Higher Education Marketing; Does Corporate Quality Really Matter?

Market forces such as Privatization, internationalization and increased competition in higher education have caused institutions of higher education to recognize the need to be more sensitive to stakeholders' needs. This study attempted to look through the eyes of the alumni of nine selected Universities in south west, Nigeria. The primary objective of the study was to examine the link between how the alumni perceived corporate quality and their willingness to recommend their universities to prospective student. Survey method and stratified sampling technique were employed for this study. Nine Universities were selected proportionately from Private, State and Federal Universities in south west, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics, regression and correlation analysis were employed for the test of the hypotheses. Three hypotheses were tested in the study and all the alternative hypotheses were supported in the study. The findings revealed that there were differences among the three categories of Universities in terms of their perceived corporate quality imperatives. It was also discovered that significant relationship exists between perceived corporate quality and academic performance of the alumni. It was therefore recommended that more efforts be made by the management of Nigerian Universities to improve on its community development programmes and maintain strong international linkages and publications across the globe.