Students Perceptions on University Selection, Decision Making Process: A Case Study in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Through the growing number of students, universities are moving like a private company in the market. They are always trying to increase their students, namely customers to survive in this competitive field. The purpose of the study was to clarify the predictors of the students’ choices for the university in Kurdistan region of Iraq. To do this, 400 students selected from the American University of Sulaimani (AUIS), Human Development University, and Cihan University which are the main private institutions of Sulaimani City. The results show that scientific activities and campus facilities have affected the reputation of the university, and consequently reputation influenced students to advice that university to others. When it is thought that advice play an important role in the university selection, these results are very important for the practitioners in order to increase their market share in the region