Vice Chancellors perceptions of university marketing: a view from universities in a developing country

Focuing on perceptions of university vice-chancellors of the marketing concept, this paper argues that, despite the widely acknowledged development of university marketisation in the developed world, its practice in developing countries has not yet attained strategic levels. This is largely due to the fact that marketing in HE does not have a sufficiently robust axis and as such remains buried under traditional university activities. The research was based on interviews held with nine of the eleven VCs in Zimbabwe. The findings indicate that there is a possible relationship between the curricular orientation and missions of universities and the way marketing is perceived and understood. Where the focus of organisational mission is on issues of curricular relevance and needs of customers, marketing perceptions are more customer focused. Traditional universities whose missions remain transfixed in models of excellence in teaching, research and service tend to exhibit product orientations of marketing. The research proposes that focusing the purposes of marketing on issues of curriculum dvelopment and delivery offers scope for developing a more sustainable marketing orientation.