Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Delving into Undergraduate Students’ Choice of Higher Education in Uganda

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Higher Education Marketing in Africa

Abstract

This chapter examines the process of choosing a higher education institution by undergraduate students in Uganda. While marketing has to some extent been appreciated by private higher education institutions in Uganda, public higher education institutions and their services remain poorly marketed. Also, in this Chapter, it is indicated that factors such as reference groups, family background and sponsorship all influence students’ choice of a higher education institution. In the end, the Chapter recommends that all higher education institutions in Uganda must consider marketing themselves if they intend to compete in a global village. This will make such institutions more relevant as agents of sustainable development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alves, H., & Raposo, M. (2007). Conceptual model of student satisfaction in higher education. Total Quality Management, 18(5), 571–588.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayadin, O. T. (2015). University choice process: A literature review on models and factors affecting the process. Istanbul, Turkey: Istanbul Bilgi University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Booms, B. H., & Bitner, M. J. (1981). Marketing strategies and organization structures for service firms. In Marketing of services (pp. 47–51). Chicago: American Marketing Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunoti, S. (2011). The quality of higher education in developing countries needs professional support. Kampala: Kyambogo University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campus Times. (2019). Top 10 best universities in Uganda 2019. Retrieved on August 19, 2019 from https://www.campustimesug.com/top-10-uganda-universities-2019/.

  • Center for World University Rankings. (2019). Makerere university ranking—CWUR World University Rankings 2018–2019. Retrieved on August 19, 2019 from https://cwur.org/2018-19/Makerere-University.php.

  • Chapman, R. G. (1993). Non-simultaneous relative importance-performance analysis: Meta-results from 80 college choice surveys with 55,276 respondents. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 4(1–2), 405–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • DesJardins, S. L., & Toutkoushian, R. K. (2005). Are students rational? The development of rational thought and its application to student choice. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 23, pp. 191–240). New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglass, J. A., and Thomson, G. (2008). The poor and the rich: A look at economic stratification and academic performance among undergraduate students in the United States (Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.15.08). Berkeley: Center for Studies in Higher Education, University of California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enache, I. E. (2011). Marketing higher education using the 7Ps framework. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, 4(53), 1–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez, J. L. (2010). An exploratory study of factors influencing the decision of students to study at Universiti Sains Malaysia. Kajian Malaysia, 28(2), 107–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foskett, N., Roberts, D., & Maringe, F. (2006). Changing fee regimes and their impact on student attitudes to higher education. Southampton, UK: University of Southampton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fosu, F. F., & Poku, K. (2014). Exploring the factors that influence students’ choice of higher education in Ghana. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(28), 209–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, P., & Knapp, M. (2002). Marketing higher and further education: An educator’s guide to promoting courses, departments and institutions. London: Kogan page.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamrick, F. A., & Hossler, D. (1996). Diverse information gathering methods in the postsecondary decision making process. Review of Higher Education, 19(2), 179–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, T. (2009). Marketing of colleges and universities: A service approach. New York, UK: Haworth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinson, R. (2006). Marketing of services: A managerial perspective. Accra: Sedco Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ho, H., & Hung, C. (2008). Marketing mix formulation for higher education: An integrated analysis employing analytic hierarchy process, cluster analysis and correspondence analysis. International Journal for Educational Management, 22(4), 328–340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holdsworth, D. K., & Nind, D. (2006). Choice modeling New Zealand high school seniors’ preferences for university education. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 15(2), 81–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossler, D., Braxton, J., & Coopersmith, G. (1989). Understanding student college choice. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 5, 231–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossler, D., & Gallagher, K. S. (1987). Studying student college choice: A three-phase model and the implications for policymakers. College and University, 62(3), 207–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyt, J. E., & Brown, A. B. (2003). Identifying college choice factors to successfully market your institution. College and University, 78(4), 3–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, G. A. (1982). Public efficiency and private choice in higher education. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 4(2), 237–247.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kajubi, S. W. (1989). Education for national integration and development: Report of the Education Policy Review Commission. Kampala: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kallio, R. E. (1995). Factors influencing the college choice decisions of graduate students. Research in Higher Education, 36(1), 109–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasozi, A. B. K. (2006). The state of higher education 2005: Executive summary. NCHE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasozi, A. B. (2013, December 4, Wednesday). It was wrong to kill technical schools for Universities. New Vision.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. K., & Gasman, M. (2011). In search of a “good college”: Decisions and determinations behind Asian American students’ college choice. Journal of College Student Development, 52(6), 706–728.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotler, P., & Fox, K. (1995). Strategic marketing for educational institutions. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2009). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liang, X. (2004). Uganda tertiary education sector report (Africa Region Human Development, Working Paper Series).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mamdani, M. (2007). Scholars in the marketplace. Dakar, Senegal: CODESRIA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mogaji, E., & Yoon, H. (2019). Thematic analysis of marketing messages in UK universities’ prospectuses. International Journal of Educational Management, 33(7), 1561–1581.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moogan, Y. J., & Baron, S. (2003). An analysis of student characteristics within the student decision-making process. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 27(3), 271–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musisi, N. B. (2003). Uganda. In T. Damtew & A. Philip (Eds.), African higher education: An international reference handbook (pp. 611–623). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Council for Higher Education. (2018). The state of higher education and training in Uganda 2015/16: A report on higher education delivery and institutions. Kampala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ndofirepi, E., Farinloye, T., & Mogaji, E. (2020). Marketing mix in a heterogeneous higher education market: A case of Africa. In E. Mogaji, F. Maringe, & R. E. Hinson (Eds.), Understanding the higher education market in Africa. Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Obermeit, K. (2012). Students’ choice of universities in Germany: Structure, factors and information sources used. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 22(2), 206–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Opuda-Asibo, J. (2017). Harnessing Uganda’s competitive advantage through education (Uganda’s economic outlook: Bottlenecks and solutions). CPA Economic Forum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, M., Hayek, J., Hossler, D., Jacob, S. A., Cummings, H., & Kinzie, J. (2004). Fifty years of college choice: Social, political and institutional influences on the decision-making process. Retrieved on December 12, 2018, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED484237.pdf.

  • Paulsen, M. (2001). The finance of higher education: Theory, research, policy, and practice. New York, NY: Agathon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perna, L. W. (2006). Understanding the relationship between information about college prices and financial aid and students’ college-related behaviors. American Behavioral Scientist, 49(12), 1620–1635.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pimpa, N., & Suwannapirom, S. (2008). Thai students’ choices of vocational education: Marketing factors and reference groups. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 7(2), 99–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plank, R. E., & Chiagouris, L. (1997). Perceptions of quality of higher education: An exploratory study of high school guidance counselors. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 8(1), 55–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabir, R. I., Ahmad, W., Ashraf, R. U., & Ahmad, N. (2013). Factors affecting university and course choice: A comparison of undergraduate engineering and business students in Central Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 3(10), 298–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shanka, T., Quintal, V., & Taylor, R. (2005). Factors influencing international students’ choice of an education destination—A correspondence analysis. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 15(2), 31–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soo, K. T., & Elliott, C. (2010). Does price matter? Overseas students in UK higher education. Economics of Education Review, 29(4), 553–565.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starck, K., & Zadeh, H. S. (2103). Marketing within higher education institutions—A case study of two private Thai universities. Västerås, Sweden: Mälardalen University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strayhorn, T. L., Blakewood, A. M., & DeVita, J. M. (2008). Factors affecting the college choice of African American gay male undergraduates: Implications for retention. National Association of Student Affairs Professionals Journal, 11(1), 88–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tansel, A., & Bircan, F. (2006). Demand for education in Turkey: A tobit analysis of private tutoring expenditures. Economics of Education Review, 25(3), 303–313.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Republic of Uganda. (2001). The universities and other tertiary institutions act, 2001. https://ulii.org/system/files/legislation/act/2001/2001/universities%20and%20tertiary%20institutions%20Act%202001.pdf.

  • Tumwesigye, C. (2006). Private higher education in Uganda. In N. V. Varghese (Ed.), Growth and expansion of private higher education in Africa: New trends in Higher education (pp. 203–230). Paris: IIEP-UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uganda Bureau of Statistics. (2017). Education: A means for population transformation; thematic series based on the national population and housing census 2014. Kampala: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ugandainvest. (2010). Uganda education profile. http://www.ugandainvest.go.ug/uia/images/Download_Center/SECTOR_PROFILE/Education_Sector_profile.pdf.

  • Van Vliet, V. (2011). Service marketing mix (7 P’s). Retrieved [insert date] from ToolsHero https://www.toolshero.com/marketing/service-marketing-mix-7ps/.

  • Veloutsou, C., Lewis, J. W., & Paton, R. A. (2004). University selection: Information requirements and importance. International Journal of Educational Management, 18(3), 160–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb, M. S. (1993). Variables influencing graduate business students’ college selections. College and University, 68(1), 38–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., & Gremler, D. D. (2012). Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm. Boston: McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2018). World development report 2018: Learning to realize education’s promise. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, G. T. (2006). University evaluation-selection: A Turkish case. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(7), 559–569.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda

    Godwin Tindyebwa Muhangi

Authors
  1. Godwin Tindyebwa Muhangi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, Events and Tourism, University of Greenwich, London, UK

    Emmanuel Mogaji

  2. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Felix Maringe

  3. Department of Marketing & Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School, Legon, Accra, Ghana

    Robert Ebo Hinson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Muhangi, G.T. (2020). Delving into Undergraduate Students’ Choice of Higher Education in Uganda. In: Mogaji, E., Maringe, F., Ebo Hinson, R. (eds) Higher Education Marketing in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39379-3_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation