The perceived value of cross-border self-funded postgraduate education in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study examines the perceived value of higher education by mainland Chinese students enrolled in self-funded taught postgraduate courses (STPCs) at a prestigious university in Hong Kong. Using a quantitative research approach, this study adapts the questionnaire from Lai et al.’s (2012) research and analyses the resulting 269 responses. The findings indicate that career prospects, parental influences and social interaction on campus are strong drivers of value in a self-funded taught postgraduate education setting. In addition, when comparing value judgments on demographic and social variables, the results show that students across all disciplines believe that the image projected by the host university adds value to their STPC degrees. The results also indicate that students from the faculties of Business & Economics and Engineering exhibit high satisfaction regarding the functional value associated with the career prospects brought by their degree; however, students from the faculty of Education are most concerned with the value their degree may bring with regard to vocational opportunities and future earnings.