Abstract
In response to the increase in demand on tertiary education, number of higher education institution raised dramatically over the past few decades. The scenario creates competition environment leading to the needs for understanding how students’ decision were made. Recent literature on higher education has been acknowledging the role of marketing in attracting potential students. This paper explores the decision process of selecting higher education institution within the framework of marketing communication. From the perception of students who are successfully accepted in a higher education institution, the analysis was done to investigate what was the source of information being referred. Analysis was also done to identify which source perceived by the students as their most influential source of information in deciding which institution to apply for. The finding suggests that traditional marketing tools such as news paper and magazine advertisement or publication is still effective as compared with other interactive marketing approach such as websites and education fair. The influence of their significant others such as parents, siblings and peers is also discussed.
Highlights
Due to various factors, the demand for tertiary education is growing rapidly in most parts of the world
Based on a survey conducted among first year students, the paper seeks answer on which source did they referred to in the process of selecting higher education institution (HEI) for their undergraduate studies, did they refers to multiple sources and which source was considered as the most important ones? the best combination of marketing communication tools would be recommended for the specified target group
The low number of respondents referring to other online sources television and radio could be due to its exclusion as one of sources listed in the questionnaire. This suggests that students were referring to various medium of marketing communication tools
Summary
The demand for tertiary education is growing rapidly in most parts of the world. As noted by HemsleyBrown & Oplatka (2006), researches done on higher education marketing and consumer behavior are substantial. Based on marketing communication framework adopted by Hughes and Fill (2007), the paper discussed about source of information being referred in selecting HEI. Dealing with various types of stakeholders, HEI studies on enrollment for undergraduate and postgraduate level should be done separately. As they refer to different age cohort with distinctly different nature of product or services, they should be treated as different market segment. Focusing on the undergraduate studies, the paper explores the students’ behavior in helping HEI to select the most effective integrated marketing communication tools mix. Based on a survey conducted among first year students, the paper seeks answer on which source did they referred to in the process of selecting HEI for their undergraduate studies, did they refers to multiple sources and which source was considered as the most important ones? the best combination of marketing communication tools would be recommended for the specified target group
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