"I was always looking at like Vogue..[I'd} be really good in the ad. world" Student Choice And Vocational Degrees

Abstract

In the context of an increasing marketisation of Higher Education, where students may come to see themselves as consumers, this paper examines the process that undergraduates go through in selecting universities and courses and examines an apparent focus on peripheral rather than core aspects of the Higher Education service offering and of students making ‘safe’ choices. The experience students go through is examined with reference to the literature on decision-making for services and using a qualitative phenomenological approach with students encouraged to focus on their actual experiences. Other key findings are: evidence of satisficing and of avoiding risks and choosing options which ‘feel right’ rather than following a more systematic decision-making process which might be expected for such an important decision. We also note a tendency to defer the decision to others. We then briefly consider the implications of these findings for universities and their marketing, as they may assume that a more considered process has taken place