The heterogeneity of new entrants and the selectivity of higher education institutions: Some results using data from the CHEERS project

• Published in: Higher education 2002-10, Vol.44 (3/4), p.379-392
• Main Author: Murdoch, Jake
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access to education; Admission Criteria; Ausland; Auswahl; Auswahlverfahren; Business; Career planning; Careers; College Admission; Colleges; Comparative Analysis; Cream; Data analysis; Deutschland; Education; Employment; Europa; Europe; Foreign Countries; Frankreich; Graduate students; Großbritannien; Heterogeneity; High school students; Higher Education; Hochschule; Hochschulexpansion; Hochschulzugang; Hochschulzulassung; Institutions; Italien; Japan; Karriere; Kriterium; Occupations; Private colleges; Secondary schools; Studienbewerber; Universities; Universität; Wettbewerb; Wirtschaftswissenschaft
• ISSN: 0018-1560; 1573-174X
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1019821717970

This paper attempts to test whether there still exist differences in selectivity between higher education institutions. Data from the CHEERS (Careers after Higher Education: a European Research Survey) project enables us to describe the differences in institutional selectivity in each country across different fields. We ask the question: how selective are institutions today, particularly in the case of Europe and Japan? In order to describe the selectivity of higher education institutions for each field in each country, we use the entry grade given by each graduate in the CHEERS data. Despite the differences in the grading references in the different countries, these data can be used to assess the heterogeneity of the selectivity of each institution within the fields in each country. To do so, we computed a mean for each institution/department (using all graduates from each institution in the sample). We then computed a mean for all the institutions/departments and the dispersion coefficient (which was multiplied by a hundred). Countries with a low dispersion coefficient appear to be homogeneous in terms of selection across the different institutions, whereas those with a high one have institutions clearly more selective than others. Using the example of Business studies, it can be shown that the selection process of higher education institutions is more or less heterogeneous according to countries. Differences between types of institution also explain the differences in selectivity between institutions in some countries but not in others. (HRK/text adopted).