NZUSA Knowledge Of Marketing: Zero

NZUSA Knowledge Of Marketing: Zero

Being a monopoly organisation funded by compulsory fees, it's not surprising that the New Zealand University Students Association (NZUSA) has no understanding of the marketing requirements of New Zealand's tertiary institutions, Student Choice said today.

NZUSA's income is derived from compulsory fees forced on New Zealand university students as a result of compulsory membership of student associations. Most tertiary students have to pay money to NZUSA before they can study, Student Choice spokesman Clint Heine said.

"NZUSA doesn't have customers, it has commercial captives. NZUSA never has to sell its services to students, never has to worry about providing value for money, suffers no penalty for failure and never has to compete with other providers," Heine said.

"NZUSA operates in a commercial fantasy land because compulsory membership means it doesn't know what price students put on the organisation. It's not surprising then that NZUSA doesn't understand the incentives faced by organisations that have to compete for customers," Heine said.

"Tertiary institutions can ignore NZUSA's complaints about marketing because compulsory membership means the organisation has no mandate to speak on behalf of all university students," Heine said. "The wider question is how much longer the government and the vice-chancellors will support compulsory membership and the boneheaded economics it forces onto tertiary students" he said.

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