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Portfolio review

Evolve your course offering to stay fit for the future

What is a portfolio review, and why is it important?

The courses you offer are a huge factor in your success and growth. Does your current course portfolio set you apart, meet current demand and position you as a forward-thinking, relevant place to study? A portfolio review is how you find out – and act on what you discover.

Our education experts combine a wide range of research and analysis methodologies to uncover what the current opportunities are, what the future holds, where the demand is and where you should be competing. We then provide recommendations to shape your existing portfolio and inform your continued evolution.

What is a portfolio review, and why is it important?

The courses you offer are a huge factor in your success and growth. Does your current course portfolio set you apart, meet current demand and position you as a forward-thinking, relevant place to study? A portfolio review is how you find out – and act on what you discover.

Our education experts combine a wide range of research and analysis methodologies to uncover what the current opportunities are, what the future holds, where the demand is and where you should be competing. We then provide recommendations to shape your existing portfolio and inform your continued evolution.

The benefits of a portfolio review

  • A clear picture of where you are now and where you could grow.
  • A more differentiated offer, based on a deep understanding of the competitor landscape.
  • Future insight into where the labour market is heading.
  • A more attractive and relevant portfolio, tailored to the needs of employers and prospective students.

Our approach:

Every institution is different, so no two portfolio reviews are the same. However, our proven methodology tends to include the following steps.

Step one

Making the right start

We’ll meet with the core project team to understand your ambitions and needs for the project. We’ll also review any existing portfolio research and insight.

 

 

Step two

Reviewing performance

Using HESA data and a proprietary insights tool, we’ll analyse how your portfolio performs against your peer set.  We’ll also review demand and sector trends.

 

Step three

Getting the bigger picture

This is where we’ll review your key markets to understand the political, economic, social and technological factors that are shaping the current conditions.

Step four

Understanding the labour market

We’ll make sure we scrutinise the parts of the labour market that relate to your current portfolio, to understand the key areas of market demand for graduate talent.


 

Step five

Carry out primary research

Here’s where we talk directly to industry contacts and your target student audiences to explore the attractiveness of your current and potential courses.

Step six

Reviewing the competition

We’ll undertake a deep-dive review of our identified courses across key competitor providers – focusing on course development and differentiation.


 

Step seven

Recommendations

Finally, we’ll share outputs and tailored recommendations. Our report will include our full methodology and findings, giving you the evidence to build a solid business case for any developments.


 

Meet our experts:

Vicky Conroy

Vicky Conroy

As Consultancy and Insight Lead, Vicky leads our team of 15 consultants and strategists with expertise in areas including marketing, brand, creative, market research and data science. As a Higher Education specialist, Vicky delivers and implements effective and innovative strategic solutions to overcome marketing and recruitment challenges for our university clients.

Ed Layt

Ed Layt

Leading a team of 15 consultants and strategists, Ed has a deep understanding of both the challenges of the education marketplace as well as the realities of working within an institution. With over 18 years of education experience, he’s delivering marketing consultancy projects with more than 100 further and higher education institutions.

Aimee Kleinman

Aimee Kleinman

Aimee has more than 15 years’ marketing, communications and student recruitment experience in higher education, having previously worked for a number of universities, leading the development of UK and international recruitment strategies. As a Lead Marketing Consultant, her areas of expertise are brand positioning and international recruitment strategy.

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