FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ ENROLMENT IN CHRISTIAN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING

Abstract

Institutions of learning like any other business exist to provide products or services to a foreseeable future. The study focused on students as the customer whom the leader depend on for continuity. Lack or reduction of customers means reduction in income that may lead to closure of business. The researcher’s intention was to investigate factors affecting students’ enrolment in Christian institutions of higher learning: a case of Karen Christian College. Specific objectives of this study were to find out how marketing strategy affects students’ enrolment in Christian institutions of higher learning; to establish how resource allocation affects students’ enrolment in Christian institutions of higher learning, to assess how leadership skills affects students’ enrolment in Christian institutions of higher learning and to find out how organization’s culture affects students’ enrolment in Christian institutions of higher learning. The study was guided by Marketing mix theory, Scarcity theory, Skills theory and Social Culture System theory. The research adopted descriptive research design with a target population of 1114 students. Sampling was through stratified random sampling using coefficient of variation formulae, which gives a sample size of 137 students. The actual respondents were 120 out of the expected 137 respondents representing 87.6% of the total expected sample size. A pilot test was done to five people who were not part of the sample but of the same characteristics as the students at Karen Christian College to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), correlation analysis, coefficient of determination, analysis of variance, multiple regression, to determine the relationship of the variables. The study found that marketing strategy, resource allocation, leadership skills and organizational culture represent 72.9% of factors affecting students’ enrolment in Christian institutions of higher learning. In conclusion the study found all the four variables to be significant to Student enrolment in Christian institutions of higher learning. Marketing strategy and resource allocation are positively and statistically significant to students’ enrolment in institutions of higher learning. Leadership skills are positively significant but not statically significant to students’ enrolment in Christian institutions of higher learning. Lastly organizational culture is negatively significant but not statistically significant to students’ enrolment in institutions of higher learning. To sum up, there is need for further study that will explore the external factors and expand on the respondents’ base.