Student choice, league tables and university facilities

Purpose: This paper examines the three-way connection between league tables, student choice of university and university facilities, a topic area that has so far seen little research. In the decade since Price et al. (2003) highlighted the links between university facilities and students’ choice of institution, changes in technology and the rise of league tables render an update necessary. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical research focuses on one top league university with a 1960s campus, using a mixed-method approach, including results from the annual York University Student Union survey (results of a survey with 2,382 responses, and 3,500 focus group comments) and from research carried out by one of the authors (a survey with 331 responses and 144 comments from focus groups. Results from the Unite Student Experience Report 2012 (based on 1,236 responses) were also used. Findings: The influence of league tables on students’ choices was strongly confirmed. There are expectations that ‘premier league’ institutions come with top class facilities. Students whose expectations of their institution’s facilities are not met, may vent their disappointment via national satisfaction surveys (such as the National Student Survey in the UK). Originality/value: There has been little research about the connection between league tables, student choice of university and university facilities. This paper makes a start on a three-way connection and maps out the field for further research.