A new paper by QUT researchers looking at the education choices of international students finds they are likely to sign up more quickly when they have confidence in guidance counsellors, the university brand and the decision to study itself.
The paper’s findings will be of interest to anyone interested in welcoming an international student to their lecture theatre. Udo Rainer Gottlieb and Amanda Beatson finds that the time taken to choose an education institution is inversely related to confidence in that institution.
While this may sound obvious, the research identifies managerial implications that lower-ranked, smaller institutions may value. Given that rankings and brand play such an important role in attracting international students, it is likely that universities with less favoured brands have to factor in longer decision-making times, and probably more conversations than their sandstone competitors.
The paper also suggests that greater confidence in guidance counsellors will shorten decisions – prompting further questions about those employed and/or contracted to guide students into universities and VET. While greater confidence leads to faster enrolments, what about greater integrity / transparency / efficiency? The influence of these factors are hopefully the subject of further research.
