Consultation and reliability of information sources pertaining to university selection

Abstract

Purpose -This paper aims to explore the information sources used by school leavers when selecting a university at which they wish to study and the perceived reliability of these sources of information. Design/methodology/approach -Using data from 306 pupils studying at various schools in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland it was revealed that applicants utilise mostly communication originating from the university itself, including the university prospectus and open days, and, they also classify such sources of information as being the most reliable. Findings -There are some differences in the perception of the various groups under investigation; for example, potential female applicants perceive most information sources to have greater credibility than their male counterparts believe. In addition, higher performers make more use of the available information sources and also place more value on their worth. Research limitations/implications -This study set out to explore aspects of student university selection that have received relatively little attention. It was limited in its scope due to resource constraints and concerns of protecting potentially vulnerable respondents, while ensuring a reasonable sample return. Originality/value -The study has accomplished it's basic task in that we are better informed as to which information sources students prefer and perceive to be reliable. Such information should, at least, allow professional student recruitment services to better direct their information salvo, but more importantly it should also raise some questions which are much in need of an answer.

Market orientation in universities

“…Second, the concern in the UK over financial constraints imposed on universities by central government policies and third, the additional difficulty of falling rolls (Kinnell, 1989) has resulted in many UK universities facing the same challenges: having to compete for students in a fierce marketplace (Veloutsou, et al, 2005). In addition to these concerns, at undergraduate level The National Student Survey (NSS) introduced in 2005, now directly affects university league tables in the UK and therefore the emphasis on responding to student needs, and on gaining good scores for the teaching and learning aspects of the HE experience, have rapidly become more important than ever for all universities (Hemsley- Brown and Kolsaker-Jacob, 2008).…”

Measuring efficiency of the banking industry before and after the recent financial crisis: some international evidence

“…In terms of methodology, empirical research in the area has frequently employed descriptive statistics (Veloutsou, Lewis, and Paton, 2004;Veloutsou, Paton and Lewis, 2005;Yamamoto, 2006;Daily et al, 2010;Roushdy, 2012). More analytical is the use of factor analysis (Veloutsou et al, 2004;Kim-Choy, Holdsworth, Li and Kim-Shyan, 2009), but as Henrickson (2002, 406) noted, such a choice of methods was employed in approximately 20% of the empirical methodological modeling articles the author reviewed, with less systematic quantitative methods often being employed.…”

Promoting Malaysian Government Universities: Potential Students’ Views

“…There are few studies on students' perception towards branding of Malaysian universities. Most of the studies regarding students' choice are based on Western countries universities (Vaughn et al, 1978;Chapman, 1981;Litten, 1980;Veloutsou, 2005). Thus, this research will focus on perception of form six students in term of the criteria (brand positioning statements) that these students perceive are important in choosing universities and also the promotion tools that they use in obtaining information about universities.…”