Levino L. Yhoshii, PhD Dean of Research and Development, Alder College
Introduction
There has been a shift in distribution of student population among colleges in Kohima. Majority of students passing out of higher secondary schooling, who continue to pursue undergraduate degrees, either go out of the state or seek for admissions in a select few colleges in Kohima. It is observed that the enrolment in some private colleges within Kohima is significantly affected. Out of twenty one colleges in Kohima, fifteen colleges offer undergraduate course in Arts. Out of these, about three-fourth are facing a major crisis in enrolment. This article will look at the possible reasons for the uneven distribution of students in the undergraduate course among colleges in Kohima. The primary question it seeks to answer is, 'What are the factors that influence the decision to study in a particular college?' Data was collected through a questionnaire. Out of eighty questionnaires that were handed out, seventy seven came back with responses. 31% respondents were parents of students and 57% were undergraduate students studying in one of the fifteen colleges offering an undergraduate course in Arts Stream within Kohima district. Six respondents did not mention whether they were parents or students. Respondents remain anonymous, and questionnaire does not ask for the identity of colleges they are associated with. The questionnaires were then collected and interpreted. The researcher took the help of a research assistant' to gather and systematise the responses. The questionnaire had three types of questions — contingency, open-ended and closed-ended questions .2 The key areas of focus were why they chose to study in Nagaland, what affected their decision to study in Nagaland, and their assessment of the present college they are associated with. It also looked for factors that are considered important for a college. We describe these areas and discuss the data collected.
Why Nagaland?
80% respondents said they would prefer to study out of Nagaland if they had a choice. Some common reasons were more opportunities, wider variety of courses, and more exposure. These were perceived to be more conducive towards employability, personal growth and increasing their potential. Many of them also judged education in other states as better and more organised. 19% said they preferred to study in Nagaland. Some reasons were because of cost-benefits, more security and availability of better support-system. Some thought colleges at home offer quality education and have qualified teachers. For those who would prefer to study out of the state but stayed in Nagaland, the most common reason was the cost of education — they could not afford to study in other states.
Outsiders' Perspective — What People Look for
This section is considered as an outsider's perspective because it asks questions that are concerned with factors that are taken into account before joining an institution, and that ultimately influence decision to the join the same. Apart from the decision to remain in Nagaland or out of the state, a further question about location was asked — the location of an educational institution within the state.
Factors mentioned revolve around three things — easy access to transportation, noise-free, and suitable climate. Only five respondents said that getting access to good education is more important than whether the institution is easily accessible or not. Accessibility here means physical and geographical accessibility. The rest thinks the institution must be located in an easily accessible area, and one that offers a favourable environment. Some of the reasons mentioned are related to the impact it has on learning. For example, that it needs to be in a quiet location with good climate. Another aspect taken into account was the perceived quality of teaching and the competence of teaching staff. 71% said it affects their decision. The most important factor seems to be the teachers' qualification, followed by their personality and experience. Teachers' religion and gender seem irrelevant for respondents. Some further qualities that matter were punctuality, patience, communication skills, approachability, and impartiality.
Insider's Perspective — What People Find
The survey also sought to understand how the respondents perceived their present colleges. As mentioned, the respondents were spread over the fifteen colleges in Kohima and each college has its own style of organisation and management. The colleges, except two, are all affiliated to Nagaland University and fifty percent are NAAC accredited. In other words, they fulfil basic criteria for high education institutions. But infrastructure, management, qualification as well as competence of teachers, and competence of students vary from college to college. Nonetheless, students and parents listed out several factors and qualities that they appreciate about their present colleges. We use these to define what in their view makes a college good.
Administration
Administrative planning was a factor that some appreciated about their colleges. When the college is being organised well and its plans executed, its effect on students is apparent. They notice and appreciate it. Related to this is discipline. Informants seem to appreciate discipline that is imposed on the students. Six respondents mentioned this as a quality that they appreciate about their present college.
Faculty
Many appreciated their teachers, and most of them mentioned their personality and not their teaching style or competence as such. This was interesting to note. Some qualities they appreciated was their friendliness, kindness, humility, approachability and experience. While competence and ability to guide students beyond the syllabus also featured as an important factor, the personality and attitude of teachers seem to affect their perception of college life.
Curriculum
Since majority of the colleges are affiliated to Nagaland University (two being autonomous) the curriculum is more or less uniform. Yet some colleges offer more skill-based courses. In this regard, some appreciated focus on academic development, while others on skill development. Co-curricular activities that provide platform to develop various talents are deemed important.
It is important to note that students appreciate guidance and knowledge outside of the curriculum that teachers are able to offer them.
Location
Many mentioned the physical environment of the college as an important factor. Some colleges enjoy the luxury of a quiet and peaceful atmosphere and their students rightfully appreciate it. As mentioned above, accessibility features as an important factor.
Infrastructure
Needless to mention, those in colleges that has good infrastructure which offer facilities for growth and development of the students appreciated this aspect. Included here were library facilities.
Personal Support
Following the response mentioned in the outsiders' perspective, the personality of teachers and staff in the college was an important part of college life. Mentoring and personal attention to the needs of students was appreciated. According to their reports, some teachers provided help outside the classroom and this was highly-valued. The respondents were also asked to mention areas that they would like to see improvement in. The list included interaction between teachers and students, prohibition of tobacco in campus, improvement in infrastructure, provision of buses, more washroom, more books in the library, good student-teacher ratio, more assessment, less activities in the college, and introduction of new subjects — 'non-common subjects' . It is interesting that some students prefer more co-curricular activities, while others prefer less. Perhaps this is indicative of individual preference of students. Among those who prefer less activities, the reason added was that it interfered with their studies and academic activities. Others mentioned that they would like to see more seminars and exhibitions.
Public Perception
Public perception of educational institutions matter in choosing a college to study in. A study in Indonesia shows that the most important factor determining this is the reputation of the college. The reputation further depends on the feedback by alumni and consideration of student interest while offering programs of study (Gunarto, Nugraha & While, 2016). How true is this in the context of Nagaland?
One of the goals that this survey had was to understand how respondents gather information about colleges. In other words, information that helps form public perception. Here, data shows that social media platforms (Instagram and Facebook) are the most common sources that provide information. Next is the internet, followed by feedback from alumni and then newspapers. The finding suggests that unlike the Indonesian context, social media and the internet seems to be the most important sources of information for forming perceptions about a college. Alumni feedback is not absent, but ranks lower than the previous two.
This is perhaps why colleges today invest in building their websites and social media accounts to make them attractive and appealing to the public. There has been a surge of Instagram accounts created for paid promos, intended to cater to the needs of educational institutions. Social media presence has come to be a significant factor affection the reputation of the college. The phenomenon of image creation and branding through social media has come to occupy the attention and imaginary of stakeholders in educational institutions, not just in Nagaland but beyond (Bonzo and Parchoma 2010; Jcdrzejczyk and Brzezhiski2021; Kaplan 2010).
In addition, the data reveals that critical to public perception are some other factors. I list the factors with percentage of respondents who considered them 'very important' . Results — 55%; Infrastructure — 56%; Extra-curricular activities — 28%; Uniform — 32%; Library — 84%; Presence on social media — 13%; Easy access to public transportation — 58%; Student-teacher ratio — 50%; Student-teacher rapport — 71%.
According to this figure, some factors that affect the reputation of the college are library facilities, transportation and student-teacher rapport. These informs public perception and seems to be important factors determining which colleges people choose to study in.
Findings
Before we bring together the data collected, it must be mentioned that the reputation of a college determines the number of people seeking to study in it, or seeking to send their children/wards to study in it. According to the data collected, there are two dimensions that affect the reputation of the college. Firstly, it resources and facilities - human resource and facilities pertaining to its physical infrastructure. Secondly, the experiences that students have and take away from as graduates. The latter will ultimately affect the former.
The two dimensions – what the college offers and alumni feedback – are not separable. They form and inform each other. Yet, what follows is an attempt to discuss these two dimensions
what respondents look for when they search for a college, and what they experience as insiders after they settle in a college.
Outsider's Perspective
Two aspects that affect decision-making in choosing a college are its physical accessibility and the competence and personality of teachers. The term 'accessibility' needs some qualification. In the context of the colleges taken into account, two of the most-sought after are situated in the outskirts of the town. But they are accessible because they have bus services. Whereas at least two colleges that face enrolment issues are in the heart of town. Out of the two, the approach road leading to one of the colleges has been left unrepaired for several years. Considering these particular cases, accessibility may or may not be a deciding factor. While easily accessible colleges may have an advantage over others, reputation of the college matters. Thus, a college with good reputation as well as easy accessibility will have comparatively better enrolment.
The second aspect that will be discussed is the quality of teachers. Interestingly, qualification and personality rank almost equally. 53% said they pay attention to teacher qualification, while 46% said personality of the teachers is important. One can assume that gauging the personality of the teachers will depend on alumni feedback. Some qualities that are expected from teachers are punctuality, patience, good communication skills, approachability, and impartiality.
In addition, the public looks for the quality of an institution's library, and whether colleges have uniform for students. Performance of the institution in the university exams as well as infrastructure also play a role in building its reputation. It is important to add that the cost of education plays a significant role. Majority of those who (had to) study in Nagaland cited financial constraints as a factor – they could not afford to study out of Nagaland.
Insider's Perspective
This section will take into account perceptions that students enrolled in the institutions have. We gather them and try to define what contributes to building the reputation of the college. According to the data, factors that build the reputation of a college are as follows:
i) It organises itself well. It lays out its objectives clearly and executes these plans effectively. ii) It draws boundaries and imposes a certain amount of discipline on students.
iii) Its teachers are not only qualified but possess qualities that add value to the teaching-learning experience. Some qualities that contribute this are approachability, kindness, and ability to offer knowledge outside the curriculum.
iv) It offers a variety of skill-based courses that enable students to exercise interests and talents.
Conclusion
To summarise the discussion above, the image and reputation of the college matters in influencing public perception of educational institutions. Its location and accessibility, its results and library facilities as well as infrastructure affects how people perceive the college. The environment that teachers are able to foster with their knowledge as well as their attitudes and personality contributes immensely to the experience of students and its impact on the institution's reputations afterwards.
In addition, management of the college in terms of implementation of plans and policies matter. Offering a variety of courses that cater the wide range of students' interest, as well as designing student-centred curriculum is important. One may ask how this affects the reputation. Alumni feedback plays an important role here.
Thus, according to this survey, what parents and students look for in searching for a college to study can be summarised as follows: Physical Accessibility, Competence and Personality of teachers, Good Library, Good Infrastructure, Cost of Education, and Positive Alumni Feedback.
Proposal
What emerges from the findings of this survey is the importance of building an image. This image needs to be formed deliberately and systematically. Taking into account the factors that influence public perception, institutions need to invest in infrastructure and facilities, as well as in the quality of human resources its teaching faculty in particular. Yet, it should not stop from there. An institution needs to consciously build an image that shows what it offers. Here, social media plays a crucial role. The challenge that lies for institutions that are facing shortage of enrolment is this –
to build an image that is congruent with its reality. Thus, the need to work on its reputation and an image that appeals to the public should serve as a motivation to intentionally develop its resources.
References
Bonzo, Justin and Parchoma, Gale (2010), 'The Paradox of Social Media and Higher Education Institutions', Proceedings of the 7th international conference on networked learning, 917.Jędrzejczyk, Waldemar and Brzeziński, Stanisław (2021), 'The Importance of Social Media in Managing the Image of the Educational Institutions'.
Kaplan, Andreas M. & Haenlein, Michael (2010), 'Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media', Business Horizons, 53, 59-68.
Roopa, Siddegowda and Rani, Menta Satya (2012), 'Questionnaire Designing for a Survey', Journal of Indian Orthodontic Society, 46 (4_suppl1), 273-77.