What determines the loyalty of university graduates? Analysis of sociodemographic factors and university experience

Abstract

Behavioral intention of graduates says a lot about performance in higher education. Knowing the determinants of loyalty is a strategic issue. The objective of this work is to analyze the loyalty of university graduates (willing to follow university studies again and/or repeat the same qualification), while identifying the decisive socio-demographic factors (sex, age, father and mother qualifications) and related to university characteristics and experience (type of university, localization, scholarships, mobility, skills, among others) that may motivate their loyalty, especially considering whether they are employed or they have quickly entered the labor market after completing university. The data used were extracted from a survey administered by the National Statistics Institute of Spain (INE) to a sample of 31,651 graduates. Willingness to repeat their university studies was stronger where parents had better educational levels, students received scholarships, or they participated in exchange programs. Regarding their willingness to repeat the course, the only factors that strengthened loyalty were having followed other studies. Moreover, rapid entry to the employment market significatively conditioned loyalty. This study represents a solid contribution to the literature on university loyalty and interesting insights may be drawn from its findings for the management of the educational system.