Educational value: how students choose University. Evidence from an Italian University

This paper aims to measure students’ perceptions of value that are influenced by differences in costs (monetary and non-monetary), students’ attitudes and socio-demographic features. It seeks to investigate the components of the university value that affects students’ choice. A questionnaire was developed in order to measure students’ beliefs and perceptions about the offer and service attributes of the university. All variables, primarily drawn from the literature, were measured using multiple items. ANOVA and a PLS regression was used to investigate the effects of the various value dimensions as perceived by students. The findings suggest that, although universities could improve student retention by attempting to increase their level of satisfaction, their efforts will be more effective if focussed on demonstrating the way that the service provided has helped their customers to achieve their objectives, highlighting the strategic importance of the social value. Despite the limitations, such as the sample size and the convenience sampling strategy, future research should be addressed to define the student lifetime value from both the university and the student point of view. Additionally, it could be interesting to investigate a kind of “student equity” as a function of: student satisfaction, student sacrifice and word-of-mouth. Since little empirical research concerning student value and its formation exists, this paper develops a value approach that measures the total student experience. Moreover, very few studies exist in the Italian context, which proves to be interesting due to the recent changes in the university system structure.