The relationship between students' levels of school achievement, their preferences for future enrolment and their images of universities

Abstract

A survey of 2000 final year students in secondary schools in Western Australia indicates that, although moderately performing students are unlikely to gain entry to university, the majority have a strong preference to attend university rather than vocational training (TAFE). Their actual institutional preferences are highly correlated with their self-perceived, level of academic achievement and their decisions on institutional preferences strongly influence their overall image of individual universities, across a number of dimensions. The research suggests that university marketing might benefit from a more thorough consideration of aspects of the marketing exercise, particularly in relation to the effectiveness of printed promotional material and whether it might more usefully target parents of prospective students.