Decision-making system for higher education university selection: comparison of priorities pre- and post-COVID-19

Abstract

PurposeUniversity selection in higher education is a complex task for aspirants from a decision-making perspective. This study first aims to understand the essential parameters that affect potential students' choice of higher education institutions. It then aims to explore how these parameters or priorities have changed given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning about the differences in priorities for university selection pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic might help higher education institutions focus on relevant parameters in the post-pandemic era.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a mixed-method approach, with primary and secondary data (university parameters from the website and LinkedIn Insights). We developed a university selector system by scraping LinkedIn education data of various universities and their alumni records. The final decision-making tool was hosted on the web to collect potential students' responses (primary data). Response data were analyzed via a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) model. Portal-based data collection was conducted twice to understand the differences in university selection priorities pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic. A one-way MANOVA was performed to find the differences in priorities related to the university decision-making process pre- and post-COVID-19.FindingsThis study considered eight parameters of the university selection process. MANOVA demonstrated a significant change in decision-making priorities of potential students between the pre- and post-COVID-19 phases. Four out of eight parameters showed significant differences in ranking and priority. Respondents made significant changes in their selection criteria on four parameters: cost (went high), ranking (went low), presence of e-learning mode (went high) and student life (went low).Originality/valueThe current COVID-19 pandemic poses many uncertainties for educational institutions in terms of mode of delivery, student experience, campus life and others. The study sheds light on the differences in priorities resulting from the pandemic. It attempts to show how social priorities change over time and influence the choices students make.

Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning in Greek Universities During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Attitudes of University Students

“…Αs a result of this feeling of disconnection, students displayed behaviors of losing interest in the class, finding it hard to concentrate, feeling disengaged and finally evaluating themselves as less productive (Yang, 2021). Of particular interest is also research from the United Arab Emirates concerning the extent to which the pandemic has affected the selection of studies by students and their families, with the variables of economic cost, quality of student life and provision of on-line courses appear to be differentiated in relation to the pre-pandemic period (Nanath et al, 2021).…”

Determinant Factors in Selecting University: Evidence from Secondary School Students in Sarawak

“…However, the positive insignificant effect of cost or study fees was found in this study. This finding signified that students' university selection decision is not influenced by the cost or study fees of the university and this is contrastive with the findings by Mahdzar et al (2021) and Nanath, Sajjad and Kaitheri (2021). There are numerous study loans available that could be applied by the students to reduce their financial burdens such as National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), Sarawak Foundation and other organizations.…”

“…Thus, the cost of the study is expected to significantly impact the students' behaviour intention in selecting a university. This proposition is supported by Mohd Yusuf, Ghazali & Abdullah (2017), Mahdzar et al (2021) and Nanath, Sajjad and Kaitheri (2021) as the cost of study or tuition fees was significant factor or most important factor that influenced university selection. However, the insignificant effects of cost or tuitions fees towards university selection are also found in Wong (2019).…”

A novel hybrid MCDM approach to evaluate universities based on student perspective

“…Recently, parallel to the increase in competition among universities, studies related to their evaluation have gained increasing attention from different perspectives such as overall performance (Aliyev et al, 2020 ; Nazari-Shirkouhi et al, 2020 ; Wu et al, 2012 ; Zolfani & Ghadikolaei, 2013 ), research capacity (Duc et al, 2020 ; Su et al, 2020 ), innovation (Chen & Chen, 2010 ), a department of a university (Muhammad et al, 2021 ), sustainability (Arora et al, 2020 ; Puente et al, 2020 ), lean philosophy (Kazancoglu & Ozkan-Ozen, 2019 ; Klein et al, 2021 ), and student viewpoint (Castro-Lopez et al, 2021 ; Goyal et al, 2021 ; Kabak & Dağdeviren, 2014 ; Nanath et al, 2021 ; Nojavan et al, 2021 ).…”