Abstract:

According to Marginson (2008), modern universities are concerned with rating tables and compete in order to attract future students and appear at their best in the market.

In Lithuania as a country undergoing transitional period from post soviet times, the number of applications for higher education studies has been annually decreasing since 2011, and recently the number of students enrolling in Lithuanian universities has decreased by almost 19 percent. After Lithuania in 2004 joined the European Union (EU), changes occurring in the state higher education correspond to severe competition among higher education institutions (Deem, Mok, Lucas, 2008). More and more Lithuanian students study at EU universities because these universities become more accessible for potential students due to the disappearance of the language barrier. This creates more options for choosing studies according to specific criteria in order to make a decision.

Significant changes are observed in the distribution of Lithuanian students enrolling in different fields of study in 2011-2017; the number of students enrolling in study programs of social sciences decreased by 61.3%, while the selection of physical sciences increased by 34%. First-rate priorities also have changed: in 2011, 51% of enrolling students chose social sciences, 16% – biomedicine, 6.6% – physical sciences, while in 2017, social sciences were selected only by 35.82%, biomedicine – by 23.85%, physical sciences – by 15.15% of enrolling students. In the context of higher education change, it is important to find out factors determining such changes in the students’ choices, reasons determining the choice of studies and the needs of applicants, therefore the present research poses the question what are the factors determining first-rate priorities to study in higher education institutions?

Aim of the research:
To reveal first-rate priorities of students enrolling in biomedicine studies and their reasons.

Results:
The research conducted in 2013-2014 (Eidimtas, 2015) revealed that students enrolling in study programs of technologies and physical sciences may be affected by four groups of factors: educational, economic, informational and socio-demographic. An anonymous e-survey held in September-November of 2017 involved 203 first-year students of biomedicine and social sciences study programs at the specialized university of health sciences. The pilot research of the choice of enrolling students revealed that for 73% of respondents the study program and the city had the decisive impact on the choice of university, and even 79% of respondents decided to enter the university in grades 9-12. Respondents believe that before entering the university it is useful to know employment opportunities and average wages after graduation. The present paper will further discuss and compare the results of the two studies highlighting general trends and changes.

References:
[1] Eidimtas, Andrius. (2015). Educational Factors Behind the Success of Rational Decision Making When Entering University; Summary of doctoral dissertation.
[2] Deem, R., Mok, K. H., & Lucas, L. (2008). Transforming higher education in whose image? Exploring the concept of the ‘world-class’ university in Europe and Asia. Higher education policy, 21(1), 83-97.
[3] Marginson, S. (2008). Global field and global imagining: Bourdieu and worldwide higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29(3), 303-315.

Keywords:

Higher education, choice, studies, factors.