Managing marketing in further education.

Preliminary research suggests that approaches to marketing within further education are poorly developed and inadequately executed. The research programme starts with a review of literature in order to identify patterns of thought and the application of marketing within further education.The demands by the public and the Government for greater accessibility and responsiveness in further education, has created an awareness of the need for a more committed approach to marketing. One of the specific aims of the research is to identify patterns of current thinking and staff perceptions of the role of marketing, and to identify the principal dimensions of best marketing practice within further education.For the selected colleges, a case study approach consisting of a mixture of marketing questionnaires and interviews with a range of staff, is made. From this research, similarities and differences between the perceived and actual approaches to marketing are analysed, tables compiled and comparisons are made.The final outcome is a list of detailed recommendations of best marketing practice for further education colleges.