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Educational institutions are caught between increasing their offer rates and attracting and retaining those prospective students who are most suited to course completion. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the influence of demographic and psychological constructs on students’ preferences when choosing to study in a particular faculty through the application and testing of a student choice logit model based on data collected from a survey of existing students.

Logistic regression techniques were used to estimate the probability of undergraduate prospective students’ choices with reference to a set of variables that allows for the prediction and classification of students (n=304) at an Australian university. Using the estimated coefficients of both student characteristics and psychological variables, probability outputs were constructed to compute the faculty membership for student groups. Outputs were also illustrated via a set of simulation analyses.

The results of the student choice logit model are highly significant suggesting demographic, socioeconomic and psychological variables play a role in the prediction of faculty membership of undergraduate students.

These findings have implications for researchers, educational policy makers and career planners. The study also suggests that these policies should take into account the complexities of multi-attribute influences on students’ decision-making choices.

This research offers an innovative marketing use of logistics regression techniques with application of the student choice logit model through predicting the likelihood of faculty membership in an education context.

This study aims to examine the drivers of membership at the micro-level to influence club retention rates and promote positive health-related behaviours through encouraging active member participation.

The data for this study (n = 197) was obtained from four martial arts groups in Melbourne, Australia. Self-administered questionnaires assessed the importance of personal benefits, risk taking, personal values and enjoyment of specific benefits.

Hierarchical analysis identified shared values, excitement (ß = −0.066, p < 0.05), sense of belonging (ß = 0.644, p < 0.05), enjoyment of activities (ß = 0.179, p < 0.05), fitness level (ß = 0.564, p < 0.05), belt status (ß = 0.466 p < 0.05) and the expectations of instructor (ß = 0.144 p < 0.05) and others (ß = 0.483 p < 0.05) as predictors in attracting and retaining club membership. Adult Australians share socio-demographic characteristics and common desires to attain specific benefits which appear to evolve, as membership is not perceived as an interim engagement but rather as a lifelong lifestyle choice.

By advocating positive associations between lifetime membership and active participation, social marketing campaigns can inform and contribute towards a knowledge base for sports clubs to develop targeted strategies and practices towards membership retention.

This study contributes to evidence-based social marketing approaches in an era of ageing demographics, where there remains a need to learn more about how to manage active memberships to promote healthy lifestyles and well-being at a national, community and individual level. The approach of exploring club membership at micro-level to inform tailored macro-level strategic health-related messages is also novel.

This study aims to use the lens of the stereotype threat theory to explore older consumers’ age identity and experiences with service providers.

This study used semi-structured interviews with Australian consumers aged between 55 and 69. Data were examined using thematic analysis.

Older consumers justify a younger cognitive age by distancing themselves from the negative stereotypes associated with ageing and by associating themselves with attitudes and behaviours consistent with a younger age identity. Older consumers are confronted with age-based stereotype threats in a services context through four practices. Exposure to these threats results in service failure and can have a negative impact on both consumers’ ability to function effectively as consumers and their overall well-being.

A more diverse sample is required to identify the extent to which age-based stereotype threats are experienced and which services marketing practices have the most detrimental impact on older consumers.

The findings provide insight for services marketers seeking to effectively cater for older consumers and have implications for service staff training, service technology and communications.

The findings have implications for the well-being of older consumers in terms of their self-efficacy and self-esteem as well as their ability to function effectively as consumers.

This study contributes to the nascent understanding of older consumers’ experiences and their expectations of service interactions and advertising communication. The findings also extend the literature on service failure by demonstrating how age-based stereotypes threaten age identity, resulting in a negative customer experience.

Students’ values influence their choice of academic degrees that direct future careers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate measuring personal values by testing the relevance of the original nine personal values in the List of Values (LOV) scale in the situation-specific context of higher education in relation to student's educational choices in pursuing particular career pathways.

The study involved two stages of iterative analysis of data from undergraduate students (N=304) at an Australian university for the purpose of constructing a personal values importance scale (PVIS). The paper assesses construct dimensionality, and convergent and discriminate validities of PVIS.

Results suggest a two-factor PVIS scale of internal and external values is a valid and reliable psychometric diagnostic tool leading to better understanding of choice behaviour in an educational context. Business students reported both internal and external values as important; however, science, engineering and technology, and design and social context students perceived internally oriented values more aligned to their programme choice.

This research provides new insights into measuring the values influencing the programme choices with a career focus towards particular fields. It allows educational institutions to make more informed decisions for attracting and retaining those students most suited to the educational and career paths they choose. Marketing and educational implications are discussed.

This research offers a psychometrically rigorous measurement instrument valid in an education context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a University's at risk program and ask is the intervention strategy working? The program seeks to assist at risk students who may be experiencing difficulties transitioning, for example from school into university. The program also seeks to identify problems and suggest remediation strategies before attrition.

The effectiveness of the at risk programs is investigated across a population of at risk students from 2006 to 2010. Effectiveness is judged on the basis of outcomes in subsequent semesters where the University's preferred outcome is these students are not identified as at risk again.

The authors have found that the program has some success in assisting students to improve their academic performance; though simply engaging in the process is not enough to ensure improvement. Other variables are at work. At risk students located in Melbourne appear to be far more likely to be at risk again than those in Singapore.

The at risk program is intended to be part of the University's total system of pastoral care. As such it is designed to assist struggling students to successfully complete their studies. With this in mind, this paper has investigated the influence of student engagement in the at risk program on future academic performance.

This research assists Universities’ implementation of pastoral care programs and notes the roles of student characteristics in “success” at University.

To the authors’ understanding no other research of this kind has been conducted. Much of the previous research focuses on attrition, students already lost to a program. This research focuses on those not yet lost to a program, but at risk.