Students' Choice and Higher Education: The Case of Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU

Abstract

Education is crucial for the growth of a nation's workforce and is a fundamental human right; therefore, its significance for a country's success cannot be overstated (Global Monitoring Report, 2014). Choosing to further one's education is always a big responsibility and is unique to everyone, regardless of how vital education, particularly higher education (HE), is. There are many factors to take into account before enrolling in a higher education institution (HEI); therefore, every graduate or prospective student must choose which HEI to attend. This decision has always been challenging, especially considering a large number of HEIs available. This study's main objective is to evaluate the factors influencing GCTU students' decisions on higher education. By electronically distributing closed-ended questionnaires to the participants, the study was conducted on 310 GCTU freshmen to get their opinions on the most crucial variables influencing their decision to join. The variables were categorized as social, academic, and professional. The Wilcoxon Signed-rank test and the Kendell's W test were used to evaluate the final data in SPSS. The findings revealed that the top three social, academic, and work determinants were the school atmosphere, education expense, and study leave with pay. The study recommended that GCTU adopt a more technological approach in managing its student recruitments and target senior high school students who have not yet graduated, as their next step of HE education is with a tertiary institution. This is because the world is changing, and technology is the norm.