Abstract
There
is distinct competition for full-time student enrollment in higher education.
With the wide availability of online degrees and course offerings, students can
consider multiple options as consumers of higher education. With increased
competition in higher education, reaching prospective undergraduate students
highlights the importance of market segmentation as a vital step toward
increasing full-time enrollment. A critical step to attracting potential
undergraduate students requires a deeper understanding of student segment
populations. The purpose of this study is to investigate how distinct
student segments and demand factors influence higher education enrollment
within public higher education institutions. The study examined three types of
undergraduate student segments: traditional, non-traditional, and transfer students
to evaluate how online course modalities as well as major fields of study
influence student demand for full-time enrollment. Historical and publicly
available secondary data were examined for the academic years 2014-2015 through
2018-2019 to describe relationships between total full-time enrollment
(dependent) with online course enrollment and major fields of study
(independent) variables. Administrators in public higher education institutions
will be able to use the findings from this study for the development of an
enrollment framework focusing on student segmentation strategies.
