CWU: S TUDENT & P ARENT S URVEY
32
COLLEGE DECISION FACTORS BY CWU INCLINATION This final section looks at the college decision factors, discussed earlier, by inclination to apply to CWU. To what extent are the decision criteria related to orientation to Central? Are students and parents willing and unwilling to consider Central looking for different things from a college? To review, 16 decision factors (18 for parents) were ranked using maximum differential scaling, which rates each item against every other item, thus producing a finer gradation of ranking than conventional rating scales in which each factor is considered separately. All the factors are assumed to be important. Their rank is the key measure, more than the score. Cost, quality of teaching and “programs I want” were ranked in the topo three for each category of student. But each category– those who will apply to CWU, those who might, and those who would not consider CWU – ranked them differently. Both students who will and will not apply to CWU are making pragmatic decisions, albeit with different criteria. Those who will apply were most concerned about cost. Those who will not consider CWU were most concerned about getting the programs/majors /degrees they want. Given that those who will not consider CWU tended to be the most highly motivated respondents, from the highest income households, these findings are not surprising. Student who will apply tend to come from households where cost would be a more significant factor. • Students who will apply ranked cost #1, followed by “programs I want” and teaching quality. > Cost is also the most important factor for parents who said CWU is “acceptable” and those who were not sure whether CWU was a fit or not for their child. • Student who will not consider CWU were most concerned about getting the programs they want. They ranked programs #1, followed by teaching quality, with cost #3. • Students who might apply ranked the top 4 factors in the same order as those who would not apply: programs #1, followed by teaching quality, then cost #3, with personal attention #4. > Teaching quality was ranked #1 by parents who thought CWU is a good fit for their child as well as those who thought it is a poor fit – clearly an important criteria for parents with strong opinions about CWU. • Personal attention was the #4 item for all 3 student categories and 3 of the 4 parent categories (it was 5 th for parents who thought CWU is a good fit). • Small class sizes and campus housing were more important to those who will and who might apply than to those who will not. • Recreation and cultural opportunities and setting (urban, rural) were more important to those who will not apply than those who will or might.
JUNE 2014
.
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online