Destination Choice of Higher Education among the Local Secondary School Students in Sarawak

Destination choice of higher education has long been a subject of international research. The higher education sector in Malaysia is currently experiencing intense competition as many higher education institutions are mushrooming in the market. As a result of this, students now face more complexities when choosing a suitable higher learning institution for their studies. Hence, the primary objective of this study is to propose a valid framework that determines the most significant determinants of students’ decisions on choosing higher education institutions among local students in Sarawak. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship strengths between job perspectives, reputation of institution, location, cost, parental advice, peer influence, and student’s choice intention. This study takes on the primary data collection approach. Data was collected through a complete set of questionnaire in a survey. Non-probability sampling method (purposive sampling) was used in the process of data collection. A total sample of 324 secondary school students participated in this study. The SmartPLS (version 3.2.6) was utilised to perform the Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) estimation procedure to examine the proposed direct and indirect relationship. Interestingly, the results indicated that reputation of university and parents’ advice contributed the most to students’ decisions regarding their higher education choice. Current findings of the study may be informative and can play a role as a basic guideline for future scholars. The findings may also assist marketers of higher education institutions to understand the concept of “business-to-students” before promoting and convincing more potential students. Several research limitations, implications, and recommendations for future research have also been highlighted in the study.