysis and evaluation of data will be done. In this researcher has selected thematic analysis. In
this the details related to themes will be collected and provided. In this section the findings are
also been analysed and evaluated. The findings are taken out on basis of discussion made. In the
last chapter conclusion is made on basis of how technology has affected the higher educational
service.
1.2 Background of the topic
Technology is one of the most important factors in today market and it is crucial for the people to
know the importance of utilisation of the technologies into the market and the ways in which the
technologies can help in development of working and making things easier for the situation that
can make things important (Raja and Nagasubramani, 2018). The traditional way of learning and
the education is totally different from what the learning and education system are working in
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today market. It is all about the development into the process of working in the recent time
period with the innovation of technologies into the toddy market. It is crucial for the education
system to make different changes and adopt the ways in developing the education in the
education sector and utilise the best of the education technologies which are helping in
developing the ways of learning and teaching in today market. The technologies are helping the
education in today's market as the covid-19 pandemic is going in and it has affected all the
education system into the market and it is also making the shortage of education and the time is
running and no education is provided to the students. It can be said that young people in United
Kingdom are gifted by technology. In this the 9.7% of students from the age of 15-20 are
provided with digitalised skills. This success is being seen in technology industry and also 50%
of students have founded it really easy to adopt the technological changes. They were really
enthusiast to adopt new techniques. Personalised learning has become goal of higher educational
institution. There are 100% of the IT leaders who are really eager to balance out levels of access
and security. The use of technologies is helping the teachers and the student to connect and the
online source is helping the student to get the knowledge and teaching student and providing the
education with best quality to them so that they can utilise the time and learn new things.
Technologies are very important in the today market and the situation of covid-19 pandemic is
required the use and it also help the education system in development of the education system to
the best for the student.
1.3 significance of the Research
The report will signify the importance of the topic to a lot of people who want to know all about
the technologies and the importance of the technologies in the market and how technological
change in the education can provide the best impact and positive impact to the people and the
education sectors or industry. The research will be Important because it will explain the most
important factor about the technologies into the education sectors and it is important for the
people to know about the issues and the facts about the given topic in the market to have a better
knowledge about the topic (Ratheeswari, 2018). The research is signifying the impact to all those
who are reading the books and journals about the given topic and want to know the importance
of the technologies in the duration field to the best of the knowledge and how the education
industry got a good support from the technologies in the covid-19 pandemic in the year 2020 and
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help every student and people to get the best knowledge about the use of technologies and to
make education sector keep working in covid-19 pandemic.
Worthiness of Research topic: The present research topic which is selected by researcher is
worthy of study and it will make contribution to the body of already existing research. By this
research topic, researcher will be able to know about the impact of technology on higher
education and how technology has revolved the ways how institutes work. By this researcher
will be able to know about the factors that can affect the growth of higher educational
institutions. They will also be involved in accessing the gaps that is been faced by researcher
during the time of marketing planning.
1.4 Research question
Research Question:
 How technological changes affect the marketing processes in the education industry?
 How to recruit students from different cultures? What are the important aspects that need
to be considered?
 What are the impacts of using virtual environment to reach potential candidates and to
communicate with them online? Is it more effective or lack of personal communication
can backfire?
1.5 Aims & Objectives of the research
Aim of the research:
 To assess the main technological factors that affect educational institution in the United
Kingdom and what are the impact on the marketing strategy of the organisations.
 To evaluate all the aspects that need to be considered while using virtual environments in
the marketing strategy and to examine the most effective platforms to extend customer
base and to improve brand awareness.
 To analyse cross cultural factors that can increase the engagement with prospective
students and to build their loyalty.
Objectives of the research:
 To investigate what are the essential components of successful marketing planning in the
concept of virtual platforms in the education sector by end of November.
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 To explain the technological factors that have impact on the relationship between the
organisation and customers by end of November.
 To identify the gaps in the online marketing strategy used by different educational
institutions and to provide recommendations to improve their approach by end of
November.
1.6 Scope and limitation of the research
It is time-consuming process as it takes time and it is important for the researcher to face the
issues of the time as there are few time and resources in the management which they need to
manage while the researcher is doing the process of research in the given topic. The process of
research take time and the researcher need a proper time so that they can use the best of the
resources to provide the information. The research will help to those who want to know all the
information about the technologies impact in the education and how the education sector is
getting the benefit of the technologies into the market and utilising the base of the technologies
into the situation of covid-19 pandemic in the market (Shukurova, 2020). The UK is affected the
most by covid-19 pandemic and it is important for them to utilise the norms and factors of the
situation with social distancing and everything. The technologies and the online is the best ways
to control and provide the best of the resources to the education sector.
1.7 Research problem
The area of concern in the present research is to know about issues which is being faced by
educational institutions in making use of technology and also to analyse the other technological
factors affecting educational institutions. Researcher will address the concerns faced by
education institutions in implementing the new trends and technology. They will also be
involved in analysing the factors which affects quality of education as by this better and adequate
facilities can be provided to students. Educational institutions will try to develop better learning
opportunities for students who are studying with them.
1.8 Rationale of the research
The main reason of carrying out the research is to know about the technological factors that can
affect educational institutions. Technology has revolutionised ways in which educational
institutions work. But the adoption of technology isn’t a one size fits all affair. Universities has
to make sure that right of kind of technology is been adopted so that students gets most and
because of these better learning opportunities is been created for them. Every day higher
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education institutions align themselves with latest trend and technology. Professors collaborate
across universities so that better learnings can be provided across the globe.
1.9 Research Structure
For this research the researcher has followed five sequential sections and these sections are
presented below.
For the present research, in first chapter the part cover is Introduction. In this section aim,
objectives and research questions will be discussed.
In chapter 2 literature review will be covered where the themes will be reviewed on basis of
objectives selected.
In chapter 3 research methods like primary and secondary will be discussed and also research
paradigm will be covered.
In chapter 4 Discussion and analyses based on questionnaire will be done. In this chapter the
findings will also be evaluated.
In chapter 5 Conclusion will be discussed. This part will also contain recommendation based on
the topic.
In chapter 6: Personal reflection based on own learning will be discussed and analysed.
Conclusion: From the above discussion it has been summarised that the impact of technology on
higher educational institution is huge. There have been various changes implemented by
universities because of COVID-19 pandemic. They have pre-recorded the lectures, which was
really challenging for some of the lecturers and also disappointing for so many students. The
universities have been involved in thinking of broader ways to overcome from these problems.
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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction: This chapter will have included reviewing the informed literature. In this the
discussion will be done on basis of themes such as essential components which is required for
successful marketing planning for virtual platforms. In this the further discussion will be made
related to technological factors that have impact on the relationship between the organisation and
customers.
THEME: 1
The Essential components of successful marketing planning for Virtual Platforms: -
According to the Chernev (2020), the education sector need to do the proper planning for
the process of implementing a proper plan for the successfully technological factor in the
education industry. It is crucial for the institution to make a plan which can help them in dealing
the use of technologies and the ways in which the technologies can help them in developing the
education in the recent covid-19 pandemic. It is important for the education sector and the
institute to use the technologies so that they can make a good impact on the working of the
education industry and make a good relation between the tutors and the students. The marketing
plan which they need to prepare is crucial and important for developing the best in the process as
that they can use it in the best way and help the technologies. The marketing planning include a
lot of process to explain and make a proper planning to use the marketing plan to implement the
process in the best ways.
The Kolla, Minufekr and Plapper (2019), suggested the marketing planning include the
first step through the marketing research in the process of the marketing planning, in this the
researcher do the research of the market about the planning and the technologies they want to use
in the successfully implementation of virtual education technologies in the education institutions.
The market research helps in understanding the market knowledge and the ways in how to deal
all the process of developing the market knowledge to work in best ways. On the other hand,
Henriksen and et.al., (2018) has argued that in online sessions the non-interactive learning which
has been done from online sessions, can be a problem. The reason is that the student may not
find it interactive and this can lower down abilities of students. It has also been analysed that all
these issues were being faced by students during the time of COVID-19 pandemic. The second
step of the marketing plan for the virtual education technologies component is to target the
market so that they know the actual targeted people and institutions on which they want to make
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the use of technologies and expand the use of technologies in those education sectors and
institution. Target market help in developing the process fast as it helps in explaining all the
important factors on which the strategies need to implement and the ways to provide the targeted
customer for the process of development.
The next step for the component for successfully market plan is to know the product or
the product which they want to promote so that they can have the benefit in the education sector
as the covid-19 pandemic is going and it is crucial to make the product in such a way so that the
old school generation who are not a regular technologies user can handle it faster and understand
how to use it so that they can utilise it to explain their student in the process (Kolla, Minufekr
and Plapper 2019). It is crucial for the marketing plan by the researcher so that they can use the
best of the ways in development of the education system in the covid-19 pandemic as the lack of
communication can end a lot of knowledge and skills and it can cause a lot of issues to the
country and government of the UK. The next step of the process of the marketing planning is to
find the competition and understand the competitors so that they can make different strategies in
develop in the process of working and it also help in understanding the situation so that the work
in the covid-19 pandemic can be done in the most appropriate ways.
As per the views of the Moniruzzaman (2020), the next step is the mission statement
which they use to understand the key market of the situation and it is crucial for the education
industry and the education purpose to know the key market of the product and services of the
technologies to help the education in the covid-19 pandemic. The next step of the planning is to
make strategies to make the best use of the process and the understanding of the situations to
work so that they can handle all the different ways in which they can face different issues in the
implementation of the technologies change in the education sectors and the industry in the covid-
19 pandemic situation before the November (Keser and Semerci, 2019). The next step after the
strategies are the pricing and the positioning of the product and the technological tools and
software to help the education institute in the UK as the condition due to covid-19 pandemic in
the education sector in UK is going worse and they need a proper way or solutions to make the
utilisation in the best ways to make the process of learning to keep going.
The next step of the components is the budget planning for the process of this as the budget need
to be in such a way that every person can effort and the software which the student will use need
to be free or low in cost which the universities can cover in the fee of the student. The next step
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of the marketing planning for the education system and for the use of proper technologies
implementation in the education system during the covid-19 pandemic in UK is to make the
marketing goal and the ways in which they can use the proper planning in making the objectives
and the goals of there working. The last marketing components is to see the result and
understand the situation by the feedbacks and the results so that they great a good knowledge
about the process of working in the education to virtual platform of learning. The pandemic is a
chance to rethink education, not settle for online lectures. In this they need to think about the
strategies for providing better educational services to students. This will assist them in making
sure that better grades are achieved by students(Selwyn, 2020).
There were some gaps which were been observed in the study given by Kolla, Minufekr and
Plapper (2019). These gaps were factors that can affect the educational institution is not been
properly analysed and evaluated. The other article which was taken from Moniruzzaman (2020),
this study has no gap like the previous study and it was useful in analysing and evaluating the
data which was collected by researcher.
THEME: 2
To explain the technological factors that have impact on the relationship between the
organisation and customers by end of November.
As per the view of Chang, Hajiyev and Su, (2017), it is important for the educational
institute to have a good relationship with the student and it required the best of the ways in
developing the process of education in the covid-19 pandemic situation in UK which is
impacting the whole world and affecting the UK in worst ways (Gibson and et.al., 2018).
Education is one of the most important thing and it is crucial for the UK government to make
changes according to the situations in which they make new ways of making the process of
making the use of technologies and the impact of technologies in the covid-19 pandemic to
increase the process of education industry and institution to provide the education to their
students by virtual platforms as there are norms and protocols of the government which need to
be followed in the covid-19 pandemic. There are different norms as they need to be social
distancing and other source of ways so that they can be less in contact as the virus is affecting the
business and the education industry. Technologies are helping in development of the education
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