A Structural Equation Modelling Approach on Determinants of Working Adults' Choice to Further Study in Malaysian Online Distance Learning Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the direct relationship between university image and administrative quality with attitude and choice among online distance learning (ODL) learners in online distance learning higher education institutions in Malaysia. This study is very important to ODL higher education institutions because it will give insight into ODL higher education institutions to formulate a strategy to increase the number of ODL learners studying in their institutions. In an online learning environment, maintaining the optimum number of students in the system is very crucial in order to sustain in the future. The research framework of this study contains two independent variables which are university image and administrative quality, attitude as a mediator, and working adults' choice as a dependent variable. This study assesses the direct relationship between university image and administrative quality towards attitude and the attitude toward working adults' choices. Then, the indirect relationship between university image and administrative quality with working adults' choices mediated by attitude was assessed. Primary data were utilized in this study and collected by using a survey questionnaire which was adopted and adapted from earlier studies. 302 clean data were used in the data analysis by employing the structural equation modeling technique. The findings of this study reveal that university image and administrative quality are two important antecedents to attitude and working adults' choices. Further, Therefore, ODL higher education institutions must place a strong emphasis on attitude as it is a crucial mediating factor between university image and administrative quality to working adults' choice. This mediating effect will ultimately strengthen the working adult's decision to study at an ODL higher education institution.