This research focussed Singaporean student decision-making when choosing an institution for university studies. It is contended that if a university does not understand the dimensions of how prospective students make decisions when choosing an institution it cannot meaningfully offer representation to these potential customers. Fittingly, this thesis drew on past research from buyer behaviour and college choice studies. Adapting an established model of consumer decision-making (Engel, Blackwell and Miniard, 1990), the study investigated the degree of compliance with the Extended Problem Solving concept (Howard, 1963), including what factors determined and influenced choices, and whether students learn from past decisions. To this end, an exploratory / descriptive study used mixed methods (Creswell, 1994) to map out the dimensions of student decision-making within an Australian University and Singaporean Association case. Results indicated students? decision-making was closely aligned to simple models and their decision-making steps could be best described as (1) having a need, (2) searching and gathering information, (3) evaluating alternatives, (4) making choice/s, and (5) accepting an offer and enrolling in a university program. Further, respondents did not necessarily engage in extensive searching and gathering activities, as theorised, demonstrated limited learning and had few discernible influences on their choices. The implications for the University-Association case included the need to guide students through their decision-making processes by providing relevant data on which they could make informed choices, relative to career and income advancement. For those indicating that they would choose an institution for postgraduate studies, ensure undergraduate post-choice regret is minimised and offer more choices of management programs so that respondents would consider continuing their studies with the same institution. The study contended that, despite delimits and limitations, contributions to both theory and practise had been made and concluded with several ideas for future research, including proposing two alternative hypotheses.

This descriptive and correlational study examined the applicability of major U.S. college choice factors to Philippine high school seniors. A sample of 226 students from a private school in Manila completed the College Choice Survey for High School Seniors. Cronbach's alpha for the survey composite index was 0.933. The purposes of this nonexperimental, quantitative study were (1) to describe the relative importance of major college choice factors (as identified in U.S. research) to Philippine high school seniors, and (2) to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in the importance ascribed to these factors, according to students' demographic attributes. For all statistical analyses, SPSS 16.0 software was used. To address the first purpose, the mean and standard deviation were calculated for each college choice factor addressed in the survey. To address the second purpose, ANOVAs, Mann-Whitney U tests, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were run, in order to study the relationship between each of the major college choice factors and students' demographic attributes. This study found that all of the major U.S. college choice factors were important, to some degree, in the Philippine context. Other factors were added based on pilot studies. This study also found that some of the U.S.-literature-generated demographic choice attributes functioned similarly in the Philippine setting (e.g. academic ability, gender), while others did not (e.g. educational level of fathers and of mothers). Moreover, students' academic ability was the primary demographic attribute, accounting for statistically significant differences in assessment of the importance of college choice factors for most (12 out of 13) of the factors. The major U.S. college choice factors appear to be important to Philippine private high school students. Two choice attributes (academic ability, gender) appear to apply to private high school students in the Philippines, while the attributes of father's and mother's education levels do not appear to apply. Among Philippine private high school students, academic ability may account for differences in assessment of the importance of college choice factors. Using a survey method alone to study college choice is limiting. Future studies should utilize a variety of methods to collect data and should involve several schools.

When students are academically qualified to attend a four-year college or university but instead enroll at a community college, they are considered academically undermatched. Research suggests that Latinx students are more likely to academically undermatch than their peers yet they remain the least likely to complete an upward transfer to a university and earn a baccalaureate degree. The purpose of this study was to explore the enrollment decisions of, and familial influences on, Latinx students who were admitted to a university but who initially enrolled at a community college. Using community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge as theoretical frameworks, I examined the narratives of 13 Latinx students and the parents of five of those students. Nine student participants were female and four were male, ranging from 19 to 31 years old. Parent participants were four females and two males, ranging from 43 to 52 years old. Findings from this study are divided into two parts. Student findings revealed navigating the pathway to college was fraught with limited information, even though students acknowledged they had access to resources and their high school counselors and teachers helped in the college search process. However, students still did not feel that crucial information they wanted or needed was available. Parent findings uncovered how parental aspirations and perceptions of opportunities in the United States served as a foundation for helping students aspire to attend college. Based on these findings, higher education practitioners would do well to use inclusive frameworks, such as community cultural wealth, to create programs that address Latinx students and their families, including providing materials in Spanish. Through use of inclusive frameworks, research on Latinx student college choice continues to elevate the complexities and realities these students encounter. Additionally, policymakers should continue to reevaluate the shifting burden of costs for higher education from taxpayers to students as this impacts college choice and academic undermatch.

Merit-based financial aid has long been utilized by college and university enrollment managers to attract the most academically qualified applicants for admission. Considerable research has been done to illustrate the impact of state-based merit aid programs and other scholarly pursuits have drawn attention to the consequences of merit aid on institutional investments in need-based aid. Less is known about the efficacy of merit aid to achieve college student enrollment objectives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between merit aid values and the likelihood of undergraduate student enrollment yield on offers of admission. The primary research question to be answered was: What is the relationship between the amount of merit aid students receive from a college or university and their enrollment decisions? The sample comprised 2,770 students at three private higher education institutions in the United States. Binary logistic regression and a forward selection process were used to test a range of possible predictors (e.g., sex, race, ethnicity, in-state residency, distance from home, academic qualifications, merit aid awards, and information from the financial aid applications of those offered admission) to determine the relative strength of merit aid in the prediction of student enrollment yield on offers of admission. The amount of merit aid offered was positively related to the likelihood of a student to enroll, even when academic qualifications and other student characteristics were controlled.

An associate degree in nursing is obtained in the community college setting and is designed to be completed in 2 years of full-time study. Approximately 70% of practicing registered nurses (RNs) are educated at the associate degree or diploma (vocational training) level with only 15% moving on to achieve a degree past the associate level. The purpose of this phenomenological research is to study the lived experiences of registered nurses who obtained an associate degree in nursing and, while working in a health care setting, returned to school to attain a baccalaureate degree in nursing (BSN). Data gathered during individual interviews will provide documentation of the benefits of attaining a BSN as well as identifying barriers that associate degree RNs must overcome to pursue a BSN education.

Thesis advisor: Ana M. Martínez Alemán / College-choice studies have long been conducted to help colleges improve their recruitment strategies (Chapman, 1981; Hossler & Gallagher, 1987; Jackson, 1982; Litten, 1982). The dominant college-choice models and studies have, however, focused solely on traditional aged students seeking to enroll in four-year colleges/universities upon high school completion (Bers & Smith, 1987; Cabrera & La Nasa, 2000). Neglected from these established models has been the other student populations enrolled in other sectors of higher education in the U.S., specifically the community colleges. Critical Race Theory (CRT) provided the conceptual framework for this qualitative study that explored the college-choice phenomenon for a group of documented Chinese immigrant students at one urban public community college. This study examined the participants' experiences to determine factors that contributed to their college-choice decision making. The stories shared by a sample of 16 participants (ages 19 to 39) revealed four overarching factors that impacted their college-choice decision making: 1) their experiences as immigrants in the U.S.; 2) their experiences as members of the working class in the U.S.; 3) their educational experiences prior to their immigration to the U.S.; 4) their educational experiences while in the U.S., which raised concerns about equity in access to college knowledge. Participants negotiated all these factors to decide that they would enroll at a community college. The findings from this study contributed to the literature of college-choice from the perspective of a group of documented Chinese immigrants. In part, participants reported they chose to enroll at community college because they wanted a college that offered them opportunities to improve their English language skills; was affordable; conveniently located; had a community of Chinese/API immigrant students. Overwhelmingly, participants chose to attend a community college because they were not informed that there were other options. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

Graduate students represent 15% of the students and one-third of the graduates of colleges and universities across the United States. They are leading thinkers in higher education institutions and businesses across the country and around the world. In many fields, such as law, graduate or professional school is required for entry-level employment, whereas in other fields, such as business, graduate education may enhance performance and opportunities for promotion. The educational stratification and college-choice literature document the influence of family background (distal family) on educational attainment. These literatures focus on the traditional undergraduate student without considering the different preferences and responsibilities (context) of potential graduate students considering enrollment. Potential graduate students are often older than high school students making a college choice, are independent from their parents, and may have a spouse and children (proximal family) at the forefront of their educational plans. This dissertation builds on the educational stratification and college-choice literature by considering post-baccalaureate (graduate) enrollment specifically. This study explores the effects of marriage, parenthood, and any corresponding gender effects on whether and when a bachelor's degree recipient enrolls in graduate education. To investigate these proximal family effects and gender effects, I analyzed data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study 1993/03--a longitudinal study that surveyed over 11,000 students at the time of their bachelor's degree completion and three additional times over 10 years. Using survival analysis (event history analysis), I measured the amount of time between baccalaureate degree completion and first graduate enrollment. Using this measure, I compared differences in the odds of graduate enrollment and timing of graduate enrollment based on marital status, parental status, and gender. Overall, more women than men enrolled in graduate education, and men enrolled sooner than women. The results showed that being a parent had a negative effect on if and when an individual enrolled in graduate school. Being married also had a negative effect on if and when an individual enrolled in graduate school, with married men experiencing a slightly stronger negative effect than married women. The combined effect of being married and being a parent had the strongest negative effect on graduate enrollment for men and women, but more so for women. By better understanding graduate college choice, institutions can more effectively use resources and improve the opportunities and experiences for graduate students and, specifically, graduate students with families. Minimizing barriers to entry may level the playing field between graduate degree aspirants with families and those without families.

College decisions are often the result of a variety of influences related to student background characteristics, academic characteristics, college preferences and college aspirations. College counselors recommend that students choose a variety of schools, especially schools where the general student body matches the academic achievement of students. These types of schools are generally referred to as match schools. This thesis examined the initial college decisions of high school students in a large Midwestern state, who were an academic match for selective and highly selective schools by observing the student characteristics that were most influential in predicting college matching for students’ initial first choice institution. This thesis also observed college enrollment among students who chose a match school as their first choice institution, college matching over a time period from 1992 to 2013, and college matching after the implementation of a state initiative designed to help students apply for college. Logistic regression along with descriptive statistics were used as the primary analyses for college matching. Results from these analyses showed that students belonging to underrepresented minority groups had odds of college matching for their first choice institution that were significantly greater than white students. Students whose parents earned at least a bachelor’s degree had odds that were significantly greater than students whose parents had not earned a bachelor’s degree. Also, students whose coursework included calculus and physics, and students who planned to earn a graduate degree had significantly greater odds of matching on their first choice institution than students who were not a part of these respective groups. Among students in the sample who chose a match school for their first choice institution, students who had at least one parent earn up to a bachelor’s degree were significantly more likely to enroll in a match school. Also, the percentage of students at a single high school who were eligible for free and reduced lunch were negatively associated with the odds of students enrolling in a match school. To observe score sending among students to their first choice institution over time an additional variable, “year” was added to the logistic regression model to compare the years of 2000, 2008 and 2013 to 1992. The results of this logistic regression analysis showed that students’ odds of choosing a match school for their first choice institution were significantly lower in 2008 and 2013 than in 1992. College matching for students who attended high schools serviced by the state initiative were compared using the percentage differences in college matching before and after the implementation of the program. However, results could not be interpreted with certainty due to the small size of the sample.

The purpose of this study is to understand how colleges and universities use language to represent themselves on their institutional websites (official websites of higher education institutions). Organizations, like colleges and universities, seek to create and maintain a distinctive identity in an effort to build legitimacy (i.e., status) and attract students (i.e., tuition dollars). Institutional websites are increasingly important to the admissions and marketing practices of colleges and universities due to their ability to rapidly communicate a significant amount of content to a vast audience. Colleges and universities use language, whether textual (i.e., written) or visual (i.e., images), to position and differentiate themselves from other institutions and promote their efforts. This study utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine the language on the institutional websites of 12 colleges and universities across a number of characteristics (e.g., control, type, geographic region, admissions selectivity) in the United States. Theoretically, CDA provides the means to examine everyday language in an effort to raise awareness about issues of inequality, such as access to education. Methodologically, Fairclough's approach to CDA has three dimensions of analysis. The first dimension is descriptive analysis where the intent is to describe the properties of the textual and visual elements. The second dimension involves interpretive analysis where the goal is to examine the contents of language and its functional parts to understand and interpret the connections between the role of language and the greater social structures it reflects and supports. Societal analysis, the third dimension, focuses on explanations of larger cultural, historical, and social discourses surrounding interpretations of the data. The analyses from this study suggest that colleges and universities utilize a common promotional discourse en masse to market rather systematic representations of "higher education" despite the fact that they vary widely by a number of institutional characteristics. Specifically, analyses reveal that institutions use language to repeatedly establish prestige and relevancy by touting the accomplishments of their institutional actors. The institutions attempt to engage the viewer with relational language, present numerous co-curricular experiences along with numerous images related to generic institutional characteristics (e.g., architecture, campus scenery), and multiple layers of navigation. The scholarly commitment associated with higher education plays a reduced role while the intangibles available to the prospective student are at the forefront of representations in the sample. Institutions also poorly represent other social goods (e.g., class, sexual orientation). Of the 453 images in the study, 98 feature a non-white actor (21%) and 146 feature a female actor (32%). Representations of diverse actors often appear in the form of caricatures (e.g., Native American in tribal dress). Given the mission and rhetoric stemming from many postsecondary institutions, including the institutions in this sample, to increase access to education for underrepresented individuals and enhance diversity in all its forms, the language utilized on the websites does not align with such statements. By deploying similar promotional discourse, the institutions choose what to present, emphasize, and exclude. Hence, institutions retain a great amount of control over information the viewer has access to on the institutional website. The language in use reveals that the institutions retain significant control over its actors with strategic placement of obligational discourse and, in most cases, complete silence on issues. Such discourse constructs an unrealistic portrayal of higher education while simultaneously reducing the role higher education has as a social institution committed to teaching, research, and service.

Studies that have investigated college choice factors for high-achieving students repeatedly cite academic reputation as one of the top indicators of choice but have not indicated why some high-achieving students choose to attend universities with a less prestigious reputation than the more highly prestigious options available to them. The purpose of this study was to examine whether differences exist between traditional-aged high achieving students who choose to attend higher-tiered universities and their peers who choose to attend lower-tiered universities. Independent variables were selected based upon Hossler and Gallagher's (1987) three-stage model and previous research findings in the literature and grouped according to: (1) students' individual and family characteristics, including ethnicity, gender, parents' education level, and family income; (2) institutional characteristics, including financial considerations and academic reputation; and (3) the influence of others, including parents, relatives, teachers and counselors. The sample was drawn from the 97 universities which administered the CIRP Freshman Survey in 2004. Data were used for students who were attending their first choice college located more than 100 miles from home. Data were used from students who had received scores at or above 660 on the SAT Verbal, and scores at or above 670 on the SAT Math. For students who did not report scores for both SAT verbal and SAT math, the researcher accepted data from students reporting an ACT composite score of 30 or higher. In addition, in order for their data to be used, students were required to have an A or A+ average in high school. Results were reported as (1) frequencies and descriptive statistics, (2) a correlation matrix, and (3) multiple regression models. The study found the availability of financial aid to be the most important factor in predicting whether students will attend a higher-tiered or lower-tiered university. Although college costs and academic reputation were found to be significant predictors of the tier level of university attended, they were of secondary importance compared with the attention to financial aid by high achieving students.