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Do Higher Education Students Really Seek ‘Value for Money’? Debunking the Myth

Quinlan, Kathleen M. (2021) Do Higher Education Students Really Seek ‘Value for Money’? Debunking the Myth. London Review of Education, 19 (1). pp. 1-12. ISSN 1474-8460. E-ISSN 1474-8479. (doi:10.14324/LRE.19.1.03) (KAR id:84872)

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Abstract

Although students are increasingly cast as consumers wanting ‘value for money’, this study empirically investigated whether students actively seek value for money. In Study 1, 1772 undergraduates at a mid-ranked English university were asked open-ended questions about what they had wanted from their university learning experience and how that had turned out. Hopes were coded as fulfilled or unfulfilled. Responses were searched for key words related to ‘value for money’. Less than 2% of students referenced ‘value for money’. Those students were significantly more likely to have unfulfilled hopes. In Study 2, 185 first year science students were asked open-ended questions about why they chose their subject and their programme and what they had wanted from their learning experience in that programme. None referenced value for money. Students’ reasons for choosing their subjects and programmes were analysed. ‘Value for money’ does not do justice to students’ hopes for university or their programme.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.14324/LRE.19.1.03
Additional information: Open access publication.
Uncontrolled keywords: Consumers, higher education, expectations, England, student satisfaction
Subjects: L Education
Divisions: Divisions > Directorate of Education > Centre for the Study of Higher Education
Depositing User: Kathleen Quinlan
Date Deposited: 21 Dec 2020 19:53 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 14:17 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/84872 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)
Quinlan, Kathleen M.: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3606-4148
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