ANALYSIS OF DECISION MAKING PROCESS IN SELECTING HIGHER EDUCATION

Odločitev za izbiro študija in poklicno pot je ena izmed najpomembnejših odločitev v življenju, saj začrta posameznikovo življenje v času izobraževanja ter v njegovi celotni poklicni poti. Glede na lastne želje, interese, sposobnosti in stališča izberemo študij, ki nam omogoča doseganje zastavljenih ciljev, uspešno poklicno prihodnost, predvsem pa nam zagotavlja kvalitetno življenje. Izbira pravilne odločitve za študij je dolgotrajen in kompleksen proces, v katerem nekateri mladostniki takšne odločitve sprejmejo tako rekoč neopazno, brez težav, mnogi med njimi pa se med samim procesom odločanja za izbiro študija soočajo z manjšimi ali večjimi težavami. Največkrat težave povzročata pomanjkanje motivacije ter splošna neodločnost, velikokrat pa težave nastanejo zaradi pomanjkanja informacij ali pa zaradi nezanesljivih informacij. Težave, ki ob tem nastanejo, jih lahko vodijo do zavlačevanja ali poskusa prelaganja odgovornosti za odločanje na koga drugega, kar jih lahko pripelje do neoptimalne odločitve. Na vrednotenje posameznega študija vpliva cela vrsta dejavnikov, katerih vloga in pomembnost sta odvisna od okoliščin in socialnega okolja, v katerih se vsak posameznik nahaja. Zelo pomembno vlogo imajo priporočila tistih, ki so študij že zaključili, saj nam lahko predajo veliko zanimivih informacij ter lastnih izkušenj. Nikakor ne smemo zanemariti obisk informativnega dne ter informacij, ki jih dijaki pridobijo od raznih svetovalcev in profesorjev, ki učijo na fakulteti, v zadnjem času pa se daje poseben pomen tudi elektronskim medijem (spletne strani fakultete, forumi, družabna omrežja). Z opravljeno raziskavo smo želeli analizirati proces odločanja dijakov in dijakinj ter ugotoviti, kako in na podlagi katerih dejavnikov se odločajo za vpis na visokošolski študij. Pri tem nas je predvsem zanimalo katere informacije pri tem zbirajo, ali imajo za svojo odločitev na voljo dovolj časa, kakšen vpliv imajo na njihovo odločitev posamezne informacije, referenčne skupine, socialna omrežja in ostali dejavniki. Pojavilo se je vprašanje, ali se dijaki pri odločanju vedejo kot dobro informirani odjemalci ter ali se pri odločitvah za izbiro visokošolskega študija dijaki in dijakinje medsebojno razlikujejo. Predpostavili smo, da bodo dijaki z veseljem sodelovali pri raziskavi, kar so tudi storili. V sklopu anketnega vprašalnika smo se osredotočili tudi na poznavanje in zanimanje za študij na Ekonomsko-poslovni fakulteti. Rezultati, pridobljeni z raziskavo so lahko dodaten uporaben pripomoček srednjim šolam in visokošolskim institucijam pri njihovi uporabi marketinških tehnik ter pri nadaljnjem marketinškem načrtovanju.Decision about choosing the right further education studies and the proper career path is one of the most significant decisions in an individual\u27s life, since it determines their life during education and further on in the career. According to our own preferences, interests, skills and positions, we choose studies that enable us to achieve the set goals, to have a successful career and nevertheless, to live a quality life. Choosing the correct alternative for higher education is a continuous and complex process, in which some young people make their decision imperceptibly, whereas many others experience minor or major difficulties. The biggest problems are often the lack of motivation and general indecisivenesshowever, many times problems appear due to the lack of or even unreliable information. That can lead to postponing or trying to convey the responsibility of choice to someone else, which contributes to non-optimal decision. The evaluation of the individual studies is influenced by a whole spectrum of factorstheir role and importance depend on the circumstances and social environment in which the individual future student is. Very important role in their decision are the references of people who had already finished their studies, because a lot of interesting information and personal experiences can be provided by them. By no means can we neglect the visit of an open day at the university and information gained from different counsellors and faculty professors. And last, but not the least, electronic media like websites, forums and social networks have special importance in the choice of higher education studies. With our research we wanted to analyse the process of high-school students’ decision for their further education and determine how and which factors influence the decision for enrolling into higher education studies. In the research we were interested in what types of information are gathered and how do individual information, referential groups, social networks and other factors influence the decision and if enough time for the decision is provided. The question appeared, whether high-school students act as well-informed consumers regarding their decisions and if there is a significant difference between genders, male and female high-school students. We correctly assumed that the high-school students will be willing to participate in our research. In our survey we focused on the interest and familiarity with studies at The Faculty of Economics and Business. Results, gained with our research can be very useful tools for high-schools and higher education institutions at their marketing techniques and further marketing plannin