RUSSIAN APPLICANTS’ HIGHER EDUCATION CHOICES AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS AT KARELIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

Abstract

This paper examines Russian applicants’ trends in choices of higher education institutes (HEIs), identifies behavioural patterns and suggests possible strategies for increasing the number of Russian applicants at Karelia University of Applied Sciences. The necessity for this research arose from the decline in the inbound mobility of Russian students to Finland, caused mostly by the tuition fee that every non-EU student applying to Finnish HEIs for English-taught Bachelor's or Master's degree programs is obliged to pay. The thesis is commissioned by Karelia University of Applied Sciences (UAS). The theoretical part of the study consists of analysis of the consumer decision making process, HEIs choice models, a push-pull model and the segmentation targeting and positioning (STP) model. The empirical part is based on a qualitative research, which includes semi-structured interviews with 15 first year Russian students who have attended Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences after the introduction of the tuition fee, structured interviews with 70 high school Russian students and a semi-structured interview with the quality coordinator of Karelia UAS. The results of the research show that Russian applicants can be grouped into several segments based on their motivation and willingness to pay the fee. Each segment requires various targeting strategies in order to attract them. However, not all of them are a suitable match with Karelia UAS. Thus, it is recommended to focus on attracting specific groups of students and ensure them with high quality education, an improved tuition and scholarship system, good employability after graduation, and opportunities for professional development. Karelia UAS should provide prospect students with all the necessary requirements and show that attending this UAS is a profitable investment for their future careers.