M.B.A. / The researcher proposes that there are similarities as well as differences between the private and public institutions. Is it true that the results regarding achievements and quality are better with private education institutions than with public institutions, with much more difficulties facing private education than public education? What are the fundamental differences and similarities between the private and public Higher Educational institutions that lead to their marketing strategies?

D.Phil. (Marketing Management) / Despite the extensive research undertaken in the subject area of prospective students’ university decision-making processes when selecting a university, much is still unknown about the interrelationships between the choice factors they consider when choosing a university, the perceived value they expect to derive from their choice, and their intention to enrol at their chosen university. This study attempted to address this gap by developing a theoretical model to test the possible interrelationships of three main constructs namely, choice factors, perceived value and intention to enrol. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) such as universities, realise the need to embrace marketing related ideas and practices to attract the ‘right’ students in an increasingly competitive Higher Education (HE) landscape. The ‘right’ students are those prospective students with potential to succeed, and the top performing students. Competition is evident as universities need to compete with a number and variety of universities and HEIs and prospective students have choice. Prospective students are also more mobile, and better informed to make judgements about a range of potential universities at home and abroad. It is therefore important for universities to understand what students desire and expect from them, and to engage in consumer behaviour research to grasp prospective students’ decision-making processes and the choice factors that are most influential in selecting a university. Choice is further a function of prospective students’ perceived value they believe they will derive from their chosen university and understanding the concept of value is important as it drives consumer decision-making. Perceived value is furthermore an accurate indicator of the student’s intent to enrol. In order to test the theoretical model that can possibly guide universities in determining choice factors, perceived value and the intention of prospective students to enrol, an empirical investigation was conducted. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was followed where the researcher made use of the survey research technique. A drop-off self-administered questionnaire was designed and distributed. For the purpose of this study, a non-probability sampling technique was employed where the researcher used the judgement of an experienced individual to select the sample units. A letter of approval was obtained from the Department of Education to approach these schools and fieldworkers were used to deliver questionnaires. Only those grade 12 scholars who were considering studying at a university/university of technology were targeted. Of the 1 733 questionnaires received, 1 476 could be included for analysis and interpretation purposes. Multivariate statistical techniques were used to analyse the data; including an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to reduce the data, a second-order exploratory factor analysis (2nd order EFA) to verify the data, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to refine the data, and structural equation modelling (SEM) to determine and measure the interrelationships between the main constructs of the study. A number of inferential statistical techniques were further employed to test hypotheses formulated for the study. The results indicate that six of the initial seven choice factors as confirmed through CFA, influence prospective students’ university choice. The seventh choice factor namely accessibility-price was removed during SEM because of multicollinearity. The six remaining choice factors include reputation, cultural acceptance, accessibilitylocation, physical evidence, prestige/prominence and future employability influencing prospective students’ university choice. The results furthermore reveal that there are interrelationships between the choice factors prospective university students consider when choosing a university, the perceived value they expect to derive from their chosen university, and their intention to enrol at their chosen university. The study indicate that universities should implement marketing related strategies with equal effort into understanding the choice factors influencing prospective students’ university choice, and the perceived value prospective students expect their chosen university offers, as interrelationships exist.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2007.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Graduate School of Management, University of Western Australia. / Title taken from title screen (viewed October 5, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 355-383) and appendices.

Offshore programs have become increasingly popular in countries that are experiencing rapid economic growth and rising demand for higher education. There is no doubt that China is one of the largest markets for offshore programs. However, the offshore program market in China has become increasingly competitive. Currently, institutions from the USA, the UK, and Australia, to name just a few, are offering offshore programs ranging from the professional diploma level to higher degrees such as MA, MBA and PhD. Therefore, understanding how Chinese students select an offshore program is important for competing and surviving in this market place. This study examines the effects of image (i.e., country image and higher education image), attitude, subject norm and perceived behavior control (adopted from Ajzen's theory of planned behavior) in Chinese students' enrollment intentions towards offshore programs from Australia, the UK and the USA respectively. A total number of 1291 valid questionnaires were collected from China for this study. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method was used for data analyses and modeling. This PhD's several major findings have significant theoretical and practical implication. One of the major findings was that country image or its related higher education image doesn't have significant effect on an offshore program evaluation in China. This finding has contradicted most previous studies which suggested that country image had significant impact on whether a consumer purchases the products or brands from a foreign country. The difference between this study and the other country-image studies may be due to the fact that this study studied multiple factors besides country image, while the other studies looked at only the effect of country image on purchasing intention. Although country image or higher education image did not play any significant role in offshore program enrollments, this study found that the image of the partnering or local institution had a significant effect on enrollment intention. Because Chinese students are unfamiliar with a foreign country or their higher education system, they relied heavily on the local institution (e.g., its reputation and quality) to evaluate an offshore program. The findings with respective to image have challenged most previous studies on country image and open a new arena for looking at the effect of country image in behavioral intention. Practically speaking, these findings make universities rethink their offshore program strategies in foreign countries, particularly developing countries. Most university marketers from western countries emphasize on the characteristics of its own (such as the history of the university, the quality of research) when promoting its offshore program overseas. However, this study suggested that the focus should be placed on selecting a good and suitable local partner, as well as emphasizing the characteristics of the local partner. Other major findings were related to the Theory of Planned behavior. This study found that all three components of the TPB, namely, attitude towards the program, subject norm and perceived behavior control had significant effects on enrollment intention. This suggested that for predicting behavioral intention in educational program enrollment, the TPB is a very powerful model.

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.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2009