Journal of Texas Women School Executives; Volume 7, Issue 1

Analysis of Factors Influencing Student Program Selection for a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership Dr. Melissa Arrambide, Texas A & M University Commerce Dr. Teresa Farler, Texas A & M University Commerce Dr. Pam Winn, Retired Professor, Texas A & M University Commerce Abstract Institutions of higher education continue to seek ways to offset financial loss resulting from government cutbacks as well as loss of funds and enrollment due to the COVID-1919 pandemic. In this quest to increase enrollment, it is worth examining factors that influence student choice in selecting a graduate school. There is limited literature on this topic specific to graduate students at the master’s level of education. However, several factors that do arise when examining graduate students' enrollment considerations include financial consideration, existing student debt, gender, life role, generation, and university policies and practices (Kranzow, 2019).

It is becoming increasing important for institutions to determine what is working well in graduate recruitment efforts. Further, determining effective marketing strategies can guide universities and academic departments in program development. As graduate programs seek to increase and retain enrollment, it is imperative to have a clear understanding of prospective students’ considerations as they relate to the selection of a graduate program (Kranzow, 2019). This research study explored the perceptions of graduate students enrolled in an online program at a regional university that is part of a larger university system.

Introduction With the trend of decreasing enrollments, higher tuition, and reduced state funding, public institutions of higher education are pushing for an increase in enrollment. Prior to COVID-19-19, many institutions of higher education were setting robust enrollment growth targets of 10% or more (Okahana & Zhou, 2019). However, the impact of COVID-19-19 on post-secondary enrollment yielded a 2.5% decrease in fall 2020, with undergraduate enrollment dropping by 3.6%.

Surprisingly, graduate enrollment grew 3.6% in fall 2020 (National Student Clearinghouse, 2020).

The increase in graduate enrollment could be attributed to the data noting jobs requiring applicants to hold a master’s or doctoral degree upon entry that are projected to rise by 9 to 13.7% between 2018 and 2028 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019).

State spending on public colleges and universities remains remarkably below historic levels a decade past the Great Recession. In 2017, long before the impacts of COVID-19-19, state funding for public two-year and four-year colleges was almost 9 billion dollars below the 2008 level (adjusting for inflation) of the Great Recession (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2017). As higher education continues to see reduced funding from the state, institutions are seeking to increase enrollment to help offset lost funding and with undergraduate enrollment declining, more pressure is being placed on graduate programs to increase enrollment to help offset the numbers. In addition, the recent impact of COVID-19-19 on state revenues may impact funding for higher education leading to an even greater push for enrollment in universities. For example, due to COVID-19-19, Texas is projected to have a deficit of one billion dollars for the state’s budget for 45 | J O U R N A L O F T E X A S S C H O O L W O M E N E X E C U T I V E S