Attitudinal and environmental influences on preferences for undergraduate business courses

Early research on the nature of university choice is found wanting in terms of depth of analysis and in application to the Australia situation. An application of Fishbien’s Extended Multi-Attribute model supported the notion that students’ expctations of enrolment in a university were more highly correlated with attitudes towards enrolment than attitudes towards the institution itself. Subjective Norms, the perceived views of significant others, were found to have a marginal influence. The relationship was mediated by situational constraints: Expected Tertiary Entrance score and the amount of Information students felt they had about an institution. Demographic variables were found not to have a significant effect on expectations of enrolment in any particular university. Details of the survey and data analysis procedures are discussed and suggestions are made for further research.