Students’ Perception of Private University Brand Value in Croatia—What Has Changed in 5 Years?

Increased competition in the higher education market is a key reason for higher education institutions (HEIs) to adopt marketing strategies to remain competitive. Branding is one of the strategies frequently used in this context. This study examines changes in university brand value perception from the student perspective. It analyses internal changes, i.e., those made within the HEI, as well as changes in the external environment, and their impact on university brand value perception over a five-year period. The research used a mixed-methods approach to capture both aspects of the phenomenon. The qualitative research included interviews with four members of a private HEI management board, while the quantitative research was based on a questionnaire designed to identify and evaluate elements of Aaker’s model of brand equity. The research results show that although all dimensions display a slight decrease, the difference in perceived brand value is not statistically significant. Despite the fact that the overall grading shows no statistically significant differences and that the total grading is above average, these results indicate that the efforts made in the last five years to increase the quality of different dimensions relevant to better perception of HEI brand value were not recognized by students.