A Model of Bayesian Network Analysis of The Factors Affecting Student's Higher Level Study Decision: The Private Institution Case

Abstract

A growing number of universities and colleges established in Malaysia have provided many options for students to further their tertiary education either in public university or private institution. Therefore, this study tends to identify the factors that affect the decision made by students to pursue their Degree in a private institution based on Bayesian networks (BNs). BN provides a unique graphical structure that indicates the dependency between variables. A total of 150 valid responses are collected from a private university by the means of questionnaire as the survey instrument in this study. The study found that reputation of the university is not the main concern of the students, meanwhile, undesired course offered from the public university and family advices are the significant factors influencing their decision to pursue their degree in a private university