Lemons in the university: asymmetric information, academic shopping and subject selection

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the impact that information has on subject selection, if the information available to students during subject selection was considered adequate and if this was related to the increasing number of students taking an academic shopping approach to selection. Applying the theory of asymmetric information to a survey of 413 undergraduate students, we ascertained the quality and usefulness of information that was available to them during course selection. The results show that as students progress through their degree, they are more likely to find the course information inadequate and that the adoption rate of academic shopping increases. This demonstrates that the number of students dropping out of courses early could be reduced by providing more timely and accurate information.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic shopping
• information asymmetry
• subject selection
• university education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).