Opinion: Visibility over Value? Rise of promotional culture in higher education

Indian universities are spending heavily on promotion to boost visibility, often sidelining academic quality and faculty development

By Dr Manas K Kanjilal, Dr Anudeep Gujjeti

A timeless adage in the marketing world declares: “No promotion, no presence.” This principle is rooted in the observation that even a roadside flower commands admiration by virtue of its visibility. At the same time, an exquisite bloom hidden deep within a forest goes unnoticed, underscoring a fundamental truth: it is not beauty or quality alone, but exposure, that confers value.

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Historically, promotion has played a decisive role in shaping the market character of products and services, dating back to the pioneering advertising strategies of Coca-Cola and Quaker Oats in 1886. In the 21st century, promotional practices have evolved with the advent of digital technologies, encompassing SEO marketing, influencer partnerships, algorithm-driven outreach, and viral campaigns.

Building Visibility

From the perspective of consumers — or, in the context of education —decisions are made on a combination of factors: admission fees, perceived quality, faculty, placement, ranking, and brand reputation. Therefore, promotion is not inherently problematic, it is an essential component of building visibility and sustaining any offering in a competitive environment.

Data from Statista indicates that advertising spending in India is projected to reach USD 15.78 billion by 2025, with digital platforms comprising an increasingly dominant share, expected to account for 45 per cent of total ad expenditure by 2029. India’s digital advertising market is likely to exceed Rs 70,000 crore by 2026, driven by the nation’s 550 million smartphone users.

In this promotional ecosystem, Indian universities are also active participants. Public universities, private institutions, and international schools allocate significant resources to marketing campaigns spanning digital advertising, education fairs, alumni engagement, and regional outreach. Many institutions also adopt community-centric initiatives under the banner of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

In an editorial piece, Dr Caroline Dunne, Leadership and Change Management Coach, and Janice Kay, Director of Higher Future, highlight that a university’s personal branding is vital for aspiring leaders, who must carefully consider how to develop one for themselves. Personal branding helps universities and institutions create unique perceptions and narratives in people’s minds. While titles and roles open doors, institutional values, expertise, innovative ideas, and contributions ensure sustainability and leave a lasting impression.

India currently hosts 455 private universities, which can be categorised into three tiers, primarily based on metrics used in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). These include Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcome (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI), and Perception (PR).

Some institutions are investing meaningfully in academic excellence by hiring faculty from globally reputed universities and premier Indian institutes like IITs, NITs, and top central universities. This, in turn, strengthens research output, publications, and international collaborations — all closely allied with NIRF criteria and similar accreditation frameworks.

However, a significant segment of universities leans heavily on promotional activities to establish a market presence. Substantial funds are allocated to digital visibility strategies such as search engine optimisation, paid advertisements, influencer endorsements, and curated content — tactics that often obscure a clear view of academic substance. This trend poses challenges for prospective students and their families, who increasingly rely on online research, making it difficult to discern genuine institutional quality.

Global Trend

Across the globe, many reputed universities allocate substantial resources towards promotion and brand-building. According to a Simpson Scarborough survey, institutions reportedly spend between USD 429 and USD 623 annually per enrolled student on marketing alone. Prestigious institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University are estimated to spend an average of USD 10 million in a fiscal year for promotional activities.

Rapid proliferation of new universities and colleges, often approved within short timeframes and granted favourable accreditations, raises concerns about the robustness of evaluation processes

However, this emphasis on visibility does not come at the cost of academic rigour. They invest equally, if not more, in recruiting top-tier faculty, domain experts, and resource persons on a sustained basis.
In stark contrast, several private universities in India continue to suffer from poor academic standards, largely owing to subpar faculty recruitment practices.

In many such institutions, the remuneration of faculty members is arbitrarily fixed by the administration, often without adherence to any nationally recognised regulatory framework or benchmark. Data suggests that nearly 1.5 million faculty members are employed across India’s private universities.

Faculty Retention

According to higher education search engines, the average salary of an assistant professor is Rs 6 lakh per annum (Rs 50,000 per month), and for beginners, it is Rs 3.5 lakh per annum. These figures often do not match the JRF/SRF scholarship offered by the government of India to pursue a PhD. As a result, faculty retention rates are very low in many Tier 2 and Tier 3 universities owing to excessive teaching workload, clerical responsibilities, promotional activities, and inadequate salaries. In 2023, Kumar and Sharma, highlighted in their report that the salaries of private university faculty lagged behind their public counterparts by 20-30 per cent.

Some universities have taken promotional strategies a step further by hiring dedicated branding teams, much like corporate entities, to craft content and enhance their social media presence. Management in these institutions often requires faculty and students to actively share and amplify university activities online, aiming to bolster visibility among aspiring students and parents.

Moreover, the rapid proliferation of new universities and colleges, often approved within short timeframes and granted favourable accreditations such as NAAC A+ or A grades, raises concerns about the robustness of evaluation processes. Incidents of committee members engaging in taking bribes to award higher NAAC rankings underscore the urgent need for vigilance among all stakeholders.

During admission season, the race among students and parents to identify the “top” private university intensifies. Increasingly, these searches rely on search engine results and social media content, which may reflect promotional prowess more than academic merit. There is a pressing need for a more discerning approach — one that evaluates faculty profiles, institutional research output, and authentic academic credentials, before making pivotal decisions.

Only through a balanced emphasis on both academic quality and responsible promotion can India’s higher education sector truly fulfil its promise to its students and society.

(Dr Manas K Kanjilal is Assistant Professor, Media Studies, School of Social Sciences, Christ University, Bengaluru. Dr Anudeep Gujjeti is Assistant Professor, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, and Young Leader, Pacific Forum, USA)