College choice: Factors and consumption values used by students at a selected Taiwanese university (China).

摘要

This study examined factors and consumption values influencing student college choice. The study focused on the choice stage, which is the last of Hossler and Gallagher's three-stage college-choice process.; To understand how students select their institution, a survey was administered to the 395 freshmen admitted through the recommendation process to a private university in northern Taiwan. The survey asked respondents to assign numerical ratings to statements regarding factors and consumption values influencing their college choice; inferential analyses, including two-way ANOVAs, and descriptive analyses were then used to determine the differences and the extent to which students used each of the factors and factor categories. Descriptive analyses were also conducted on consumption values.; The findings revealed that the two most important specific factors affecting respondents' choice of college were majors available and job placement. Furthermore, significant differences regarding factors based on students' demographic characteristics were found. Female students perceived courses offered, quality of facilities, safety of campus, and cost of tuition to be more important than did male students. Senior vocational school graduates considered academic reputation, safety of campus, cost of tuition, influence of teachers and counselors, and job placement to be more important than did high school graduates. Students with higher GPAs perceived academic reputation, majors available, quality of faculty, quality of facilities, safety of campus, and job placement to be more important than did students with lower GPAs. Students from higher-income families perceived GPA and SAT scores to be more important than did students from low-income families.; Academic concerns and employment prospects were the two critical broad categories of factors students used in making their college choice. In contrast, students considered the consumption values to have a neutral effect on their college choices. However, students' opinions on the impact of the functional value upon the selected university's characteristics varied between neutral and agreement. These findings provide practical information in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the selected university. Institutions, especially the selected university, can utilize the results to apply institutional marketing to accommodate the demands of its current and potential students.