Clearing. Consigned to the bleedin’ choir invisible…..?

The last few posts on this blog have all been about Clearing. No surprise; MARC, in common with other parts of the Uni and other unis countrywide, was consumed by it. But, I can confirm, it’s finished. No ifs; no buts. It’s over. Stone dead. It’s demised; nailed to the perch: is an ex-campaign and off the twig. Its metabolic processes are now history. Clearing has shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible.

 

Or has it? Just like crusty comedy sketches of yore, Clearing has the rather distasteful knack of repeating. It’s as tiresomely regular as Southern Rail train cancellations and should really come as no surprise to anyone in Higher Education. Our Marketing team is happy, bruised and battered by a tumultuous run and conclusion to 2016’s activity, though we’re carefully looking at what worked and what didn’t.

And guess what? We’re ALREADY BOOKING SLOTS and planning for next summer when the whole damn thing starts again. And there are already signs, from aggressive uni behaviours this year, that next year’s process will be even more dramatic and, err, fiery.

So, are Marketing and Communications important in Clearing?

Yes. YES! Of course they are. 

At an event in December 2014, UCAS head honcho Mary Curnock-Cook stressed the importance of university marketing in reaching out, differentiating and persuading. Granted, she was trying to sell UCAS products, but the point stands, and if we’ve learnt anything from Clearing over the last few years, it is that while applicants make a decision about which university to choose, we need to be heard.

And to be heard in a noisy, frantic marketplace, we have to shout loud. To be actually noticed and listened to we need to keep shouting, loud and l – o – n – g, to make our point. 

Even before all that, the team’s work on brand and pr builds up and helps applicants, another subset of whom is researching choices early and thereby coming to a more timely decision. If it doesn’t feel like the pressure is already on for 2017, it really is. Or, in modern marketing terms:

It.  Really.  Is.

Go Marketing and Communications! Go MARC! We love you!!
Err, and by the looks of it, looks like you’ve got it covered….

Well, yes we have; and no, we haven’t. This year, we received invaluable help and everyone was great. But as per the opening salvo, Clearing comes round, the Dead Parrot comes round, everything comes round. Except, hopefully, avocado on toast.

We have a story, but it’s one which is developing. Suggestions for case studies and being given advance warning of news stories always help us out. If you have one you’d like to share, then SHARE AWAY. Please.

For profits; the new face of HE?

We had hugely ambitious Clearing targets this year and as a Uni, we pulled it off in the face of hard nosed, intense pressure, from all angles. The number cap removal lead to an immediate response and expansion at some unis last year, with an increasing number girding loins and getting ready to ‘go for it’ next year and in subsequent years. And, thanks to the Government’s enthusiasm for marketising the living daylights out of the system, more and more private providers are entering the market, some of whom may have the odd altruistic aim.

So, where will all this leave us next year?

Bob, MARC Director, in training for 2017 Clearing

We’re confident we’ll continue to have good news (e.g.  our new STEM building) and so promote a successful University of Bedfordshire story. UCAS has changed the tariff system (as if it wasn’t confusing enough already) and has made other noises and rumbles about changing Clearing. Which is just as well, given that applicants have already seen fit to change it themselves.

More confusion, more nasty tactics, more firing MARC directors out of cannons. All in all, it’s going to be an interesting and, doubtless, another fast and frantic ride.