Regardless of their high school grade averages, the attitudes and motivations of university applicants will have a direct bearing on their engagement and success as undergraduates, their tendency to pursue graduate studies, and ultimately, their engagement and commitment as alumni. Ultimately, results for student engagement and effective alumni cultivation are dependent upon student recruitment. 

Academica Group surveyed 50,000 Canadian university applicants using a new psychometric instrument designed to measure their belief in the financial and intangible returns of post-secondary education, and their motivation for pursuing it - careerism, altruism, expectation, or personal fulfillment. The results, though still exploratory, point toward a new science of understanding applicant psychology, and segmentation schemes for more effective recruitment strategies and messages.

The 2006 study found that Canadian university applicants fall almost evenly into one of four groups, and that grade averages could not predict which one: Enthusiasts, who are highly motivated across the board; Humanists, who ignore societal, peer and familial expectations, but are motivated by altruism and campus life; Conformists, who are strongly motivated by parental and peer expectations, but doubt the ROI of a university education; and Drifters, who are singularly unmotivated.

Academica Group vice-president Ken Steele will present an intriguing and informative overview of these preliminary findings, and their implications for student recruitment, student engagement, and alumni relations.

View slides as Acrobat PDF (232 KB)