Following recent investigations by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), six UK universities have been forced to scrap their marketing campaigns that provided misleading information to potential students.
By giving false statements or assertions that could not be supported by sufficient evidence, the universities broke the UK advertising code and have been banned from making similar declarations in the future.
The ASA instructed the University of Leicester, Falmouth University, Teesside University, the University of Strathclyde, the University of East Anglia and the University of West London to end their misleading marketing campaigns.
“We are also issuing new guidance to direct universities on making adverts with correct information and facts”
“Going to university involves a big financial commitment and misleading would-be students is not only unfair, it can also lead them to make choices that aren’t right for them,” warns Guy Parker, the chief executive of the ASA.
In an increasingly competitive market, universities are striving hard to attract more students. The ASA sent a warning message to all UK higher education institutions competing for student attention, informing them to ensure they practice what they preach and abide advertising laws by backing up their claims with convincing proof.
“We are also issuing new guidance to direct universities on making adverts with correct information and facts so that students can be confident they will get what they pay for,” said Parker.
Junzhi Yan
Featured image courtesy of ‘Matt Buck’ via Flickr. License here.
Follow Impact News on Facebook for more updates and information on how to get involved.
