Does branding impact student recruitment: a critical evaluation

This study focuses on segmentation feasibility within the private college/university market. There is considerable overlap for private and public college/university students with respect to their consideration criteria; however, previous research suggests that there are some criteria that appear to be differentially important based on the type of student and institution. Therefore, using factors considered by university students in a previous study, the current research sought to further explore the existence of segments within a private university. The findings suggested that three segments of students exist – one segment considers all university criteria as important, another places high importance on the financial aspects of attending a university, and another segment moderately evaluates all university criteria. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Substance use: A life skills perspective

The paper proposes a life skills perspective for understanding substance use, in which generative and context based competences and control strategies are central. Within that framework, reasons for substance use, general goal related competence, and specific strategies used to control substance use were examined for 360 young people (144 males, 216 females) aged 18–20 years. Relationships were established between frequency of use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and participants’ self reported knowledge of methods and effects of use, as well as of how much use was made of knowledge of effects in social situations. Participants also answered short tests on actual knowledge of effects and results on these were related to the extent of use reported. Finally perceptions of the best ways to learn about the effects of using these substances were related to patterns of reported use. The results supported the application of the life skills perspective to the domain of substance use in six areas; goal orientation; perceived competence; control over one’s actions; contextual competence; personality traits; and utilisation of knowledge. Educational strategies to develop this perspective were suggested.