Understanding students' choice of electives and its implications

The aim of this study is to examine the attributes which influence students' selection of electives as part of their university degree programme. Marketing students at a public university in Malaysia participated in the research. Conjoint analysis was used to understand the trade-offs between three attributes when selecting elective subjects. These are perceived difficulty, perceived interest and future career skills. The results suggest that students are most concerned about the perceived difficulty of the elective and will avoid enrolling in such an elective. The results have significant implications for educators in the design of electives, and in the communication of their offerings, as well as for university administrators in the allocation of space and teaching resources. The article also discusses the implications of the results and offers future research direction. © 2012 Society for Research into Higher Education