Date of Award
5-6-2010
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Daniel Cline
Committee Members
David Cox; David Holman; Dixie Keyes; Steve Bounds
Call Number
LD 251 .A566d 2010 W63
Abstract
Choosing a post-secondary institution to further one's education is a significant decision in a person's life. Throughout the past three decades, the issue of college choice has been researched. Much of this research has dealt with factors that influence student choice. While the research on how and why students choose a post-secondary institution is extensive, it is limited primarily to studies of students in public institutions. There is no basis for expecting the factors effecting a student's choice of a church-related institution would be the same as or different from other students and, consequently, potentially useful information that might guide recruiting and counseling activities at church-related schools is not available. The purpose of the study is to determine factors that lead students not associated with Churches of Christ to attend such an institution. The following research question was addressed: Why do students choose to attend Church of Christ institutions of higher education when the student has no affiliation with the Churches of Christ? Analysis of the data, gathered by surveying freshmen from four randomly selected institutions out of 14 affiliated with the Churches of Christ, found the highest degree of importance selected by Non-Church of Christ students on why they attended a Church of Christ affiliated institution is the good academic reputations of the institution (94 percent), followed by their college's graduates acquire good jobs (92 percent). Other factors include being offered financial scholarship(s) (88 percent), small classes (87 percent), the character/type of students enrolled (86 percent), and wanting to investigate their own beliefs (85 percent). Though the research dealt with freshman students only, research needs to be conducted in the area of factors leading Non-Church of Christ students to enroll in graduate schools affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The undergraduate institutions have just over 37 percent of Non-Church of Christ students, whereas the graduate level has approximately 70 percent of Non-Church of Christ students.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Wood, Michael Brent, "Factors students use in choosing to attend Church of Christ institutions of higher education when students have no affiliation with the Church of Christ" (2010). Student Theses and Dissertations. 987.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/987
