Utilizing Consensual Qualitative Research to Explore Student Decision-Making in Pharmacy School and Campus Selection

To explore factors influencing pharmacy students' school choice, and campus choice for schools with a multi-campus professional program.

Students from two campuses and each professional year at one pharmacy school participated in focus groups exploring factors that influenced their choice of pharmacy school and campus. A consensual qualitative research (CQR) approach was utilized for semi-structured focus groups and data analysis. A total of 38 students participated in one of 7 focus groups.

Student choices were influenced by characteristics of the program such as program prestige, curricular strengths, unique educational opportunities, types of learning communities, faculty accessibility, graduate outcomes, and positive admissions and recruitment experiences. Financial considerations also played an important role in decision making and included tuition and other costs, the availability of scholarships, and reciprocity agreements with other states. Finally, geographic location contributed to decisions on school and campus choice including proximity to home and family, familiarity with the schools, geographical ties and pharmacy opportunities in the state, the desire to experience a new area to live, and characteristics of the local community.

Attributes of geography, financial considerations, and curricular offerings are significant contributors to choice. Conducting focus groups is one way to determine the factors that are most important to pharmacy students and to develop more effective recruiting efforts and tailored investments building on their strengths. In a competitive landscape for enrollment and admissions, understanding the drivers of school and campus choice is critical for schools seeking to attract and retain students.