Explore the vast range of titles available.

There is a great deal of discussion in the academic literature around how the current conditions in higher education frame students as customers. Observers are of the view that rankings and marketing, an increased focus on student satisfaction, and particularly tuition fees, encourage an instrumental, passive attitude towards a university education. Given the volume of attention directed towards this topic, it is perhaps surprising that there is relatively little scholarship that examines it empirically. Some who have addressed it presumed a customer/consumer orientation in students and have been somewhat-but not entirely successful-in generating evidence to confirm those assumptions. It appears that the expectations of this instrumental, passive orientation are being realised in part, but that this is also mediated by other dispositions. What could be considered to be missing from the analysis thus far is an exploration of how students make university-related decisions (not simply what choices are based on) and how they understand the respective roles of the student and university. This study begins to fill that gap, exploring the orientations towards university of undergraduates in Germany and England, two countries where the diffusion of market conditions in higher education policies has been somewhat contrasting. Distinctions between the German and English students did emerge, but these were less based on those countries' unequal engagement with tuition fees and rankings and more to do with other aspects of their university cultures and the world beyond their degrees. This suggests that how people approach their time as students is more complex than some of the literature assumes. Furthermore, at the very least, any consideration of this topic must include an analysis of how students themselves understand and experience their higher education and broader social contexts. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).

Higher education is a cornerstone of sustainable development in any nation. In Vietnam, educational policies are constantly evolving to keep pace with societal progress. The rise of private higher education and the implementation of tuition policies have contributed to improved educational quality, prompting the government to establish regulations promoting university autonomy. This study aims to determine the moderating effect of university policies on the relationship between school characteristics and brand equity. Using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), data from 699 respondents in Vietnam were analyzed to identify key factors linking policy to university brand equity. The findings reveal that brand equity is significantly shaped by the interaction between school policies and school characteristics, highlighting that policy, particularly those related to services, play a critical role in enhancing a university’s brand. These results suggest that universities should prioritize the clarity and strategic alignment of their service policies to strengthen brand equity. By doing so, higher education institutions can enhance their competitive advantage and better serve their stakeholders in an increasingly competitive environment.

For many UK higher education business schools, the continued recruitment of UK, EU and international students is crucial for financial stability, viability and independence. Due to increasingly competitive funding models across the sector, many institutional leaders and administrators are making decisions typical of highly marketised consumer environments. Thus, this paper explores academics' perceptions of the impact of consumerisation in UK higher education business schools. To achieve this, 22 business school academics were interviewed within three UK higher education institutions (HEIs) in the North of England. Participants had a minimum of three years teaching experience. Data was analysed using template analysis taking an interpretive approach. The findings indicate that academics perceived the introduction of tuition fees to have been the catalyst for students increasing demonstration of customer-like behaviour: viewing the education process as transactional, with the HEI providing a 'paid for' service. It is argued that these changes in UK higher education have created tensions between university leaders and academics, creating genuine dilemmas for those with decision-making responsibilities who must balance academic integrity and long-term institutional financial viability.(HRK / Abstract übernommen).

Modern societies regularly face crises that have major disruptive effects. Learning from past crises can inform better choices and policies when facing a new one. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, higher education scholars explored its effects on students’ tuition fees through cuts in public funding. This article instead investigates how universities’ decisions on tuition fees have been affected by other factors, beyond the decrease in public funds. As such, it explores the role of competition and reputation in affecting universities’ decisions on tuition fees when facing a crisis. Using data from 59 public Italian universities in the period between 2003 and 2014, we found that universities increased tuition fee by an average of 27% per student in response to the crisis. At the same time, high competition mitigated the increase of tuition fees, except for the case of highly reputed universities, which charged even higher tuition. These findings highlight the importance of monitoring fees in times of crises, as well as the complex role of competition and reputation in containing or inflating university tuition fees.

Background Suicide remains the leading cause of death among university students often resulting from multiple physical and psychological challenges. Moreover, suicidal behaviours among students appear to have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic according to some studies. Objective To explore the prevalence and associated factors for suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and suicide attempts among university students in Uganda. Methods Cross-sectional study data were collected from May to September 2021 from 540 undergraduate university students in south-western Uganda (363 males, mean age 23.3 years). Questions from the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) were used to assess suicidal ideation, while other bespoke questions were used to assess suicide plans and attempts. The survey also investigated the suicide attempt/plan method, location of the suicidal activity, and reason for not enacting the suicide plan. Three independent regression analyses were used to determine the factors associated with different forms of suicidal behaviours. Results The prevalence of past-year suicidal behaviours was 31.85% for suicidal ideation, 8.15% for suicide plans, and 6.11% for suicide attempts. Having a chronic physical medical condition increased the likelihood of having all forms of suicidal behaviours. Suicidal ideation was associated with having difficulty paying university tuition fees. However, being in the fifth year of university education, and feeling satisfied with current academic grades reduced the likelihood of suicidal ideation. Individuals feeling satisfied with academic performance appeared to be a protective factor against having suicide plans. Suicide attempts were associated with having a history of sexual abuse and having difficulty paying university tuition fees. The most common method used for attempted suicide was a drug overdose, and the most common location for attempted suicide was their homes. Conclusion University students have prevalent suicide behaviours especially among students with a chronic physical medical condition, a history of sexual abuse, and problems paying university tuition fees. Based on the present study, for students at risk, universities should provide appropriate interventions such as life skills education and suicide prevention techniques.

This article studies the determinants of international students’ mobility at the university level, focusing specifically on the role of tuition fees. We derive a gravity model from a Random Utility Maximization model of location choice for international students in the presence of capacity constraints of the hosting institutions. The last layer of the model is estimated using new data on student migration flows at the university level for Italy. We control for the potential endogeneity of tuition fees through a classical IV approach based on the status of the university. We obtain evidence for a robust and negative effect of fees on international student mobility, with an elasticity around −0.8. The estimations also confirm the positive impact of the quality of the education and support an important role of additional destination-specific variables such as host capacity, the expected return of education, the cost of living and the existence of education programs taught in English.

The information on academic performance rates-what percentage of the enrolled credits a student can pass in one academic year-showed traditionally a relatively low students' academic performance at Spanish public universities. However, over the period 2008-2014, the academic productivity of undergraduate students at public higher education institutions improved considerably. In this period, Spanish universities experienced changes related to the structuring of the educational curriculum-the homogenization of undergraduate university degrees-and the policy of tuition fees. In relation to the latter, the entry into force of the Royal Decree-Law 14/2012 (the so-called Decreto Wert) allowed universities a considerable increase in tuition fees. Using data for Spanish public universities for the academic years 2008/2009 and 2013/2014, this paper studied to what extent this educational law contributed to the improvement of the academic performance of undergraduate students. Using a stochastic frontier analysis for panel data, this paper showed that the increase in undergraduate tuition fees (first enrolment) acted as a catalyst in reducing the inefficiencies of the Spanish public university system. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).

Purpose Financial difficulties are associated with poor student mental health, although the 2012 tuition fees increase for British students had little impact on student mental health in the first two years at university. This study aims to examine the mental health of British graduates before and after this fees increase to determine the impact on mental health several years after graduation. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted an online cohort study with 327 British students who started university before and after the 2012 fees increase. Participants completed measures of current economic hardship and symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, general mental health and suicidality. Multiple regression was used to examine the impact of cohort (pre- and post-2012 fees increase), tuition fees amount and economic hardship on mental health. Findings Greater economic hardship was positively correlated with all mental health variables. Starting university after the fees increased and/or paying greater fees was associated with increased depression, anxiety, stress and suicidality, with little impact on general mental health. When economic hardship was covaried, the strength of cohort effects reduced but remained significant. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to show that the 2012 tuition fees increase for British students increased depression, anxiety, stress and suicidality in graduates many years after graduation, owing to additional financial strain.

The phenomenon of students who queue to pay single tuition fee is a common occurrence in banks. As the payment process becomes increasingly complex, an effective approach is needed to model and optimize the queue system. To address this issue, Petri net model is used to represent the dynamics of queue system, including interactions between students, payment officers, and the payment verification process. Therefore, study further explored using max-plus algebra and Petri net approaches to model the payment queue system for students\" single tuition fee payments at banks. The verification of Petri net model was conducted using coverability tree, ensuring that the resulting model avoided deadlock and met L1-Live condition. Max-plus algebra model was also used to analyze wait times and facilitate decision-making. Subsequently, model of student payment queue system for single tuition fee was expressed in Equation (8). According to this model, the service time for paying the fee from arrival to departure was 3634 seconds, or 1 hour and 34 seconds.

The introduction of the new tuition fee regime in the UK has resulted in growing concerns about the impact on students' expectations of their university experiences (e.g. Jones in Perspectives 14(2):44-48, 2010). This is coupled with reports from those such as the OIA (Office of the Independent Adjudicator (2012) Annual Report. Accessed on July 22, 2013. Retrieved from http://oiahe.org.uk/media/88650/oia-annual-report-2012.pdf) which detailed the rise in the number of student complaints year on year. The current study explored undergraduate psychology students' (N = 62) expectations and derived experiences of Higher Education through a series of focus groups. In particular, a focus on students' perceptions of level of support, contact time, and resources were explored. These were undertaken both before (n = 21) and after (n = 41) the introduction of the fee rise, to provide a cross-sectional comparison of the potential changes. Thematic analysis of the narratives indicated minimal support for the idea that increased tuition fees had heightened expectations in Higher Education. Additionally, although there were some discrepancies between students' expectations and experiences, particularly in relation to level of support and contact time, this did not have a detrimental impact on satisfaction of their University experiences. This was related to the fact that these experiences exceeded their original expectations. One noteworthy finding however, suggested that higher tuition fees were related to greater expectations of graduate employability. The implications of this are discussed, as well as the implications of student satisfaction (using models such as the Student Satisfaction Index Model; Zhang et al. in Int J Bus Manag 3(9):46-51, 2008), for institutional policies of recruitment and retention. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).