The impact of word of mouth and university reputation on student decision to study at university

This study aims to analyze the influence of word of mouth and university reputation on student decision to study at faculty of economics at the Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara (UISU), Indonesia. This research uses quantitative approach with explanatory research type. The sample size includes all 177 new university students of academic year 2015-2016 and processed statistically with multiple linier regression method. Results show that word of mouth does not positively influence on students’ decision to study. Otherwise, university reputation partially had a positive and significant effect on students’ decision to study. In addition, word of mouth and university reputation influence on students’ decision to study. This shows that prospective students do not consider word-of-mouth good and bad information of the UISU, but rather consider the university's reputation in choosing a place to study. UISU should do more professionally in fulfilling facilities and infrastructure and improving the quality of lecturers. Tight competition requires universities to always build a good reputation through new breakthroughs that can be a mainstay and have a high selling value. UISU is required to be more professional by prioritizing user satisfaction.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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