INFLUENTIAL FACTORS IN SELECTING A BACHELOR’S DEGREE FROM INTERNATIONAL DEGREE PROGRAMMES OFFERED IN SRI LANKA: PERSPECTIVES OF LECTURERS AND GRADUATES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17501/icedu.2018.4106Keywords:
University Level Education, Students’ choice, Bachelor’s Degree, International Degree ProgrammesAbstract
National University intake in Sri Lanka has become progressively competitive due to the limited number of opportunities available. Majority of the students who fail to enter National Universities and students who complete Advanced Level in British curriculum have been increasingly seeking alternative educational options in the domestic market. Of those students, a small percentage is presumed to continue their university level education (ULE) overseas based on affordability. At present many private higher educational institutes (PHEI) in Sri Lanka offer various types of International Degree Programmes (IDPs) to cater to the rising demand of ULE. Due to the flexibility and optionality in IDPs offered in Sri Lanka, the decision making process in selecting a Bachelor’s degree (BD) in IDPs has become complex and multifactorial. This study aims to explore factors influencing students’ choice in selecting a BD from IDPs. Data for the study were collected via focus group discussions with lecturers and graduates in randomly selected PHEIs. 62 themes which emerged in thematic analysis of data were categorized into 7 variables, namely, university characteristics, source of information (messenger), programme evaluation, cost, marketing strategy, location and infrastructure facilities. The percentage of occurrence of each theme has been calculated to identify how the lecturers and graduates have ranked the themes based on their level of importance. University characteristics, programme evaluation, infrastructure facilities and messenger were rated as most influential by lecturers and graduates, but with different orders of importance. ‘Cost’ is the least influential factor for lecturers while ‘location’ is for graduates.
Downloads
References
Al Yousef, H., 2009, They Know Nothing about University-Neither of Them Went: The Effect of Parents’ Level of Education on Their Involvement in Their Daughters’ Higher Education Choices. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 39(6), 783-798.
Braun V., and Clarke V., 2006, Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology. 3(2), 77-101. Retrieved from 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
Briggs, S., 2006, An exploratory study of the factors influencing undergraduate student choice: the case of higher education in Scotland. Studies in Higher Education, 31(6), 705-722.
Ceja, M., 2004, Chicana College Aspirations and the Role of Parents: Developing Educational Resiliency. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 3(4), 338-362.
Ceja, M., 2006, Understanding the role of parents and siblings as information sources in the college choice process of Chicana students. Journal of College Student Development, 47(1), 87-104.
Creswell, J., W., 2013, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (Sage publications).
Domino, S., Libraire, T., Lutwiller, D., Superczynski, S., and Tian, R., 2006, Higher education marketing concerns: factors influence students’ choice of colleges. The Business Review, Cambridge, 6(2), 101-111.
Eidimtas A., and Juceviciene P., 2014, Factors Influencing School-Leavers Decision to Enrol in Higher Education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 3983 – 3988.
Fernandez, J. L., 2010, An exploratory study of factors influencing the decision of students to study at University Sains Malaysia, Kajian Malaysia, 28(2), 107-136.
Hearn, J., 1984, The Relative Roles of Academic, Ascribed, and Socioeconomic Characteristics in College Destinations. Sociology of Education, 57(1), 22-30. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2112465.
Hossler, D., 1985, “A research overview of student college choice'', Association for the Study of Higher Education, Chicago, IL. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED259634
Hossler, D. (1985) A Research overview of student college choice. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education. Chicago, IL.
Jackson , G. A., 1982, Public efficiency and private choice in higher education, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 4(2), 237-247.
Jackson, G. A., 1978. Financial aid and student enrollment. Journal of Higher Education, 49(6), 548-574.
Joseph, M., and Joseph B., 1998, “Identifying need of potential students in tertiary education for strategy Development,” Quality Assurance in Education, .6(2), 90-96.
Joseph, M., and Joseph, B., 2000, Indonesian students’ perceptions of choice criteria in the selection of a tertiary institution: Strategic implications, International Journal of Educational Management, 14(1), 40- 44. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09513540010310396.
Keling, S. B. A., 2006, Institutional factors attracting students to Malaysian institutions of higher learning, International Review of Business Research Papers, 2(1), 46-64.
Knight J., 2007, Internationalization: Concepts, Complexities and Challenges. In: Forest J.J.F., Altbach P.G. (eds) International Handbook of Higher Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 18. Springer, Dordrecht.
Knight, J., 2012, Student mobility and internationalisation: Trends and tribulations. Research in Comparative and International Education, 7, 20–33.
Kusumawati, A., Yanamandram, V. K., and Perera, N., 2010, Exploring student choice criteria for selecting an Indonesian public university: A preliminary finding. ANZMAC 2010. (Doctoral Colloquium), 1-27, Christchurch, New Zealand: ANZMAC.
Moogan, Y.J., and Baron S., 2003, An analysis of student characteristics within the student decision-making process, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 27(3): 271–287.
Nora, A., 2004, The Role of habitus and cultural capital in choosing a college, transitioning from high school to higher education, and persisting in college among minority and monminority students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 3(2), 180-208.
Ozga, J., and Sukhnandan, L., 1998, Undergraduate non‐completion: developing an explanatory model. Higher Education Quarterly, 52(3), 316-333.
Pimpa, N., and Suwannapirom, S., 2008, Thai students’ choices of vocational education: marketing factors and reference groups. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 7(2), 99-107.
Pimpa, N., 2005, A family affair: The effect of family on Thai students’ choices of international education. Higher Education, 49(4), 431-448.
Poo, B. T., Ismail, R., Sulaiman, N., and Othman, N., 2012. Globalization and the factors influencing households’ demand for Higher Education in Malaysia. International Journal of Education and Information Technologies, 3(6), 269–278.
Roulston, K., 2001, Data analysis and 'theorizing as ideology'. Qualitative Research, 1(3), 279-302.
Sia, J. K. M., 2011, Post-Secondary Students’ Behaviour in the College Choice Decision. Journal of Marketing Research and Case Studies Curtin University, 1-15.
Siti Falindah,P., Abdul Razak, K., and Rohaizat, B., 2010, International Student’s choice behavior for higher education at Malaysian private universities, International Journal of Marketing Studies, 2(2), 202-211.
Siti Rahayu, H., Tan, H.S. and Samsinar, Md. S., 2000, Marketing analysis of higher education service sector in Malaysia : Consumer perspective, Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 8(1), 1- 6.
Somers, P., Haines, K., Keene, B., Bauer, J., Pfeiffer, M., McCluskey, J. and Sparks, B.,2006, Towards a theory of choice for community college students. Community College Journal Research and Practice, 30(1), 53-67.
Sunday times, 2011, June 12, University entrance for London A/L students in Sri Lanka. Retrieved from http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110612/Education/ed26.html.
Tang, T.L., Tang, D.S., and Tang, C.S., 2004. College tuition and perceptions of Private University Quality. International Journal of Educational Management, 18(5), 304-316.
Tierney, M. L., 1983, Student college choice sets: Toward an empirical characterization. Research in Higher Education, 18(3), 271-284.
Turley, R. N. L., 2009, College proximity: Mapping access to opportunity. Sociology of Education, 82(2), 126-146.
University Grants Commission (UGC) website, retrieved from http://www.ugc.ac.lk/en/publications.html.
Yamamoto, G.T., 2006, University evaluationselection: A Turkish case. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(7), 559-569.
Yorke, M., 1999, Leaving early: Undergraduate non-completion in higher education (London: Falmer Press).
Yusof, M., Ahmad, S. N. B., Tajudin, M., and Ravindran, R., 2008, A study of Factors Influencing the Selection of a Higher Education Institution. UNITAR e-journal. 4(2), 27-40.
