Determining fit: the role of matching procedures in prospective higher education students’ enrolment behaviour

Abstract

In the Netherlands, the implementation of mandatory procedures in which prospective students do a final check on their initial higher education program choice (so-called matching procedures), were introduced to improve student-program fit. We argue that prospective students who lack feelings of fit with the program during these matching procedures are less likely to finalise their enrolment. Using data of 13 programs at four Dutch universities, the association between various matching procedures and finalising enrolment, and finalising enrolment before and after the implementation of matching were examined. Enrolment rates were lower in programs with more intensive matching procedures and higher in pre-matching cohorts than in matching cohorts, indicating the potential value of pre-enrolment fit checks. In conclusion, this study gives indications that it can be worthwhile to invest in guiding prospective students in their program choice by obliging them to test their fit with the program through intensive matching procedures.