Exploring the Factors That Influence Students’ Choice of Higher Education in Ghana

Abstract

Marketing of higher education has become a strategic competitive tool in Ghana due to the emergence of private universities. The paper was designed to identify the important factors that influence students’ choice of university and also to measure the satisfaction levels of students with respect to the services offered by Ghanaian universities. Data was collected through interviews and surveys from randomly selected 400 respondents from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Christian Service University College. The data was then coded into the SPSS.16 program and was used for analysis.  The study found that, courses offered, high calibre lecturers, well stock library and internet, flexible lecture timetable and recognition of qualification by employers were the top important factors that influence students’ choice of university. It was also discovered that students were satisfied with the student-staff relationship, university environment, flexible timetable etc. However, the students shown dissatisfaction with weak university policies, number of courses offered in each semester, and unresponsiveness of the university. The study recommended that universities should introduce courses that are highly marketable, continue to recruit high calibre lecturers, improve library facilities, issue university degrees to only deserving students and design flexible timetable. Universities must also design policies to regulate students’ behaviour and must be responsive to students’ problems.

Keywords: Students’ Choice, Higher Education, Ghana, Educational Marketing, Marketing mix, Student Choice Models, Student Satisfaction