Expansion of national university to Argentina.

University Degree Education and Teaching

EXPANSION OF NATIONAL UNIVERSITY TO ARGENTINA

MBA PROJECT

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

DR. SYDNEY BLAKE

AYSEMIL MEYVA

STUDENT NUMBER: 6075691

OCTOBER 2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................1

Purpose of the Business Plan.......................1

Market Analysis....................................1

The Organization...................................2

Expansion..........................................3

MARKET ANALYSIS.........................................5

Industry Description and Outlook...................5

Size of the Industry...............................6

Key Players........................................8

TARGET MARKETS.........................................11

Major Characteristics.............................11

Relevant Statistics............................11

Demographics..............................11

Geography.................................12

Legal System..............................12

Economic Statistics...............................13

Key Players.......................................14

Method of Operating...............................15

Barriers..........................................16

COMPANY DESCRIPTION....................................17

Type of Business..................................17

Accreditations....................................17

Certificate Programs..............................18

MARKETING AND SALES ACTIVITIES.........................21

Overall Marketing Strategy........................21

Marketing Segmentation............................22

SWOT Analysis.....................................23

Strengths.................................24

Weaknesses................................25

Opportunities.............................26

Threats...................................26

PRICING................................................28

Fees..............................................28

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE...................................31

Three Year Projections............................31

Future Expansion..................................33

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS........................34

REFERENCES.............................................36

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Purpose of the Business Plan

The purpose of this plan is to examine the benefits of expanding the diversification of National University. The university currently has a large set of options available to students but it needs to further expand into the international arena. The expansion would be an effort to extend the enrollment privileges to people in other parts of the world. This plan will show that the industry is ready for this type of expansion and the international social and economic communities are in need of this type of expansion.

Market Analysis

The world has been changing continuously and traditional higher level educational systems are no longer acceptable. In most areas, education has to fit into the social, cultural and economic environments of the people. There are an ever-increasing number of adult students getting their higher level degrees. Many companies and organizations are requiring continuing education programs as part of the employment requirements. Potential students who are already involved in a career have to have exposure to educational programs that can be customized to their needs.

There are also an increasing number of potential students who are finding their educational needs being supplied by vocational and technical training schools. The current trends in education are becoming more like the global economic trends. The international boundaries are being eliminated and the restriction of residence at educational facilities is becoming outdated. New branches of both public and private universities are being created to accommodate the demands of today’s students. There has been an increase in the number of private institutions that are fostering competition among higher education facilities. These new institutions are an attempt to create an attitude of higher efficiency and greater quality within the higher education environment (Bartlett, 2000).

The Organization

National University is the second largest private non-profit university in California. It is a U.S. based university which currently has 29 learning centers in 11 metropolis locations. The university was established to benefit the international expansion process which makes it compatible for non-U.S. students.

National University (NU) prepares more people for teaching than any other institution. NU was founded in San Diego, California in 1971 and accredited in 1976. The concept behind NUs programs was to meet the needs of adults who want to continue their education. The program is flexible to fit into both a career and family schedule. The curriculum is constantly improved and updated to keep pace with today’s corporate students. The students are free to schedule classes at their own pace and convenience. There is an extensive use of modern technology such as online courses, ability to register and add/drop course online. NU also has a modern library that is accessible online.

The NU format is user friendly. It allows students:

* one class per month

* all classes offered at night

* open registration

* monthly pay-as-you go

* more than 26 locations

* 47 degree programs

* 17 credential programs

* online programs (National, 2000).

Expansion

In today’s multinational environment, time is very important to everyone. There is a need in the higher education area to provide accelerated and focused programs designed for working adults and taught by people with on-hands experience. There are many people who need to be able to take advantage of the programs at NU but cannot travel to California to attend classes. A perfect example of this can be seen in students who live in Argentina. To take advantage of the expertise, modern technologies, and degree programs, people from Argentina would have to travel to the United States. In the international economic arena, American universities are held in higher esteem than many national universities from many other countries.

The expansion of NU into Argentina is very important for many different reasons. Even though there are higher educational facilities in Argentina, there are currently no facilities to handle the needs of working professionals in obtaining masters degrees in business administration. Students in Argentina can get degrees but not in MBA programs which have the same models and teaching methods as those in the United States.

Currently, Argentina has positive market conditions and

an expected growth in the educational segments. For NU to expand into Argentina, there would be a low capital investment since the organization can formulate a strategic alliance with the local university. Once the program has been established in Argentina, it can be further expanded into the rest of South America.

MARKET ANALYSIS

Industry Description and Outlook

Distance learning has and will provide hope where no hope has existed and convenience where opportunity did not match up with time for completion. “It’s estimated that online learning may eventually capture as much as 15 percent to 20 percent of total U.S. higher education enrollments” (Roach, 2002, 10).

Distance learning is on the rise. Programs have been available at post-secondary institutions for several years. A 1999 Education Department report “. . . found 1,190 distance learning programs in 1995 . . . in 1998, 54,000 online-education courses with 1.6 million students enrolled . . .” (Wood, 2001, 3). The number of people attempting to gain an education has increased greatly through the opportunity of distance learning.

One of the greatest areas of distance learning can be seen in the U.S. military. It is very important for military, just like any other professional personnel, to maintain a continuing education program. The easiest way to achieve this is through a distance learning program. The active military has the attention of most Americans with the increased amount of personnel being called up to active duty. They should have caught the attention of the public years ago because distance learning is nothing new to them. Correspondence courses were a form of distance learning that has been useful to military personnel for years. While the people were serving their country, they were also talking courses from a vast selection of universities across the country. In 2000 and 2001 several universities across the country became involved in a pilot program called eArmyU. In December 2002, “. . . the eArmyU program offers 87 programs from 24 different educational institutions (originally 29 institutions)” (Eskey, 2002, 34). Even though this program is experimental at the present time “. . . Price-waterhouseCoopers was awarded the $453 million eArmyU contract to serve . . . an estimated 80,000 soldiers over the next five years” (Eskey, 2002, 34).

Size of the Industry

The industry has been growing for at least the last two decades. In 1997 through 1998 almost 44 percent of all higher education institutions offered distance learning courses. The industry has been divided into two major groups. The public post-secondary institutions and the private institutions. In the past, the public institutions were more likely to offer this type of learning than were the private ones. In 1999, 78 percent of public 4-year institutions offered some type of distance learning courses. During the same period, only 19 percent of the private 4-year institutions offered the same type of courses (Distance, 2003, 1).

The larger institutions have been traditionally more likely to offer customized education programs. The 1997- 1998 school year saw 87 percent of the institutions, that had more than 10,000 students, offer customized classes while at the same time only 19 percent with an enrollment of less than 3,000 had the same program (Distance, 2003, 1).

The total enrollment in these types of programs in 1997-1998 was 1,363,670 with slightly more than half in two year colleges. The use of extension university classes and distance learning courses had to address the situation of tuition. Tuition and fee charges for students in these programs were the same as for campus students. Three- fourths of the post-secondary institutions reported identical tuition structures (Distance, 2003, 2).

Most of the post-secondary institutions have been using computerized information and advanced information technology in their higher education programs. According to a 1999 national survey of information technology in higher education, it was found that there has been a continual increase in computerized education as a way of connecting distant campuses. The results of the survey are based on data provided by 557 two and four year degree granting colleges and universities throughout the United States. The major findings include:

* 47% of the institutions offer at

least one course entirely over

the Internet.

* ...