Perceptions of students on student advisors in target driven sales processes within a Private Higher Education Institution in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify certain variables which students perceive to be important and/or their experiences when engaging with a consultant at Boston City Campus and Business College. This study’s intention was to find out if student advisors or consultants have a higher focus on reaching the institutions’ targeted number of new students and/or if they also take into consideration the future career goals of the prospective student and advising them based on their strengths and not set the student up for failure. The research strategy made use of a quantitative approach and a descriptive research design so the current position of a variable could be described (Centre for Innovation in Research and Teaching, 2017). Participants were requested to complete a survey in the form of a five-point Likert Scale survey on the institutions premises. The responses had following options: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree. Cross tabulation of variables was then produced and the results reported on. The most significant findings were that students perceived consultants or student advisors to be incremental in their decision making when selecting a qualification and always allowing sufficient time for academic advising.