MARKETING IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND ITS ROLE IN ENHANCING THE WORLD RANKING OF UNIVERSITIES: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN IRAQI PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES

The classification of higher education institutions is one of the basic, modern and important issues that exhaust the thinking of these institutions, especially the civil ones. Since the Iraqi private universities are among the universities that operate in an environment full of challenges and difficulties, therefore, the university classification issues are among the places in which these universities face difficulty in achieving them, and therefore these data must be taken into account. The main objective of this paper is to shed light on the activities, strategies and marketing mechanisms used by Iraqi private universities and to diagnose the role of these activities to achieve advanced ranks for these universities in local and international rankings. Accordingly, the researcher chose the scale (KPI) which is considered one of the basic and important criteria approved by the most sober international universities in determining the levels of the nature of marketing activities followed by these universities, as well as relying on a group of official websites for local and international classifications to know the ranking of these universities in These classifications, and the researcher chose a sample of (347) individuals distributed among (dean, assistant dean, and department head). The researcher used the interview as a basic tool for collecting information from the sample, in addition to seeking help from a group of graduates and employers in the foreign market, as well as a group of websites for students and employees in those universities to ensure that the requirements of the standards used are strengthened and that the required information is correct. The research reached a set of conclusions. The most important of which was that the marketing activities of Iraqi private universities have a major role in enhancing the classification of these universities globally and locally. The researcher found that the adoption of universities to enhance their websites, as well as ensuring the possibility of achieving high levels of satisfaction for graduates and employers, can achieve results in enhancing the ranking of universities in local and international rankings.