Student choice of higher education institutions in a post-transitional country: evidence from Serbia

The sector of higher education in developed countries has been facing important structural changes over the last decade, which is now expanding to developing countries also. As the competitive landscape is changing, the trend of commercialisation of higher education has become more evident. Higher education institutions (H.E.I.s) have been developing their business strategies, with a clear focus on marketing activities, changes in organisational processes, and even changes in their priorities and missions, thus becoming more lucrative. Knowing student behaviour and criteria for choice decisions and recognising the main determinants of students' choice is the basis for establishing an effective strategy of H.E.I.s. The aim of this article is to shed light on student choice criteria when deciding which institution in higher education to enrol, and to identify main moderating influences. Linear mixed model (L.M.M.) was used as the main methodological tool for analysing the main variation in the attitudes and expectations of students, based on several moderating variables, their socio-demographic and personal characteristics. The results reveal main institutional attributes that HEIs from a post-transitional country can use for the effective market positioning, and the influence of gender, academic aspirations and achievements on the assessment of various students' choice criteria.