Factors Affecting Students Choice Of Holmes Institute

Methodology

Describe about the Report On Factors Affecting Students Choice Of Holmes Institute.

According to (Kellaghan & Stufflebeam 2013), Educational evaluation encompasses a wide array of activities, including student Assessment, measurement, testing, program evaluation, school personnel evaluation, School accreditation, and curriculum evaluation. Basically these are some of the considerations that people will have in their choice of schools depending on where they can best achieve them. In this paper therefore, I will explore those factors that the sampled students consider before joining Holmes Institute. The Institute has various entry requirements that differ based on the country.

Methodology refer to ways of obtaining, organizing and analyzing data (Polit & Beck 2014)

This section consists of the methodologies that were used in the research. It attempts to illustrate the research methods adopted for gathering of information as well as in the interpretation of research data. The section also attempts to bring out the Demographic and psychographic characteristics of the sample students. It section contains the population of study, sample, methods used to collect data.

(Woodbridge 2014) defines population as the total number of units from which data can

Be collected. The study targeted international students from the institute drawn from different countries such as Korea, Pakistan, India Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand. Hong Kong ,China, Taiwan, Singapore and Bangladesh who are pursuing courses such as Diploma in Management, Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Professional Accounting, Bachelor of Fashion and Business, Master of Business administration, Master of professional Accounting and General English programs. These were males and females between the ages of 18 and 24, pursuing certificate programs, diploma and bachelors programs. The population also consisted of people of different attitudes and lifestyle’s.

A sample is a proportion of a population (Polit & Beck 2014).Sampling is a process of selecting a number of individuals or options from a population such that the selected group contains elements representative of the characteristics found in the entire group (Wang 2014).A sample of 60 students from the institute was used. The sample was restricted to only International students pursuing different courses in the Institute. Out of the 60 students sampled, 30 were males while the remaining were females. The sample was also a representative of all the education levels in the institute from certificate to master’s programs.15 out of the 60 were working and studying at the same time.

A research design as “a blueprint for conducting a study with maximum control over factors that may interfere with the validity of the findings (Burns & Grove 2011). The focus of the study was on decisions informing choice of Homes Institute by students pursuing different courses there. Simple random technique was used in getting the sample while questionnaires were used to gather information from the students selected randomly. The population was divided into strata of students from different nationalities studying in the school. Of consideration was also the nature of lifestyle lived by the student. This brought together both high, medium and low level student groups within the institute.

Population

Primary data collection techniques used were.

Information was also sought through interviews whereby respondents and the interviewer engaged in a direct face to face communication for the purposes of obtaining information within the school this method was chosen because it would allow us to seek clarifications from the respondents. It would also be the best method for assessing student’s attitudes and perceptions regarding the issue under investigation. Both genders were involved in the interviews. These also targeted people in different levels of study but majority of those interviewed were studying bachelors and diploma programs.  One challenge that we encountered was the refusal by some students to be interviewed. This was solved by assuring them that the information given would be used for a noble course

Questionnaires were also used to collect data .These were distributed to the selected sample. There was a total of 60 questionnaires which were all filled and returned by the respondents. This was 100% response. We used unrestricted form of questionnaires to enable the respondents to give satisfactory answers because the enabled in-depth answers. Each country with a student in the school was presented in the questionnaires. This also applied to the levels of education where by each of the three levels had 20 questionnaires which were evenly distributed among the two genders. This method was used because it required less time to get the responses. It also ensured that all the questions asked were uniform, so the responses could be assessed uniformly.

Secondary data was also used for this research. This refers to research that was conducted by other individuals before and which was not meant for this particular research. Secondary sources were particularly desirable because we wanted to find out what had been said before regarding the institution as well as other people’s opinions and views concerning it.

Tools used include:  

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Journals
• Internet

This section presents findings and results emanating from the responses by the respondents these were the results and findings that emanated from the research. The section identifies and analyzes the consumer decisions that were used by the students in choosing Holmes over other institutes offering higher education. A number of deliberations were considered as we found out in our research.

Consumer decision making processes begins with need identification. The respondents first of all identified that they had felt the need to acquire higher education .45 out of the total respondents said that the need was as a result of internal stimuli while the remaining identified a social need to be their driving force.

Sample

This is meant at identifying the available solutions to the problem. The students then embarked on information search in a bid to find out how the possible solutions that were at their disposal as far as far as the need to acquire education was concerned. They considered both information that was in their own memories, the internet as well as friends and relatives.  

After they had all the information at their disposal they had to evaluate all alternatives that were presented to them so that they could settle on the alternative that best solved their identified need that is knowledge deficit. They evaluated all the identified institutions on their individual attributes

 A purchase decision is arrived at after a consumer has evaluated all the available alternatives. In this case after the respondents had analyzed all the alternatives they chose to purchase the services of Holmes Institute a private Institution because it presented the most appropriate solutions to their needs. Attending a private university is seen as highly desirable with a significant payoff at the end, depending on field of study (Ciriaci 2011). Their choice of Holmes over other Institutes was impacted by several factors .As identified by the respondents these were the factors.

The institute offers a wide range of academic programs aimed at meeting the needs of a wide range of students. These range from general English programs, diploma courses such Diploma in management, bachelor’s courses such as Bachelor of fashion and accounting and masters programs. This is therefore one of the factors that informed the choice of this institute by some students at the expense of other institutes because they felt that their needs could be addressed better in the institute.  

Cost is another important factor that people put into consideration as they seek to acquire education in institutes of learning .This will enable them to join institutes whose costs are relatively fair for them and which they can easily afford. According to majority of the respondents they joined the institute because its cost is relatively cheaper as compared to acquiring education in other institutes. As far as cost is concerned also, many of them also felt that the general cost of life in Melbourne was lower as compared to other places.

This is another factor that is likely to influence student’s choice of an institute of higher learning. (Ciriaci & Muscio 2011) argue that good universities may act as a magnet for good brains. It was found out that preference of the institute by some students was based on its rich academic history. Those of this opinion felt that the academic rating of the institute had been improving significantly over the years since when it was founded in 1963 so they wanted to be part of this academic excellence.

Sampling design

Safe working and studying environments have been attributed to productivity, (Baharun; Awang & Padlee 2011) indicated that women view safety as an important determinant factor of choice while men place more importance on scheduling and sporting activities. It was also found out that many of the female students sampled had chosen the institute because of its safe environment both internal and external, unlike their male counterparts. Safety was important to them because they could be able to focus on their studies fully without any fear as it would have been the case if they were in place where safety was not guaranteed.

It was also found out that another attributing factor informed consumer’s decision was the fact that they had known that the school had highly qualified staff who would have satisfied their thirst for knowledge easily without them having to struggle very much. These members of staff are both from Australia and oversees countries. Excellence in teaching is also viewed as a strong determinant of choice (Kellaghan& Stufflebeam 2013)

The school also boasts of a number of facilities .It was also found out that these were critical in the decision made by the students to join the institute because such facilities were not available in other institutes. The Institute has a number of campuses such as, Gold Coast. Hong Kong, Cairns, Sydney, Brisbane and the pioneer Melbourne campus. The Institute also has modern technology at the disposal of students to enhance their learning. Its campuses can also be accessed easily within the towns in which they are located.

Generally the size of class matters as far as delivery and gaining of knowledge. While a big class might be troublesome to manage a small class becomes appropriate for both the lecturer and students. At the Institute the size of classes is quite small .This enables the students to engage sufficiently with other students and their lecturer. Tutorials also consist of small numbers of students to enable all the students to be attended to. According to our findings this was therefore one of the reasons that informed choice of the institute over others. However this feeling was predominant among the Females. Institutions that provided smaller class sizes were preferred by females but not males, (Drewes & Michael 2006)

Unless in other institutes where students welfare might not be highly considered, in the institute welfare for all the students is a priority .The Institute avails and provides services to all the students equally so that all grow academically and socially. This was also a consideration factor according to the research.

Data collection techniques

According to (Velliaris & Coleman-George 2016) Students often prefer different types of accommodation options which are all available at the institute of interest. These include serviced apartments, hostels, home stay and hostels. It was found out that a variety of accommodation options was also an attracting factor for the students.

Since it is crystal clear that International Students have several factors that they put into considerations before joining institutes of higher learning in other countries, there are recommendations that I would advise education providers to consider if they consider recruiting international students in their schools. First and foremost they should guarantee quality of their programs because these are what are likely to attract student’s .Additionally they should also consider having in place affordable rates since high costs are likely to stare potential students. They should also ensure that they source and employ the most qualified staff out there in the market so that this is reflected in the overall performance of their schools enhancing their reputations hence they will be able to attract new clients.

Finally student’s welfare should be prioritized. This means that they should provide all the necessary services to the students without biasness for the comfort of all students so that besides retaining them they can also attract other students. If they can adhere to these recommendations their chances of being able to attract International students will be high.

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