Choosing a UK university: interpersonal influences for African students

This paper explores the use of interpersonal sources in the evaluation of alternatives stage of the decision-making process for prospective UK international higher education students from Africa. The objectives of the study were to identify the main sources from which they obtain information about UK higher education, assess the importance of information obtained from interpersonal sources in the decision-making process, identify the interpersonal sources that are most influential at the evaluation of alternatives stage of the process and explain the ways in which those sources influence their decisions about which university to choose. The mixed methods strategy employed by the study used data collected through archival research, survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews to provide answers to the research questions. The study identified the main interpersonal sources from which prospective African students obtain information about UK higher education as agents, parents, family members, friends, university staff, career tutors, teachers/tutors, current/previous students & employers, and found that information obtained from interpersonal sources are more important than information from other sources. Agents & parents were identified as the most influential interpersonal sources in the evaluation of alternatives iv stage of the decision-making process and the study explains some of the ways in which they influence the decisions of prospective African students. The study builds on existing knowledge in the subject area by highlighting significant differences in the way that African students approach the decision-making process compared to their counterparts from other regions. The identification of the main ways in which agents, parents, friends and family members influence the decisions of prospective African students about UK higher education is a significant contribution to knowledge. It provides UK higher education institutions with valuable insights that should enable them to devise marketing strategies that will improve the effectiveness of their student recruitment activities in the region.