University choice: what do we know, what don’t we know and what do we still need to find out?

Abstract

University choice: what do we know, what don't we know and what do we still need to find out? Jane Hemsley-Brown Izhar Oplatka Article information: To cite this document: Jane Hemsley-Brown Izhar Oplatka , (2015),"University choice: what do we know, what don't we know and what do we still need to find out?" AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to systematically document, scrutinise and critically analyse the current research literature on higher education choice to: establish the scope of the studies; map the factors associated with choice; identify the key strengths and weaknesses in the research literature; critically analyse the extant research and make recommendations for further research in this field. Design/methodology/approach -The authors conducted extensive searches of relevant and education and management databases. The search is limited to publications between 1992 and 2013 and is intended to cover national and international research. The review is based on 75 papers which focus on institutional choice, assembled on an Excel database (45 surveys, 13 secondary data studies, one experimental study, two longitudinal studies, 11 qualitative studies and three studies that use both qualitative and quantitative techniques). Findings -Results are presented under thematic headings which emerged from the analysis: first, demographics and academic factors; second, factors which relate to the institution: quality, outcomes and benefits, facilities, and characteristics of institutions. Finally factors which affect both the institution and the students: price and price sensitivity, information and information sources, and travel and geographical factors are considered. Originality/value -Comprehensive analysis of prior research in the field of institutional choice is long overdue. Theoretical models for future research are presented as a result of the findings.

The value trade-off in higher education service: A qualitative intercultural approach to students’ perceptions

“…As also stated in the aforementioned research by Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka (2015), geography is a driver for University election, but it remains unclear, out of our results, if International Master students really look for proximity, or the geographical issue concerns more a search of diversity and novelty. Cultural distance has also underpinning in this evaluation, as some participants in Group A were Latin-American studying in Spain, a country geographically very distant, but culturally (language, religion) close.…”

“…As aforementioned, except for one case, students in each focus group came from the same University (see Table 1); the homogeneity in finding University image as a driver is not surprising, according to previous literature (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka, 2015). As a matter of example, It was told in focus group A that the students viewed their institution as "one of the top ones among the others in Spain".…”

“…Furthermore, regarding costs and sacrifices as negative drivers for students' choice, previous works have concentrated more on prices (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka, 2015) than in any other costs (such as non-monetary ones such as time and effort). Accordingly, we consider there is considerable space for new research focusing on more behavioural variables such as the dimensionality of value, being functional, social and emotional in nature, and with consideration of both monetary and non-monetary costs.…”

Undergraduate orientations towards higher education in Germany and England: problematizing the notion of ‘student as customer’

“…Davies et al (2013) surveyed nearly 1400 school leavers and report that males and certain ethnic groups were more likely to justify going to university on labour market and income grounds, but that they and other groups also cited additional factors such as job status, creativity, and altruism as driving their decision to study. HemsleyBrown and Oplatka (2015) systematically reviewed the English language literature on university selection and found over 40 'choice factors', of which only a handful would be considered employment or financially oriented. Two further studies (Jary and Shah 2009;Mann 2010) incorporated interviews in their studies and again found students citing altruistic, intrinsic rationales for studying alongside instrumental ones.…”

A system dynamic model of student enrolment at the private higher education sector in Syria

“…Student choice is becoming an important factor in determining the sustainability of the sector (Briggs 2006). Global financial constraints have forced universities to investigate different methods and modes to increase student enrolment (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka 2015).…”