Student enrolment behaviour at a regional university

The enrolment behaviour of potential tertiary students is of great interest to tertiary institutions in Australia who face competition to fill their quotas in a climate of declining tertiary enrolments. Most of the studies on the enrolment behaviour of school leavers and others have been conducted in the United States where the university/college entrance procedures are quite different in the highly stratified tertiary sector. Little is known of the enrolment behaviour of Year 12 students in Australia particularly with respect to a non - metropolitan university. In this study the enrolment behaviour of local Year 12 students and first year students enrolled in the Faculty of Applied Science at Central Queensland University was investigated using a sample survey. The aim of the study was to determine the importance of various factors to the students in their university and course selection processes. Results indicate that the university is not being used as a "safety net" and that institutional characteristics and "significant others" play an important role in university and course selection processes. These findings have significant implications for recruitment and marketing strategies for non -metropolitan universities.