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Factors Influencing College Student’s Choice of a University In Bangladesh

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 Social Values and Society (SVS) 5(1) (2023) 01-03

Social Values and Society (SVS)

DOI: http://doi.org/10.26480/svs.01.2023.01.03

ISSN: 2682-7964 (Online)

CODEN: SVSOC5

REVIEW ARTICLE
FACTORS INFLUENCING COLLEGE STUDENT’S CHOICE OF A UNIVERSITY IN
BANGLADESH
Md Mehedi Hasan Emon*, Ahanaf Tahmid Abtahi, Sanjida Ahsan Jhuma

American International University- Bangladesh, 408/1, Kuratoli, Khilkhet, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh
*Corresponding Author Email: emonmd.mhasan@gmail.com

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ARTICLE DETAILS ABSTRACT

Article History:
Received 01 January 2023
Revised 06 February 2023
Accepted 09 March 2023
Available online 12 March 2023
The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence students' decisions regarding which
institution to enroll in for higher education. The research was carried out among students from seven private
institutions in Dhaka. The quantitative technique was used to collect and evaluate the data. The responses of
the 140 participating students to the questionnaire are primarily described using descriptive statistics, e.g.,
frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations. Statistical Results of the study indicate that the Family
Monthly Income, Cost of tuition fees, Opportunities for job outside the university, Parents/Guardians Income,
Transportation Cost Current residence to university campus, Availability of required program at the
university, Academic reputation of the university, University Ranking, Financial assistance offered by the
university, international recognition of the university an influential role in university choice process in
Bangladesh. Several other factors: Personal Interest, Parents/Guardians Opinion, Location of the University,
Facilities around the university, Facilities inside the university and Security Inside and outside the campus
an influential role in university choice process.
KEYWORDS
University Choice, University Freshmen, College Students, Higher Education, Reputation, Selective Colleges,
Technology, Universities, Bangladesh.

1. INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh, a country with 165 million people and a dense population,
became independent in 1971. It is currently considered a less developed
country, but it is moving up into the developing world (Das, 2022) . Along
with development, people's incomes have grown. Bangladesh is one of the
impoverished and most populous countries in the world. Its Gross
National Income (GNI) is USD 1,529. Even so, Bangladesh has better rates
of gender equality in education than other countries in this income group.
Bangladesh has made a lot of progress in the last thirty years in terms of
economic growth, social change, and reducing poverty (Suppramaniam et
al., 2019). Bangladesh's educational system has advanced greatly during
the previous two decades. As per the most current data from the World
Bank, only Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in South Asia have similar school
enrolment rates for girls and boys in both urban and rural areas. Literacy
in Bangladesh is defined as the ability to read and write the Bengali
language (Mahmud and Bray, 2017). Women have a lower literacy rate
than men do, but their numbers are growing quickly. (Roudi-Fahimi and
Moghadam, 2006). According to the Bangladesh Tertiary Education Sector
Report, higher education is essential for many young people in Bangladesh
to enter the workforce (Rahman et al., 2019). Several new private colleges
and universities have sprung up around the nation to accommodate this
expanding market. The government institution in charge of universities in
Bangladesh is called the University Grants Commission (UGC). The UGC
reports that there are 103 private universities in Bangladesh, the most of
which are located in Dhaka but also in other major cities. University Grants
Commission (UGC) is responsible for monitoring universities. Since the
government mandated that institutions relocate to campuses that are at
least an acre in size, competition is fierce and prices are high (termed
permanent campuses). Dhaka, the capital of a tiny but densely populated
nation, has some of the highest land prices in the world. According to land
in Dhaka City has appreciated more rapidly than the value of any other
asset. Dhaka had annual land price increases of 22.26% between 1990 and
2000, and 74% between 2000 and 2010, The land prices in Dhaka (74%),
Karachi (70%), Kolkata (50%) and Kathmandu (50%) increase by the
greatest on average per year, according to research comparing cities in
adjacent South Asian nations (Alam, 2018; Amin and Alam, 2014). The
UGC threatened sanctions against institutions that did not relocate to
permanent campuses by December 30, 2017 (Anam, 2019). All
university’s are actively seeking high-quality applicants. But there may not
be enough qualified students to go around. People don't think that private
universities attract the smartest students because most people who want
to go to college choose public universities first (Amoako et al., 2020). Also,
almost no alumni give money to private universities because they are all
so new (Hossain, 2018). So, these universities need to come up with better
ways to market themselves if they want to get a bigger share of the small
number of qualified students. Because of this, it is important to know how
students choose their colleges. This study aims to Understanding the
student’s perception studying Higher Education Institution. In addition to
this, the study intends to Identifying the factors that influence student’s
selection of university for their higher education.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The discovered that academic reputation, distance from home, and
location are the most influential factors for undergraduate students'
choice of university in Scotland (Briggs, 2006). Meanwhile, identified the
top nine variables that students in Vietnam consider when deciding where
to enroll in college (Dao and Thorpe, 2015). Facilities and services, price,
offline information, views, online information, means of communication,
newly added programs, and advertising are just a few of the many factors
to think about. Factors that influence graduate students' decisions about

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Cite The Article: Md Mehedi Hasan Emon, Ahanaf Tahmid Abtahi, Sanjida Ahsan Jhuma (2023). Factors Influencing
College Student’s Choice of A University in Bangladesh. Social Values and Society, 5(1): 01-03.
 Social Values and Society (SVS) 5(1) (2023) 01-03

where to enroll include, but are not limited to, their residency status, the 4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
quality and other characteristics of the academic environment,
professional and financial obligations, family considerations, the 4.1 Demographic Statistics
availability of scholarships and grants, and the atmosphere on campus.
That looked at what institutional elements are taken into account when Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of the Sample Respondents
students in Malaysia choose a university (Kallio, 1995; Ming, 2010). The Demographic Factors Frequency Percentage
study found that several factors, including proximity to home, variety of Gender
programs, quality of instruction, cost and accessibility of financial Male 96 68.6%
assistance, prospects for gainful employment, promotional materials, Female 44 31.4%
campus tours, and personal interactions with college officials all played a Marital Status
role. Nevertheless, employed a different strategy by studying high school
Single 138 98.6%
students rather than university students (Jafari and Aliesmaili, 2013).
They investigated what elements motivate Iranian high school students to Married 2 1.4%
pursue further education. Thus, effective advertising methods are vital. Age of the respondents
Yet, one must first comprehend the students' decision-making process 15-17 5 3.6%
while picking their institutions in order to execute the correct techniques. 17-19 133 95.0%
The marketing strategy for the recruitment of students by universities 19-21 2 1.4%
must take into account institutional issues that affect students' decisions Home Division
about which universities to attend (Nuseir and El Refae, 2022). First, it Dhaka 27 19.3%
must be determined whether or not a college student qualifies as a
Chattogram 39 27.9%
"customer" of a "product." Here, people tend to see things in quite different
ways. Institutions such as colleges, hospitals, and government services are Barishal 19 13.6%
in a unique situation, according to since the choice to attend is not Khulna 22 15.7%
necessarily made by the "customer." For instance, a student's prior course Rajshahi 13 9.3%
selections may unofficially influence their decision to enroll at a certain Sylhet 1 .7%
college (Mello and Brennan, 2001). In addition, the institution will Rangpur 14 10.0%
"identify" its most academically capable and talented students via a Mymensingh 5 3.6%
rigorous system. (p. 7) Brennan suggested that the student should first Family Monthly Income
choose a major in order to limit the list of prospective colleges. Location,
20,000-40,000 7 5.0%
academic program college reputation, educational facilities, cost,
availability of financial aid, job opportunities, advertising, university reps 40,000-60,000 59 42.1%
visiting high schools, and campus visits were all found to be significant 60,000 Above 74 52.9%
institutional factors that influenced students' decisions to enroll at a In understanding the respondent's background, Table 1 presents the
particular university (Rudhumbu et al., 2017). However, the large demographic profile of the study and participants. As shown in Table 1,
proportion of studies on this subject were conducted on college students there were 68.6% male respondents and 31.4% female respondents in the
of differing academic backgrounds. Which was before students in Iran sample. The majority of responded students were single (98.6%). Majority
were studied to learn more about how they made their decision on where of the respondents (27.9%) home Division were in Chattogram, 19.3%
to attend college. Four groups of factors were identified as having a respondents were in Chattogram, 15.7% respondents were in Khulna and
significant impact on college selection. Factors include financial, academic, rest 13.6% respondents were in Barishal. Around 7.0 % respondents have
individual, and social considerations (Echchabi and Al-Hajri, 2018). monthly family income in between 20,000 taka to 40,000 taka, 42.1%
asserted that monetary and non-financial considerations are equally respondents monthly family income in between 40,000-60,000 and 52.9%
important when it comes to students deciding where to enroll in college earn Above 60,000 taka.
(Abbas et al., 2019; Kohn et al., 1976). Financial considerations include
things like the price of college, the accessibility of financial aid, and the cost 4.2 Descriptive Statistics
of living away from home (room and board). In contrast, the geographical
location and size of a university are examples of non-economic factors. Table 2: Descriptive Statistics
According to the study's findings, prospective students' parents, as well as N Mean Std. Deviation
factors like cost and reputation, play significant roles in determining Family Monthly Income in Taka 140 3.48 .593
which college their children attend. The studies' conclusions can be Cost of tuition fees 140 4.32 .998
broken down into five broad groups: location, economics, students' Opportunities for job outside the
academic achievements and reputations, their parents' and peers' 140 3.70 .854
university
perspectives, and the influence of advertising (Islam and Shoron, 2020). A
Parents/Guardians Income 140 4.79 .502
university's "service" consists of all the things associated with it. This
Transportation Cost (Current
includes: a) Physical items including buildings, recreational areas, and so 140 4.40 .776
residence to university campus)
on. Knowledge, civility, and the capacity to make people trust, believe,
assist, and pay attention are all part of the psychological service, which Opportunities for job inside the
140 3.86 1.029
complements b) the sensual service, which is primarily offered by the university
faculty's ability to educate. Students want them to market and make others Availability of required program at
140 4.95 .366
aware of what they have to offer (Petruzzellis et al., 2006). According to the university
their findings, two of the most crucial components are positive word of Academic reputation of the
140 4.89 .427
mouth and a functional website. The recipients place significantly less university
importance on the other printed documents that are supplied to them. University Ranking 140 4.86 .458
They want universities to be clear about where they stand and what they Financial assistance offered by the
140 4.29 .818
want the public to think of them. university
Advertising in Media 140 2.83 1.052
3. RESEARCH METHODS International recognition of the
140 4.75 .601
university
This empirical research was conducted by gathering primary data using a
Extra-curricular Programs 140 4.41 .786
structured questionnaire survey with 140 respondents gathered using a
purposive sample technique. The inclusion criteria for the sample Internet and Library 140 3.84 1.022
respondents are that the survey was administered to college students in Personal Interest 140 4.69 .622
the city of Dhaka between January and April of 2022. As the research Parents/Guardians Opinion 140 4.82 .553
focused primarily on students' perceptions on university choices, Location of the University 140 4.27 .880
descriptive statistics were utilized in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, Facilities around the university 140 4.61 .801
such as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations, are
Facilities inside the university 140 4.89 .496
used extensively to characterize the questionnaire answers of the 140
students that participated in the study. The data is cleaned and analyzed Security Inside and outside the
140 4.97 .338
by SPSS, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. campus area
Valid N (listwise) 140

Cite The Article: Md Mehedi Hasan Emon, Ahanaf Tahmid Abtahi, Sanjida Ahsan Jhuma (2023). Factors Influencing
College Student’s Choice of A University in Bangladesh. Social Values and Society, 5(1): 01-03.
 Social Values and Society (SVS) 5(1) (2023) 01-03
The study used a five-point Likert scale in above descriptive statistics
table. The variable has a massive influence if its mean value is more than
3.5 and its standard deviation is less than 1, and a slight influence if its
mean value is less than 3.5 and its standard deviation is less than 1. In this
case, It will only analyze the variables in this table whose mean value are
greater than 3.5 and whose standard deviations are less than 1.
In Table 2. It was observed that Family Monthly Income, Cost of tuition
fees, Opportunities for job outside the university, Parents/Guardians
Income, Transportation Cost (Current residence to university campus),
Availability of required program at the university, Academic reputation of
the university, University Ranking, Financial assistance offered by the
university, International recognition of the university, Extra-curricular
Programs, Personal Interest, Parents/Guardians Opinion, Location of the
University, Facilities around the university, Facilities inside the university
and Security Inside and outside the campus area those items has higher
mean value than 3.5 and std. Deviation is less than 1, It means that
Respondents influence the selection of university depends on above items.
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Throughout the survey the study explain to a lot of individuals who are
studying in HSC, and we ask different type of questions. From the survey
answer some point can be noted down. One of the major findings which is
cost of tuition fees and parents and guardians income which will be impact
their university admission few of the respondents said its moderately
important those are high class people. Then Availability of required
program, university reputation, university ranking, financial assistance
and international recognition are more important selection of the
university. On the other hand, they said advertising are least important
rather than others factors. We observed Parents and Guardians opinion
are very important rather than other items. And mostly we observe that
all of the respondents want to secure place where they are studying. and
they strongly want to there are no politics inside the university and some
respondents wants to a playground in the campus area. In this above
discussion we can see that for selecting an university there will some items
which is directly affect in student minds one is those items which is related
to their economic condition another one is the items which is related to
university. If university focus on those items they will grab the more
students. According to the study's findings, there is a substantial
association between university choice and the following items: Family
Monthly Income, Cost of tuition fees, Opportunities for job outside the
university, Parents/Guardians Income, Transportation Cost (Current
residence to university campus), Availability of required program at the
university, Academic reputation of the university, University Ranking,
Financial assistance offered by the university, International recognition of
the university, Extra-curricular Programs, Personal Interest,
Parents/Guardians Opinion, Location of the University, Facilities around
the university, Facilities inside the university and Security Inside and
outside the campus area. The study is intended as a bridge for further
investigation into what really matters. To generalize the results, a second
quantitative research should be done using the same set of variables.
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Cite The Article: Md Mehedi Hasan Emon, Ahanaf Tahmid Abtahi, Sanjida Ahsan Jhuma (2023). Factors Influencing
College Student’s Choice of A University in Bangladesh. Social Values and Society, 5(1): 01-03.
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