Students’ and Their Parents’ Choice of Higher Education Institution in the Era of Digitalization

The relevance of the study is caused by great challenges facing the educational system. First of all, we mean the degree of compliance between the level and quality of training provided by the education system and real requirements of the labor market where the skillful knowledge of digital technologies comes to the fore. Important in this aspect is how applicants and their parents choose the university for training. In this regard, this article aims to analyze the issue of applicants’ and their parents’ choice in relation to higher education. The leading method for this study is the sociological method with the subsequent interpretation of results, that allows to make a comprehensive review of the structure of the main factors affecting the choice of an educational institution for training. Taking into account that parents of applicants play a significant role by the decision making process in this sphere, their position was also studied. The article presents results of the aggregated digital data obtained in the course of sociological research (questionnaire in the electronic form). The authors describe the most significant factors influencing the choice of an educational institution, as well as the main differences in relation to the factors affecting the choice of an educational institution by parents and applicants. The materials of the article are of practical value for employees of higher educational institutions, scientists, applicants, students and parents of future students.