Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the empirical body of knowledge regarding the role of universities today. In addition, it aims to investigate the topic of personal development planning (PDP) programs, under a different perspective borrowed from marketing theory, namely, the "self-brand orientation" approach. Design/methodology/approach: The study focused on investigating the core research topics and parameters perceived to be important to students. The theoretical perspectives of PDPs and brand orientation served as conceptual bases, and both have been operationalised through the empirical study conducted. Findings: The study findings reveal a "gap" between today's student needs and what the universities offer. "self-brand oriented" management, seems to support the development of PDPs in a promising way, since the majority of the students claim that they are willing to participate in such a program. Research limitations/implications: Because of sample limitations, the findings of the study are not generally applicable. Besides, the topics of PDPs remain unknown to the particular students, since they never had the opportunity to participate in such a program in the past. Practical implications: This paper can be seen as a guiding work to new means of delivery of PDPs. It contributes to the dialogue under progress regarding the role of the Universities today and the ways by which PDPs will increase their future possibilities. Originality/value: The contribution of the paper is twofold: it meets students' needs as well as society's requests and allows marketing to make an ethical contribution to higher education. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)