Understanding marketing mix strategy and its effect on student enrolment : a case study on Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) Kota Kinabalu branch / Karen Esther Tan, Nicholas Marcus and Mohd Basri Hamid

This study is on Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), and is a nontraditional study or so-called non-typical research mainly because it focuses on the four elements of the marketing mix : place (Location); price (costs/tuition fees); promotion (advertising strategy) and product (academic programmes /courses). It is a descriptive research in nature which means it does not look into neither the relationship of the four elements of the marketing mix towards the subject matter—the student enrolment which is being the main problem of the case study, nor testing the empirical evidence of the existing theoretical frameworks done by previous researches towards students enrolment. Instead, this study focuses on the public preference of enrolment to the local HEIs based on the four elements of the marketing mix when making decision. This study is also said to be a non-typical research as it was conducted purely based on the four elements mix only, other factors that might have a direct or an indirect impact on enrolment will not be investigated at all. The main problem facing TAR UC is the nonachievement of the projected students enrolment since 2006; and the gap keeps widening ever since. Questionnaire was used to collect data on how the public react or respond to the four elements of the marketing mix. Respondents come from Penampang and Kota Kinabalu areas; convenient sampling was used as it was thought as the best method of sampling the researchers could come about, considering the constraints of other method might arise should they were used. When doing the descriptive analysis, the mean of all the elements were obtained. The elements that have received the lowest score were given first priority in the process of formulating the strategic plan for TAR UC. In framing the best strategy, several strategic management tools were used to have an insight of TAR UC internal strengths and weakness, and the external threats and opportunities, blending them up together for alternatives strategies and finally, with a specific tool, the best and executable strategy was selected. Finally, it concluded that TAR UC should emphasize more on the untapp Bumiputera market using appropriate advertising strategy over the other strategies. The second element or area TAR UC should concentrate on would be the place (location).