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Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Influences on Students' Choice of College Major
Charles A. Malgwi , Martha A. Howe & Priscilla A. Burnaby
To cite this article: Charles A. Malgwi , Martha A. Howe & Priscilla A. Burnaby (2005) Influences on Students' Choice of College Major, Journal of Education for Business, 80:5, 275-282, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.80.5.275-282
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.80.5.275-282
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.
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n this study, we examined factors that influence incoming business students’ initial choice of college major, as well as any later changes to that choice. Many students enter business school unsure of which business major to pur-sue, whereas others make an initial choice and later change it. Because the college experience is expected to have an effect on the factors that influence the student’s choice of major (Cohen & Hanno, 1993; Mauldin, Crain, & Mounce, 2000), it seems likely that those factors would be different for incoming freshmen as opposed to upperclassmen, with possible further differences related to gender. Although previous research has clearly estab-lished that there are many influences involved in a student’s choice of a busi-ness major (Cohen & Hanno; Kim, Markham, & Cangelosi, 2002; Noel, Michaels, & Levas, 2003; Pritchard, Potter, & Saccucci, 2004), understand-ing how these influences may differ by gender and by stage of the student’s tenure at college can help college advi-sors work more effectively with students to refine their major choices. In addi-tion, business schools need to be aware of the reasons for changes of major, par-ticularly those that can be traced to dis-satisfaction with the original major.
In this study, we examined the fol-lowing issues:
Q1. What general factors influence the major selected by incoming fresh-men and transfer students?
Q2. Are the factors that influence freshmen and transfer students different depending on gender?
Q3. What factors influence later changes of major?
Q4. Are the factors that influence changes of major different depending on gender?
Previous Studies
Although research in this area stems from many different settings, in this
study we focused on business students. To date, research has established that students choosing business majors (as opposed to nonbusiness majors) are affected by parental occupation and socioeconomic status, with the strength of that effect differing by gender (Lep-pel, Williams, & Waldauer, 2001). Within the business school, choice of a specific major is linked to personality traits, values, and interpersonal behav-ior and is again mediated by gender dif-ferences (Giacomino & Akers, 1998; Noel et al., 2003). Although factors have been found to vary somewhat by specific business major choice (Gul, Andrew, Leong, & Ismail, 1989), in general, students appear to be strongly influenced by their interest in the sub-ject, the availability of jobs, their apti-tude for the subject, and the earnings potential related to that major (Kim et al., 2002; Mauldin et al., 2000; Pritchard et al., 2004).
In an investigation of the differential influences on students as they progress through their academic career, Mauldin et al. (2000) found that accounting majors tended to decide on their majors during the semester in which they took the first accounting course. The course itself was not particularly important in making the choice, but the accounting instructor was influential. Cohen et al. (1993) found that the influences on
Influences on Students’ Choice of
College Major
ABSTRACT. In this study, the authors surveyed undergraduate stu-dents at a large northeastern business school concerning influences on their choices of major. The authors exam-ined factors such as why students ini-tially select particular majors and which positive and negative factors relate to any later changes in those choices. Results show that interest in the subject was the most important factor for incoming freshmen, regard-less of gender. For women, the next most influential factor was aptitude in the subject. However, men were sig-nificantly more influenced by the major’s potential for career advance-ment and job opportunities and the level of compensation in the field. Stu-dents appeared to be driven to change their major because of positive factors about the new major, rather than nega-tive factors related to the old major.
accounting majors changed somewhat with the increased experience of the stu-dent in the major. Similarly, Strasser, Ozgur, and Schroeder (2002) surveyed both sophomore and senior business majors. They found that although sopho-mores and seniors listed the same influ-ences on choice of major, sophomores placed more emphasis on interest in the subject and seniors placed more impor-tance on career objectives. The authors pointed out that they did not examine the influences on incoming freshmen, and they suggested that their model may not be predictive with that pool of subjects. No researchers to date have examined change of major and the influences that relate to that decision. In particular, the extent to which the change is driven by negative factors about the original major versus positive factors about the new major is important for business schools to understand. With this knowledge, it may be possible for business schools to address real or perceived shortcomings in a particular major.
Gender differences in nonbusiness majors have been studied fairly fre-quently, but there is less research relat-ed to business majors and gender dif-ferences. For example, investigating nonbusiness majors, Lackland and DeLisi (2001) found a gender differ-ence in students’ perceptions about their aptitudes for different majors, their humanitarian concerns regarding the various majors, and the utility of available majors. Turner and Bowen, in their 1999 study of gender differences’ relation to SAT score differences, con-cluded that abilities as measured by the SAT did little to explain gender differ-ences in choices of a nonbusiness major. In terms of salary expectations, students (both male and female) in male-dominated majors tended to expect higher salaries than did students in non–male-dominated majors (Sumn-er & Brown, 1996). Giacomino et al. (1998) suggested that there were signif-icant differences in the values held by different business majors and that gen-der differences further affected these relationships. To extend that research, we sought to examine the effect of gen-der differences on the influences that relate to initial choice of business major and later changes in that choice.
Method
We developed a questionnaire to col-lect data on factors that influence busi-ness students’ major selections. We tabu-lated the responses and compared them in two ways. First, we determined the percentage response for the total popula-tion for each influencing factor for majors selected by (a) incoming fresh-men and (b) for those students who changed majors. Then, we compared the factors for gender differences. We used a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare men’s versus women’s means to determine their level of significance.
Survey Instrument
To ensure that the data gathered from the questionnaire were reliable and accurate, we developed the document in three stages. The first stage consisted of assuring that all the material factors that influenced students were included in the survey. We asked 70 sophomores in an accounting course to list which factors influenced them to select their majors. We developed the list of factors for the pilot questionnaire by using the infor-mation received from the students and supplementing it with findings from previous research.
In spring 2002, we tested the pilot questionnaire using the Perseus Survey Solutions software to collect the data. We used over 500 responses to refine the document, clarify the questions and instructions, and develop the final ques-tionnaire. In the final survey document, we asked students to indicate student ID number, class standing, sex, age, whether they had transferred to the col-lege, and how many times they changed their major. We instructed them to eval-uate the influence of a list of factors on their original choice of major on a 5-point Likert scale. For later changes of major, we asked them to again use a 5-point Likert scale to evaluate a list of positive factors related to the new major, as well as negative factors related to the original major. (See the Appendix for the actual survey document.)
Subjects
The population consisted of
approxi-mately 3,800 undergraduate students at the business college in April, 2003. The business university offers business and business-related majors and minors, all of which are infused with information technology and supported by an exten-sive preparation in the arts and sciences. A total of 788 students responded to the survey, for a 20% response rate. As we show in Table 1, 184 freshmen, 283 sophomores, 225 juniors, and 182 seniors responded. Sixty percent (466) of the respondents were women, and 92% ranged in age from 18 to 24 years. About 16% of the respondents entered the college as transfer students rather than as freshmen, with female transfer students outnumbering male transfer students by about two to one.
The data in Table 2 show the break-down of majors selected by the male versus the female respondents when they entered the college, either as fresh-men or as transfer students. About two thirds (n= 524, 68%) of the incoming students chose a specific major, where-as 32% (n= 247) were undecided. Out of the 18 business and business-related majors offered at the college, accoun-tancy attracted the highest number of incoming students, with 14.5% of the respondents selecting that major. Accountancy was followed by finance (10.8%), management (10%), and mar-keting (9.2%). A breakdown by gender highlights differences in those choices— for incoming female students, the most frequently selected major was accoun-tancy (selected by 17% of responding women), and the women’s next most frequent choices were marketing (12.2%) and management (10.5%). In contrast, incoming male students most frequently chose finance (selected by 17.4% of responding men); this selec-tion was followed by computer informa-tion systems (10.8%) and accountancy (10.8%).
Procedure
We sent the survey by e-mail to the undergraduate students of the college in early April, 2003 and collected the data over a 3-week period. We instructed the participants to open and answer the sur-vey only once. We reviewed the results for duplicate student ID numbers and
incomplete surveys, which we removed from the database. The Perseus Survey Solutions software summarized the data
by total number of responses per ques-tion and percentages of responses by question.
Results
The first research question (Q1) sought to ascertain which factors influ-enced incoming freshmen and transfer students in their initial choice of major. Omitting those who were undecided, the data in Table 3 indicate the factors that influenced students’ choice of majors upon entrance to the college, either as freshmen or as transfer stu-dents. Students used a 5-point Likert scale to rate each factor’s influence in their choices, with 5 representing a major influence and 1 indicating no influence. The most influential factor overall was interest in the subject, which had a mean of 4.36, followed by the potential for career advancement (M = 3.95) and the major’s potential job opportunities (M = 3.88). Three other factors were rated highly: aptitude in the subject (3.77), level of pay in the field (3.74), and the college’s reputation in the field (3.60). The students reported a lower degree of influence from various advisors, including parents, high school guidance counselors, and high school teachers/advisors. A related course in the subject in high school was rated rel-atively low in influence, as was the col-lege’s open house, at which information about various majors was presented.
To gain more insight into the influ-ences on major selected by incoming students, our second research question (Q2) examined the extent to which male and female respondents differed. As the data in Table 3 show, we found statisti-cally significant differences in the rela-tive influence of the level of pay in the field (p= .001), the potential for career advancement (p= .002), and the poten-tial job opportunities (p = .008), with men finding those factors more impor-tant than women did. Women were sig-nificantly more likely than men to be influenced by their aptitude in the sub-ject (p= .016), which was 2nd in impor-tance for them but only 5th for the men, and by a related course taught in high school (p = .009), which was 7th and 8th in importance for men and women, respectively.
The third research question (Q3) focused on influences on students’ later changes of major. For these changes, the factors that influenced students could TABLE 1. Baseline Demographics of Responding Students
Men Women Men Women Characteristic n % (n) (n) (%) (%) Class
Freshman 183 23.70 70 113 38.25 61.75 Sophomore 183 23.70 85 98 46.45 53.55 Junior 225 29.15 81 144 36.00 64.00 Senior 181 23.45 69 112 38.12 61.88 Total 772 100.00 305 467 39.51 60.49 Age (yrs.)
18 69 8.92 23 46 33.33 66.67 19 199 25.74 75 124 37.69 62.31 20 195 25.23 85 110 43.59 56.41 21 148 19.15 57 91 38.51 61.49 22 80 10.35 29 51 36.25 63.75 23 13 1.68 6 7 46.15 53.85 24 7 0.91 6 1 85.71 14.29 >25 62 8.02 25 37 40.32 59.68 Total 773 100.00 306 467 39.59 60.41 Entered as
Transfer 126 16.40 43 83 34.13 65.87 Freshman 642 83.60 260 382 40.50 59.50 Total 768 100.00 303 465 39.45 60.55
TABLE 2. Majors Chosen at Entry to the College
Men Women Men Women Major n % (n) (n) (%) (%) Undecided 247 32.00 95 152 31.20 32.60 Accountancy (AC) 112 14.50 33 79 10.80 17.00 Accounting information Corporate finance and
accounting (FA) 20 2.60 8 12 2.60 2.60 Managerial economics
(ME) 4 0.50 4 0 1.30 0.00 Economics–finance (EF) 31 4.00 23 8 7.54 1.70 Finance (FI) 83 10.80 53 30 17.40 6.50 Information design and
corporate
communication (IDCC) 9 1.20 1 8 0.30 1.70 Management (MG) 78 10.00 29 49 9.50 10.50 Marketing (MK) 71 9.20 14 57 4.60 12.20 Mathematical science (MA) 10 1.30 2 8 0.70 1.70 English (EN) 3 0.40 0 3 0.00 0.60 History (HI) 1 0.10 1 0 0.30 0.00 International studies (INT) 16 2.10 1 15 0.30 3.20 Liberal arts (LA) 5 0.60 2 3 0.70 0.60 Philosophy (PH) 2 0.30 1 1 0.30 0.20 Public policy and social
change (PSC) 2 0.30 2 0 0.70 0.00 Total 771 100.00 305 466 100.00 100.00
either be positive or negative. For exam-ple, students could be switching majors owing to (a) their dissatisfaction with the previous major or (b) their positive expectations about the new major. About half (52%) of the respondents to the survey had not changed their majors, 41% changed their majors once, and 7% changed their majors more than once.
In Table 4, we present the descriptive statistics for the positive factors that influenced students who changed their majors. In addition to students who changed from one specific major to another, this analysis includes the 170 students who were originally undecided
and later changed to specific majors. Of the 10 choices listed as possible positive factors, respondents identified interest in the subject, career and job opportuni-ties, and high level of compensation as the three most influential factors prompting their choice of the new majors, with means of 4.48, 3.71, and 3.45, respectively.
It is also possible that students’ deci-sions to change majors might arise from negative factors related to the old major. (Those changing from “undecided” were not included in this analysis.) The overall mean response for each of the negative factors, as shown in Table 5,
ranged from a low of 1.40 for the 150-hour requirement to a high of 2.68 for level of career opportunity.
The fourth research question (Q4) examined gender differences related to changes of major. For positive factors, in Table 4 we present anFtest of one-way ANOVA for gender differences.
The data in Table 4 show that there were no gender-based differences that were significant at the .05 level, but the high level of compensation in the new major was marginally more influential for men than women (p= .055).
In Table 5, we present an ANOVA F -test statistic for -testing the gender dif-ferences associated with the negative factors influencing the change of majors. Although none of the factors were evaluated as being more than a minor influence for either gender, some differences between men and women were significant at the .05 level. Female students’ decision to change majors was more strongly influenced by the diffi-culty of that major (p= .021) and by advice from their college advisor (p = .024). Also, the influence of discussions with other students was marginally more important for women in their deci-sion to change from their original majors (p= .054).
Summary and Implications
Although many researchers have examined the issue of college major selection in general, in this study we focused on business students, analyzing their major choices as they entered the college, as well as their changes of major later in their academic careers. We also studied gender differences related to both initial and later major changes.
In relation to the choice of major made by incoming students, our find-ings are generally consistent with those of earlier research. For both genders, interest in the subject is the primary influence, as found by Kim et al. (2002) and Strasser et al. (2002). Strasser et al. also found, to their surprise, that high school courses, high school advisors, and even parents do not appear to be particularly influential in the initial major choice. Interestingly, although Strasser et al. used sophomore subjects, in this study we found essentially the TABLE 3. Factors Influencing Majors Chosen Upon Entry to the College,
With Gender Differences
M
Factor n M Men Women
Interest in subject 526 4.36 4.32 4.41 .255 Aptitude (skill) in the subject 516 3.77 3.63 3.88 .016* College’s reputation 516 3.60 3.53 3.67 .207 Parent/guardian 522 2.37 2.36 2.35 .938 High school guidance counselor 526 1.66 1.61 1.68 .416 Related subject in high school 526 2.55 2.36 2.68 .009* College open house 526 1.77 1.71 1.83 .223 High school advisor/teacher 526 1.95 1.84 2.02 .101 Potential job opportunities 525 3.88 4.05 3.77 .008* Potential for career advancement 526 3.95 4.13 3.82 .002* Level of pay (compensation) in
the field 526 3.74 3.95 3.60 .001*
Note. Respondents rated factors on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 5 (major influence) to 1 (no influence).
*Ftest showing significance at the .05 level.
Level of significance
TABLE 4. Positive Factors Influencing Change of Major, With Gender Dif-ferences
M
Factor n M Men Women
Interest in subject 365 4.48 4.49 4.47 .791 Discussion with other students 360 3.12 3.06 3.16 .432 College advisor 359 2.14 2.01 2.24 .096 Advising nights 360 1.72 1.72 1.72 1.000 Instructors 363 2.93 2.87 2.97 .473 Introductory courses 362 3.35 3.31 3.37 .684 150-hour requirement 358 1.54 1.64 1.47 .130 Career and job opportunities 363 3.71 3.77 3.69 .516 Parent/guardian 365 2.31 2.30 2.30 .986 High level of compensation 363 3.45 3.62 3.35 .055
Note. Respondents rated factors on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 5 (major influence) to 1 (no influence).
Level of significance
same result with freshmen, who might be expected to be even more heavily influenced by those factors. Although both men and women were most strongly influenced in their initial major choice by their interest in the subject, there were several gender differences in other fac-tors. For example, women were strongly influenced by their aptitude in the sub-ject and men significantly less so, whereas men were significantly more influenced than women by the level of pay in the field. These results present opportunities for researchers to explore the sources of those differences.
The results related to later changes of major extend the previous research in interesting ways. Previous research has not focused on changes in major in any depth, but, because almost half of our respondents changed their majors later in their academic careers, it is important to understand the factors that influence such changes. First, interest in the sub-ject is a very strong and enduring influ-ence for both men and women. Our results indicate that, as with the initial choice, interest in the subject is the pri-mary influence for later changes of major. This finding contrasts with that of Strasser et al. (2002), who found that seniors are less influenced by their inter-est in the subject than are sophomores, and with Mauldin et al. (2002), who found that sophomore and junior accounting majors rated interest in the
subject as less important than career opportunities. In this study, we found that career and job opportunities ranked second to interest in the subject in terms of relative influence in changes of major. Another interesting conclusion of our study is that men and women appear to become more alike in the factors that influence their major choice over time. Although there were several significant differences noted in the factors that influenced the initial major selections for incoming students, there were no significant gender differences related to positive factors in later changes of major. In fact, if the positive factors are ranked, the top five are the same for both genders, except that the third and the fourth exchange places.
Our findings also indicate that posi-tive factors are far more important in the decision to change majors than are neg-ative factors. Strasser et al. (2002) found this to be true for accounting majors, and this study extends that finding to business majors in general. Thus, busi-ness schools may be relieved to find that students do not appear to leave a major because of dissatisfaction but instead tend to gravitate to a new major because of its positive factors.
This study was not free from potential limitations. Our use of a single business college and our focus on business majors limit the generalizability of the results. Further research could also involve
stu-dents from across the liberal arts and other schools. More research related to gender differences in choice of major would be beneficial, especially as related to the apparent convergence of influ-ences on men and women over their aca-demic careers. In addition, researchers could follow up with graduates who are now working to see whether their expect-ations were met regarding their major choices. Results of such additional stud-ies would be beneficial to students, advi-sors, business schools, and employers.
REFERENCES
Cohen, J., & Hanno, D. (1993). An analysis of underlying constructs affecting the choice of accounting as a major. Issues in Accounting Education, 8(2), 219–238.
Giacomino, D., & Akers, M. (1998). An examina-tion of the differences between personal values and value types of female and male accounting and nonaccounting majors. Issues in Account-ing Education, 13(3), 565–585.
Gul, F., Andrew, B., Leong, S., & Ismail, Z. (1989). Factors influencing choice of discipline of study—Accountancy, engineering, law and med-icine. Accounting and Finance, 28(2), 93–102. Kim, D., Markham, F. S., & Cangelosi, J. D.
(2002). Why students pursue the business degree: A comparison of business majors across universities. Journal of Education for Business, 78,28–32.
Lackland, A., & DeLisi, R. (2001). Students’ choices of college majors that are gender tradi-tional and nontraditradi-tional. Journal of College Student Development, 42(1), 39–48.
Leppel, K., Williams, M., & Waldauer, C. (2001). The impact of parental occupation and socio-economic status on choice of college major.
Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 22(4), 373–394.
Mauldin, S., Crain, J., & Mounce, P. (2000). The accounting principles instructor’s influence on students’ decision to major in accounting. Jour-nal of Education for Business, 75,142–148. Noel, M., Michaels, C., & Levas, M. (2003). The
relationship of personality traits and self-moni-toring behavior to choice of business major.
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153–157.
Pritchard, R., Potter, G., & Saccucci, M. (2004). The selection of a business major: Elements influencing student choice and implications for outcomes assessment. Journal of Education for Business, 79,152–157.
Strasser, S., Ozgur, C., & Schroeder, D. (2002). Selecting a business college major: An analysis of criteria and choice using the analytical hier-archy process. Mid-American Journal of Busi-ness, 17,47–56.
Sumner, K., & Brown, T. (1996). Men, women, and money: Exploring the role of gender, gen-der-linkage of college major and career-infor-mation sources in salary expectations. Sex Roles, 34,11–12, 823–840.
Turner, S., & Bowen, W. (1999). Choice of major: The changing (unchanging) gender gap. Indus-trial & Labor Relations Review, 52(2), 289–313.
TABLE 5. Negative Factors Influencing Change of Major, With Gender Dif-ferences
M
Factor n M Men Women
Discussion with other students 195 2.40 2.18 2.55 .054 Prior major was too difficult 195 1.90 1.64 2.08 .021* Prior major not challenging 193 1.93 1.70 2.03 .076 College advisor 194 1.56 1.36 1.70 .024* Instructors 194 2.13 2.10 2.17 .735 Introductory courses 190 2.57 2.38 2.69 .168 150-hour requirement 190 1.41 1.31 1.48 .221 Level of career/job opportunity 195 2.68 2.68 2.68 .991 Parent/guardian 194 1.88 1.79 1.91 .503 Low level of compensation 195 2.20 2.14 2.24 .663
Note. Respondents rated factors on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 5 (major influence) to 1 (no influence).
*Ftest showing significance at the .05 level.
Level of significance
APPENDIX
Survey Document: Influences on Choice of Major
The purpose of the survey is to ascertain the factors that influenced your academic major choices. Please open, complete, and submit only once. This is expected to take less than 5 minutes to complete.
1. Student ID # 2. Gender
Male Female 3. Age
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 or more
4. Are you a transfer student? Yes
No
5. Indicate your current academic status/class code. First semester freshman, Class code 1
Second semester freshman, Class code 2 First semester sophomore, Class code 3 Second semester sophomore, Class code 4 First semester junior, Class code 5 Second semester junior, Class code 6 First semester senior, Class code 7 Second semester senior, Class code 8
6. What was your major when you came to this college as an incoming freshman or as a transfer student?
Undecided. If you choose this, please skip question #7 and go directly to question #8.
AC = Accountancy
AIS = Accounting Information Systems BC = Business Communication CS = Computer Information Systems FA = Corporate Finance & Accounting ME = Managerial Economics
EF = Economics–Finance FI = Finance
IDCC = Information Design and Corporate Communication MG = Management
MK = Marketing
MA = Mathematical Sciences EN = English
HI = History
INT = International Studies LA = Liberal Arts
LAMA = Liberal Arts with concentration in Mathematical Sciences PH = Philosophy
PSC = Public Policy and Social Change
(appendix continues)
APPENDIX (Continued)
7. As an incoming freshman or transfer student, to what extent was your choice of major influenced by the following factors? Please evaluate the degree of influence of each factor using a scale of 1 to 5 where: 1 = no influenceand 5 = major influence.
3 4
1 2 Somewhat Somewhat 5 No Minor minor major Major influence influence influence influence influence Interest in the subject
Aptitude (skill) in the subject
College’s reputation in the subject
Parent/guardian High school guidance
counselor High school related
subjects
College Open House High school
advisor/teacher Potential job
opportunities Potential for career
advancement Level of compensation
(pay) in this field
8. How many times have you changed your major? (including from undecided) Not changed—my major is the same as when I entered this college. If you choose this, please go directly to the end of the survey and submit.
One time Two times Three times Four times or more
9. What is your current major? Undecided
AC = Accountancy
AIS = Accounting Information Systems BC = Business Communication CS = Computer Information Systems FA = Corporate Finance & Accounting ME = Managerial Economics
EF = Economics–Finance FI = Finance
IDCC = Information Design and Corporate Communication MG = Management
MK = Marketing
MA = Mathematical Sciences EN = English
HI = History
INT = International Studies LA = Liberal Arts
LAMA = Liberal Arts with concentration in Mathematical Sciences PH = Philosophy
PSC = Public Policy and Social Change
If you have never changed your major, please go directly to the end of the survey and submit. If you came in as a freshman or transfer student as undecided, please answer question 10 only and then submit. If you have ever changed your major from one area to another, please answer questions 10 and 11 and then submit.
(appendix continues)
APPENDIX (Continued)
10. Positive Influences:In selecting your current majorto what extent were you
positivelyinfluenced by the following factors? Please evaluate each factor on its level of influence leading you to change to your current major. Use a scale of 1 to 5, where: 1 = no influenceand 5 = major influence.
3 4
1 2 Somewhat Somewhat 5 No Minor minor major Major influence influence influence influence influence Interest in the subject
Discussion with other students
College advisor Advising nights Instructors
Introductory courses 150-hour requirement
for the CPA exam Availability of career/
job opportunities Parent/guardian High level of
compensation (pay) in this field
If your most recent change of major was from “undecided,” please go directly to the end of the survey and submit. Otherwise please answer question #11.
11. Negative Influences:For your most recent change of major, to what extent did the following factors affect your decision to switch out ofyour previous major? Please evaluate each factor on its level of influence leading you to drop your previous major. Use a scale of 1 to 5, where: 1 = no influenceand 5 = major influence.
3 4
1 2 Somewhat Somewhat 5 No Minor minor major Major influence influence influence influence influence Discussion with other
students Prior major too
difficult Prior major not
challenging College advisor/
instructors Introductory courses 150-hour requirements
for the CPA exam Level of career/job
opportunities Parent/guardian Low level of
compensation (pay) in this field
Thank you for your time and participation.
