Business Research 6860

Values and Perceptions

of Graduate Schools
An Exploratory Research Project

M. Jared Burgess, Bridget Hall, Jen Lyons, Forrest Purser, Kevin Tame
May 5, 2010
Executive Summary

The Utah State University (USU) School of Graduate Studies is in the process of developing a

new marketing campaign in order to effectively market to potential graduate students. To do

this, the school must have a clear understanding of what graduate students most highly value in a

graduate program. This report addresses the key research question: What do students value

most when considering which graduate school to attend?

A survey was created that will provide information about the perceptions and values of current

and prospective graduate students. A detailed list of factors students consider when making a

choice in graduate programs was developed using depth interviews, other similar surveys, and

personal experience. The survey is primarily centered on these values.

The survey will be sent via email to two sample sets. The first sample group is comprised of all

USU seniors and graduate students, and the second sample group will be comprised of a

specified group of students who have recently taken the Graduate Record Examinations

(GRE). Statistical analysis will be used to determine which values are statistically significant

both in the USU sample group and the GRE sample group. A bivariate t-test will be the primary

statistical tool employed in the analysis. Key values determined from the statistical analysis of

the survey results will then be presented to the School of Graduate Studies.

Our recommendation is to use these key values to develop a marketing campaign for graduate

studies at USU. Using these key values in a marketing campaign will allow USU to show

prospective graduate students how USU can meet these students’ criteria in providing an

excellent graduate school experience.

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Introduction

The School of Graduate Studies is planning a three-year marketing campaign to raise awareness

of the benefits of attending graduate school at Utah State University (USU). They desired a

benchmark to measure the effectiveness of this campaign. To create the benchmark, they wished

to do a longitudinal study of a group of students before, during, and after the campaign.

Additionally, they wanted to know what prospective students valued in a graduate school.

As our group attempted to fulfill the school’s desire of creating a longitudinal study, we

determined that the length of time for an average graduate student to graduate was less than the

time of the marketing campaign. Therefore, we would likely be unable to maintain contact with

the same students over the three-year time period, prohibiting effective implementation of a

longitudinal study. More importantly, because the School of Graduate Studies wanted to design

an effective campaign, it was determined that the actual values held by incoming graduate

students should be identified rather than marketing to assumed values.

Currently, the marketing plan is centered around values the graduate school sees as attractive.

This includes marketing the beautiful area surrounding USU and the available opportunities for

outdoor activities. While these are great ideas to market, nothing links these current marketing

points with their importance to prospective students in terms of their graduate school experience.

Therefore, it is important that the School of Graduate Studies first know what prospective

students most highly value in order to create a marketing plan that addresses these points.

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Literature Review

Marketing is an important aspect in business since it contributes greatly to the success of the

organization. Covering advertising, promotions, public relations, and sales, marketing is the

process of introducing and promoting the product or service into the market and encourages sales

from the buying public. Strategies for selling products and services have evolved over the past

60 years. In the early 50s, companies focused on mass production, and the most common

strategy was getting the maximum number of products to market faster than other companies. In

the 60s, companies focused on the quality of their products under the assumption that as long as

a product was of a high standard, people would buy and consume the product. Throughout the

50s and 60s, pushing the product on the customer was the preferred choice and the ultimate goal

of the sales department. Not until the 1970s was marketing to the needs and wants of the

customers the general focus of companies' marketing and promotion strategies (Adcock, 2001).

Currently, the formal approach to marketing is a customer-focused strategy known as the SIVA

(Solution, Information, Value, Access). This approach is also known as the four P's of

marketing; Product, Price, Placement and Promotion (Schultz, 2005).

A problem in today’s over-saturated market is that creating an excellent product or service and

distributing it effectively is no longer sufficient to be successful. Ravald noted that "the ability

to provide superior value to customers is a prerequisite when trying to establish and maintain

long-term customer relationships... The underlying construct of customer satisfaction is more

than a perception of the quality received (Ravland, 1996).”

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Marketing specialist have long acknowledged the importance of attitudes and attitude change in

the world of marketing and consumer behavior, but the role of values can sometimes be

overlooked. The School of Graduate Studies cannot overlook the importance of identifying the

values of their potential customers. Creating a a marketing plan without knowing the values of

potential customers is taking a shot into the dark, hoping to hit the target market.

Vinson, Scott and Lamont state, “ Knowledge of consumer value orientations provides an

efficient, measurable set of variables closely related to needs which expand the marketer's

knowledge beyond demographic and psychographic differences. If large market segments can be

identified on the basis of value profiles, the marketing strategist could develop programs which

would maximally enhance the important values of consumers in each market segment... By

knowing the preferences of large market segments, the promotional strategist will be better able

to select media and design appeals which will reach and enhance the important value of

consumers (Vinson, 1977).” For example, the School of Graduate Studies might find that their

potential customers' values and interests are asscociated with the outdoors, extreme spots, and

fun. Now, Snowboarder Magazine might also have similiar values associated with it. This

magazine would then be a good medium to advertise USU services because the magazine will

enhance those same consumer values, thus allowing the medium to reinforce the advertising

message.

Values have an important role in marketing effectively and have been proven to influence

purchasing behavior. For the School of Graduate Studies, defining these values and the ways

they influence the behavior of consumers is not entirely clear. In order to investigate these

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relationships, it is required to define what values consumers find important and then examine the

connection of these values with purchasing behavior.

Research Question

After looking at the needs of the Utah State Graduate School and student surveys conducted by

other universities, we were able to determine our research question: What do students value

most when considering which graduate school to attend? By addressing this question, our

exploratory research will provide the School of Graduate Studies an indication of the most

important values to incoming students. This information will allow the School of Graduate

Studies to focus its marketing on the key values that appeal to these prospective students.

Survey

Sample Selection

In order to find the values of current and prospective graduate students, the sample population

was chosen to include every Utah State University senior and graduate student as well as a

refined list of people who have recently taken the Graduate Record Examinations, or GRE. To

use the bivariate t-test and compare sample populations, the sample size of both USU students

and GRE test takers must be large enough to create statistically significant results. The School of

Graduate Studies already has access to the email address of every USU senior and graduate

student, so reaching this sample population does not pose any challenges. Conversely, the GRE

list of email addresses must be purchased.

Operating under a set budget from the School of Graduate Studies, we selected a sample size that

would give us statistically significant conclusions without being excessively expensive. To

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generate statistically significant results, 50 people must respond. Email surveys typically give a

5-10% response rate, so conservatively estimating that this survey’s response rate will be 5%,

1,000 surveys will be emailed to people from the GRE list. This list will be refined in terms

of geographic location, indication of a desire to pursue graduate work in the West via school

selections, interest in majors offered by Utah State University, and provided email addresses.

These categories represent some of the attributes of the average Utah State University student.

Because the purpose of the survey is to find what students value in a graduate school, we

performed depth interviews, researched other universities’ surveys, and used group member input

to create a list of characteristics that are important in choosing a graduate school. Interviewees

for depth interviews were selected according to gender, program of study, university, and age.

Given that the majority of Utah State University students are from Utah, we primarily

interviewed Utah residents. Surveys from other universities gave us a starting point for

demographic information that could be useful to obtain. We also added our own experiences in

choosing our graduate school to the list.

This list of important characteristics consisted of 28 attributes divided unequally into four

categories: 1) recognition, 2) personal preferences, 3) financial barriers, and 4) academic

alignment. See Figure 1 in the attached exhibits for a list of categorized values. From this point,

we constructed questions that would address these characteristics without creating survey bias,

leading questions, or double-barreled questions. The survey itself consists of 12 questions,

including 37 values to be ranked on importance using a category scale of importance. We

limited the survey’s length to approximately ten minutes in order to keep the attention of the

participant while not discouraging them from completing the survey. Furthermore, we pre-tested

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the survey to obtain feedback, clarify any ambiguous questions, and ensure that the time to

complete the survey was under our time limit.

In the creation of the survey, an effort was made to keep similar values together. However,

within the broader categories, the values were reordered to accommodate positive and negative

tones used in the clarification and removal of ambiguity in the values list. The School of

Graduate Studies utilizes Survey Monkey for conducting online surveys; therefore, that was the

survey medium employed. We determined a page by page survey would be better than scrolling

due to the potential for respondents to overlook questions. In order to encourage respondents

and provide feedback, a progress bar was added.

Addressing Sources of Survey Error

When preparing the survey, selecting participants, and analyzing the results, there are several

sources of error that need to be considered.

Random sampling error and sample selection error might occur during the selection of the GRE

student group. The selection set will be determined based on geographic location, indication of a

desire to pursue graduate work in the West via their school selections, interest in majors offered

by Utah State University, and provided email addresses. The error could be generated due to

potential for the selected students to not accurately reflect the actual population being pursued.

Given that we are sending the survey to 1,000 GRE students and are expecting a response rate of

5-10%, a non-response error is expected. This low response rate is inherent in internet surveys.

We will attempt to minimize this error by sending a follow-up email to non-respondents within

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seven to ten days of the original survey request. Since the School of Graduate Studies intends to

incorporate the values survey into the general exit survey for graduating students, there will not

be a self-selection bias for this group. However, the GRE students will have the option of refusal

creating a self-selection bias amongst this group.

The survey may result in several responses biases. In general, respondents’ opinions may

change based on any number of outside factors. We anticipate that most of the response bias will

be a result of unconscious misrepresentation rather than deliberate falsification, because the

survey is anonymous and will not directly affect them. However, the survey will be emailed

from Utah State University which could create an auspices bias. In addition, the use of a Likert

scale will inevitably result in some amount of extremity bias due to its structure. The final form

of response bias that we anticipate is social desirability bias due to the discussion of values.

The final form of error that we might encounter is data-processing error. This could be created

due to data export format or possible errors in the bivariate t-test calculations.

Pre-testing of survey

The survey was pre-tested on nine students in a USU graduate level class. This class was able to

complete the survey in approximately ten minutes, which met the time frame we wanted to keep

the survey within. These students found the survey easy to complete and clear in meaning.

Additionally, we presented our survey to Dr. Kathy Chudoba to obtain her feedback. We changed

the survey based on feedback from these sources and feel that the survey is ready to be sent to

our sample groups.

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Administration of the survey

The survey will be administered via email and Survey Monkey to two groups in order to allow

for testing the statistical significance of the values currently being marketed by the School of

Graduate Studies. The first group will consist of all graduating seniors and graduate students at

Utah State University (USU). This group will provide a base point to understand the values of

the current students attending this institution. The second group surveyed will be a selection of

1,000 students who have recently taken the GRE. This group will provide an understanding of

the values held by the general graduate student population at large. We are expecting a high

response rate to the USU survey; however, as previously discussed, a response rate of 5-10%

would be considered a good for the GRE student group. The School of Graduate Studies has

indicated that they intend to incorporate the values survey into the exit survey for graduating

students; this will result in additional base population data being available over time.

Analysis

The survey information was not available at the time this paper was being written. However, the

analysis criteria would be as follows:

1. Analysis of trends and bar graphs from the compiled Survey Monkey data.

a. This will allow the school to see any major correlations in the data quickly and

become familiar with the trend of responses. Also, this process will help them identify

outliers in the data set.

2. Perform a bivariate t-test of Utah State University subgroups.

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 a. A bivariate t-test of the graduating seniors verses the graduate students should be

conducted to determine if the responses of each of these groups is statistically similar. If

these groups are not similar, then the School of Graduate Studies must determine which

of these groups best represents the target demographic they are pursuing with their

marketing campaign.

b. A bivariate t-test of the on-campus verses extension program responses should also

be conducted to determine if the responses of each of these groups is statistically similar.

If these groups are statistically different, the data from the on-campus and extension

programs should be analyzed separately and employ targeted marketing strategies

accordingly.

3. Perform a bivariate t-test of the GRE student responses.

a. A bivariate t-test should be conducted at the 95% confidence interval to determine

if the responses of the GRE students are statistically similar to the responses of USU

students. This would determine if the general graduate student pool has similar values to

those of current USU students. If the results show a statistical correlation between the

two groups, then the School of Graduate Studies can use the combined information

gathered as a basis of making marketing decisions regarding which values to promote.

However, if there is not a statistical correlation between the two groups, then the School

of Graduate Studies will have to reevaluate their marketing campaign based on the

information gathered from the GRE student group.

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 b. If a statistical difference was found between the on-campus and extensions program

then a second bivariate t-test of the GRE student responses should be conducted to

determine if they are statistically similar to those of the USU extensions program.

Future Research

This survey will be re-administered to all USU graduating seniors and graduate students in order

to increase the size of the comparison population and to track potentially changing values.

Additionally, the survey will be sent to non-USU GRE test takers on a periodic basis.

Modifications to the marketing campaign can be made according to these results.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the designed survey should be administered to the general student population and

to the purchased GRE student list. The results of the survey should then be analyzed as laid out

in the Analysis section above. Based on the statistical analysis of the survey results, the School

of Graduate Studies can see the actual values of prospective students to whom they wish to

market. This will allow the creation of an effective marketing campaign that will align the

strengths of USU with the students' values.

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References

Adcock, D, Halborg, A, & Ross, C. (2001). "introduction". Marketing: principles and

practice (4th) p.15.

Berger, P., & Nasr, N. (1998). Customer lifetime value: marketing models and
applications. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 12(1), 17-30.

Crone, I., & MacKay, K. (2007). Motivating today's college students. Peer Review, 9(1),
18-21. 

Doyle, P. (2000). Value-based marketing. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 8(4), 299 -

311.

Jenkins, J, & Thomas, C. (2002). Graduate school student survey. Unpublished

manuscript, The Graduate School, State University of West Georgia, Carrollton,
Georgia. Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~cogs/printable/
GraduateSurveySpring2002.pdf

Keane, T., & Wang, P. (1995), Applications for the Lifetime Value Model in Modern
Newspaper Pub- lishing, Journal of Direct Marketing, 9(2), 59–66.

Kim, J., DesJardins, S.L., & McCall, B.P. (2009). Exploring the effects of student
expectations about financial aid on postsecondary choice: a focus on income and
racial/ethnic differences. Research in Higher Education, 50(8), 741-774.

Kotler, P. (1972). A Generic concept of marketing. The Journal of Marketing, 36(2),

46-54.

Morse, R. (2010, February 04). Students say college rankings aren't most important part
of decision. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/blogs/college-rankings-blog/
2010/02/04/students-say-college-rankings-arent-most-important-part-of-
decision.html 

Ravald, A, & Gronoors, C. (1996). The Value concept and relationship marketing.
European Journal of Marketing, 30(2), 19-30.

Shultz, D. (2005). "In the mix: a customer-focused approach can bring the current
marketing mix into the 21st century". Marketing Management.

Sweitzer, K., & Volkwein, J.F. (2009). Prestige among graduate and professional
schools: comparing the U.S. news' graduate school reputation ratings between
disciplines. Research in Higher Education, 50(8), 812-836.

Vinson, D, Scott, J, & Lamont, L. (1977). The Role of personal values in marketing and
consumer behavior. American Marketing Association, 41(2), 44-50.

Woodruff, R. (1997). Customer value: the next source for competitive advantage.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2(25), 139-153

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Figure 1: Categorized List of Values

Recognition and Personal

Financial Barriers Academic Alignment
Reputation Preferences

Prestige Location Financial Aid Entrance

Requirements
Reputation Convenience Cost of Tuition
Research Interests
Athletics Size Entrance
Requirements Workload
Entrance Aesthetics and
requirements Atmosphere Research Funding

Networking Distance Ed Scholarships

Acceptance Rate Familiarity Assistantships

Friendliness Cost of Living

Length of Time

Mentors

Concurrent

Safety

Activities

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Figure 2: Graduate Student Values Survey

Graduate Student Values Survey

1.

1. When selecting a graduate school, how important are the following:

Somewhat Somewhat
Important Neutral Unimportant
important unimportant
Prestige of the
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
university
Prestige of the
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
program
Safety of the
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
community
Availability of research
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
funding
High acceptance rate m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
Strong career
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
placement program
Research opportunities
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
that match my
interests
Low student-to-teacher
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
ratio

2.

2. When selecting a graduate school, how important are the following:

Somewhat Somewhat
Important Neutral Unimportant
important unimportant
Rigorous academic
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
program
Availability of distance
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
education
Cost of tuition m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
Reputation of the
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
university
Reputation of the
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
program
Location of the
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
university
Convenience of
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
attending the
university
Familiarity with the
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
university
Atmosphere of the
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
campus

3.

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Graduate Student Values Survey
3. When selecting a graduate school, how important are the following:
Somewhat Somewhat
Important Neutral Unimportant
important unimportant
Friendliness of people
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
in the community
My qualifications match
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
the entrance
requirements
Length of the program m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
Availability of
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
accelerated program
High-quality professors m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
Availability of
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
networking
opportunities

4.

4. When selecting a graduate school, how important are the following:

Somewhat Somewhat
Important Neutral Unimportant
important unimportant
Likelihood of receiving financial
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
assistance
(scholarships/assistantships/fellowships,
etc.)
Availability of extracurricular activities m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
Opportunity to attend university sporting
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
events

Flexible class schedules m

nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
Ability to work while attending school m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
Willingness of professors to modify
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
coursework to align with your interests

Low cost of living m

nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl

5.

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Graduate Student Values Survey
5. When selecting a graduate school, how important are the following:
Somewhat Somewhat
Important Neutral Unimportant
important unimportant
Strict entrance
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
requirements
High career placement
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
rate
Reputable alumni
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
network
Ability to attend the
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
same university for
your undergraduate
and graduate work
Religious affiliation of
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
the school
Religious affiliation of
m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl m
nkjl
the student population

6.

6. When selecting a graduate school, how important are recreational

opportunities:

m
nkjl Important

m
nkjl Somewhat important

m
nkjl Neutral

m
nkjl Somewhat unimportant

m
nkjl Unimportant

7. When selecting a graduate school, which of the following recreational

activities are important to you? Check all that apply.

dgcef Skiing/Snowboarding

dgcef Rock climbing

dgcef Caving

dgcef Water activities

dgcef Intramural sports

dgcef Camping

dgcef Biking

dgcef Hiking

dgcef Recreational activities are not important to me

Other (please specify)

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Graduate Student Values Survey

7.

8. When selecting a graduate school, how important are the campus

facilities:
m
nkjl Important

m
nkjl Somewhat important

m
nkjl Neutral

m
nkjl Somewhat unimportant

m
nkjl Unimportant

9. When selecting a graduate school, which of the following campus facilities

are important to you? Check all that apply.

gcef
d Up-to-date laboratories

gcef
d Live theater

gcef
d Daycare

gcef
d Exercise facilities

gcef
d Housing

gcef
d Transportation

gcef
d Dining

gcef
d Entertainment

gcef
d Campus facilities are not important to me

Other (please specify)

8.

10. Please list any other considerations when choosing a graduate school:

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Graduate Student Values Survey
11. Which of the following sources are most valuable to you in selecting a
university for graduate study? Check all that apply.

dgcef University website

dgcef Other website

dgcef Mailings from the university

dgcef Magazines

dgcef Books

dgcef Contact with university faculty

dgcef Contact with current students

dgcef Contact with alumni

dgcef Recommendations from family and friends

Other (please specify)

9. Demographics

12. What year were you born?

13. What is your level of education?

m
nkjl High school

m
nkjl Some college

m
nkjl Completed college

m
nkjl Some graduate school

m
nkjl Completed graduate school

10. Demographics

14. What is your marital status?

m
nkjl Single

m
nkjl Married

m
nkjl Divorced/separated

m
nkjl Widowed

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Graduate Student Values Survey
15. How many children do you have?

m
nkjl None

m
nkjl 1

m
nkjl 2

m
nkjl 3

m
nkjl 4

m
nkjl 5

m
nkjl 6+

11. Demographics

16. Gender

m
nkjl Male

m
nkjl Female

17. Are you a U.S. citizen?

m
nkjl Yes

m
nkjl No

18. If you are a U.S. citizen, are you:

m
nkjl American Indian or Alaskan Native

m
nkjl Asian

m
nkjl Black, African-American

m
nkjl Hispanic

m
nkjl Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

m
nkjl White

m
nkjl Two or more races

12. Demographics

19. Where is your hometown (state, country)?

20. What is your desired course of study?

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Graduate Student Values Survey
21. Are you a current student or alum of Utah State University?

m
nkjl Yes

m
nkjl No

22. What is your current cumulative GPA for your most recent degree?
m
nkjl 4.0-3.80

m
nkjl 3.79-3.50

m
nkjl 3.49-3.30

m
nkjl 3.29-3.0

m
nkjl <3.0

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