FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ CHOICE OF CUSTOMS BROKER

PROGRAM BASIS FOR CRAFTING STUDENTS GUIDE TO

UNIVERSITY OF CHOICE

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Customs Administration

Lyceum of the Philippines University
Manila

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration

Bautista, John Paul De Jesus

Pabon, Mary Sapphire Baguino
Tagarao, Karen Claire Diploma

DATE
April 25, 2021
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page i

Approval Sheet ii

Table of Contents iii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Background and Rationale 1

Statement of the Problem 2

Hypothesis 3

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework 4

Scope and Limitation of the Study 5

Significance of the Study 6

Definition of Terms 7

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Related Literature 9

Related Studies 14

Synthesis 19

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

Research Design 21

Respondents of the Study 22

Data Gathering Instrument 23

Data Gathering Procedures 24

Statistical Treatment of Data 26

References 27
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 3

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background and Rationale

Customs administration plays a vital role as one of the revenue-generating

body of our country, it enables international trade transaction to go as smoothly as

possible and administer the movement of goods whilst ensuring the safety of our

country from smugglers and other fraud.

The world economy's intensive globalization has resulted in the emergence of

new international economic and trade union organizations. The globalization of world

trade and the development of its regulatory system, as well as modern integration

and modernization of customs services, these changes necessitate good training

and retraining practices for customs officers. Thus, the Commission on Higher

Education (CHED) of the Philippines redesigned the curriculum for Customs

Administration program to be able to cope up with the ever-growing globalization,

furthermore, the government also prioritized the professionalizing of the customs

broker profession by having honest and credible licensure examination, which will

verify the professional’s broad knowledge in the field. The purpose of verifying the

candidate's broad knowledge of customs subjects is to protect not only the country's

interests, but also the interests of those who participate in international trade.

Philippine Higher Education Institutions (HEI) offer a Bachelor of Science in Customs

Administration (BSCA) degree program to prepare candidates to meet this

requirement and develop them as customs brokers who are competent and

knowledgeable in import and export operations.

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 4

Today, the attainment of good academic qualifications may be said to no

longer suffice the security of employment, but in the case of BSCA and other

academic programs that require licensure examinations, a good academic

background may assist graduates in passing the licensure exam, which will provide

them with better employment opportunities. Therefore, assessing the performance of

top customs administration school in terms of their licensure examination

performance in the last five years (2015-2019) is very helpful for incoming students

in choosing the best school for them.

Having a guideline for students to enable them to choose the best school for

their own criteria will enhance the productivity of the students due to the fact that the

school of their choosing will most likely share their common interests and in turn, will

result to the betterment of their academic achievements. This claim is backed up by

the study conducted by researchers Moody, 2020, Sanoff, et. Al 2007 etcetera and

their studies with regards to the general factors that influence the college selection of

students and rankings of the schools which indicates and influences the student’s

college choice helps this paper to navigate the student’s university choosing patterns

and enable us to create a guideline for students to choose the best university for

them.

Lyceum of the Philippines University is one of the Top University in handling

the course Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration. It is a very notable

university tallying numerous achievements in the licensure examination results for

the said course and is known to be the home of great Customs Brokers in the

Philippines because of the quality of this institution’s faculty.

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 5

The present study is regarding the salient features of top performing schools

offering the Customs Administration program based on the Customs Broker

Licensure Examination Ranking in year 2015-2019 and its influence on the college

choice of upcoming first year students.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the salient features of top performing schools

offering the Customs Administration program based on the Customs Broker

Licensure Examination Ranking in year 2015-2019 and its influence on the college

choice of upcoming first year students.

Specifically, this will seek to answer the following questions:

1. What is the socio-demographic profile of the respondents in terms of the

following:

1.1 Name;

1.2 Age;

1.3 Gender; and

1.4 Socio-economic status

2. What are the factors or best practices that contributes to the performance of

the schools that offers the Customs Administration program?

3. How do top performing Customs Administration universities prepare and

hone the skills of their students in mastering the customs and tariff subjects?

4. What are the implications/impact of being one of the top performing schools

to the job placement of the graduates?

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 6

5. How does employment success rate of graduates influence the students’

choice on Higher Learning Institution?

Hypotheses

Null Hypothesis

There is no significant influence or effect on the students’ decision in choosing

their university campuses. The performance of universities in Customs Broker

Licensure Examination does not affect the students’ choice on Higher Learning

Institution.

Alternative Hypothesis

There is a significant influence or effect on the students’ decision in choosing

their university campuses. The performance of universities in Customs Broker

Licensure Examination affects the students’ choice on Higher Learning Institution.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

Theoretical Framework

The related literatures and studies showcase the factors that affects the

students’ decision making in choosing their university campus, the researchers

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 7

gathered sources that illustrates the reason why first year Customs Administration

students chose their respective Universities or Colleges as their University Campus.

The following are the brief overviews of the theories that provides useful

information about the study.

Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)

Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model

created by Venkatesh et.al (2003) explains the level of acceptance regarding the

concept of information technology. The said theory will assess whether the user will

be able to accept and effectively utilize the new technologies. This model is also

used to provide assistance to managers and decision makers in evaluating the

success of introducing technology into the organization as well as educational

institutions. It intercepts key concepts such as Performance Expectancy, Social

Influence, Effort Expectancy and Facilitating Conditions, which were used in past

studies (e.g., Moody,2020) in determining the factors that affects the students’

choice of university to attend.

Conceptual Framework

The study aims to determine the salient features of the top performing

universities in Customs Broker Licensure Examination (CBLE) in year 2015-2019

and its influence on the college choice first-year students.

The researchers will also identify the factors to be considered as contributors

to the performance of universities offering the Customs Administration program as

well as its relationship and effects to the students’ choice on Higher Learning
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 8

Institution. This will be measured through survey questionnaires that will be

distributed and answered by the respondents.

The researchers will analyze the acquired data from the questionnaires to

meet the main objectives of the study and to be able to create and utilize an effective

guide for the upcoming freshmen of Lyceum of the Philippines-Manila. Below is the

conceptual framework which outlines the relationship of the relevant variables or key

concepts of the study.

Performance of Top Customs

Administration School in Customs Brokers
in CBLE (2015-2019)

Salient features /
characteristics of the top
performing BSCA schools

Employment Success
Rate of BSCA graduates
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 9

Factors or best practices that

contributes to the performance
of the schools

Areas measured Key indicators

Influence on first- year students’

decision on choosing their
university

Creation of Guideline for upcoming first-

year students of LPU-Manila

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study focuses on the one hundred seventy-six (176) first year BSCA

students of the top ten performing Universities in the Philippines and their alumni to

know their views with regards to the process of how they choose/chose their

respective universities as their school where they will pursue their Customs

Administration dreams.
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 10

This paper will highlight the trend of the performance of the universities in

their CBLE takings dating from 2015-2019. It will showcase the characteristics of the

universities that are able to sustain their position in the top ten, moreover, we will be

determining the factors that affects the performance of the top performing schools, in

order to do that, we are determining the key indicators and areas of measurement;

an example of indicators is the overall graduation rate and employment success

rates of the graduates. After all the aforementioned elements is completed, we will

be creating a guideline for first years in choosing their University campuses.

Therefore, all the data gathered will be reviewed in detail and will be used as

needed.

Significance of the Study

Since students will be more productive if they have a guideline to help them

choose the best school for their needs. The result of this study will be of great benefit

to the following:

Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila: Data given will help the

University showcase the strengths and weaknesses of the university in terms of

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 11

being one of the students’ school of choice and will be able to come up with better

strategy in recruiting students.

BSCA Professors: The data gathered after administering the survey will

enlighten the professors who are teaching BSCA with regards to the point of view of

other faculty in other top universities in their stand on how they hone competent

future customs brokers which in turn enable them to plan and create better teaching

techniques that will improve their respective Universities’ overall performance.

Students: The study will serve as guideline for students to choose the

university that will be beneficial for their future for the result of having great academic

background affect the employment and earnings rating after graduating.

Future Researchers: They could improve this study in order to become more

relevant and credible. They could also provide more recommendation and

suggestion for the university to increase the number of students enrolling in the

campus. Lastly base their own study to this research.

Definition of Terms

For the purpose of clarification and to further understand the content of this

research paper the important terms used in this study have been defined.

The following terms are:

College Selection Process is a multistage process wherein an individual begins to

develop aspirations to pursue higher education associated with deciding which

college or university to attend (Hossler, et.al, 1989).

Customs Administration. Refers to the government agency which is responsible

for the administration of Customs law and related national legislation.

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 12

Customs Administration Curriculum. Refers subjects which provides students

with the theoretical education and initial training on the practical application of the

tariff and customs law.

Customs Broker refers to an individual who is a bonafide holder of a valid

Certificate of Registration / Professional Identification card issued by the

Professional Regulatory Board and Professional Regulation Commission pursuant to

the Customs Broker Act of 2004 (CMTA, 2016).

Customs Broker Licensure Examination. Refers to the board examination that a

customs graduate needs to pass in order to become a licensed customs broker.

This examination is conducted by the Philippine Regulation Commission.

Decision-making is the process of determining and choosing an action to a specific

problem or situation (Stoner, et.al, 2003).

Performance. Refers to how effective something or someone is at doing a good

job

Philippine Regulation Commission. Refers to the government agency that

administers, implements, and enforces the regulatory laws and policies of the

country with respect to the regulation and licensing of the various professions

under its jurisdiction.

Rank. Refers to the position or level of something or someone according to

success, quality, importance, etc.

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 13

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter primarily presents the different literatures and studies from both

foreign and local researchers, which have significant connection on the variables of

this research. The literatures and studies gathered by the researchers came from

journals, articles, books and electronic materials such as e-book and PDF. Foreign

and local studies that are included in this chapter are believed to be useful to further

understand this research paper.

Related Literature

Student’s selection of their respective University campuses is a major factor in

their interpersonal and character development and will impact the students’ future in

employment. However, this paper will focus on the top ten university campus’ first-

year students taking up Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration thus all the
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 14

related literature given will be reviewed in detail and will only be referred to as

appropriate.

College selection, as defined by Bergerson (2009), is a process wherein

students will decide where to attend and what kind of institution is compatible for

them. A research by Furukawa (2011), aims to determine the factors that affects the

high-achieving students’ college choice. A qualitative single case study design was

used which composed of individual interviews with admission staff, student focus

group interviews, content analysis of recruitment approach materials, and individual

follow-up interviews.

The study shows that the focal point of an institution recruitment tactics

targeted the population, parents or guardian, and increased interaction with the

potential students. Findings (students) suggest that the most prevalent influence on

their decision is from the parents or other family members. In the admission staff

perspective, it is identified that overall cost of education, on-site tours, college

comparisons are the factors considered by the high-achieving students on their final

stage of their decision (Furukawa, 2011).

Choosing a college to attend is a stressful process and a life-changing

decision for senior high school students according to Whitehead et. al (2006).

Considering the organizational image influences and using a multi-method analysis,

school characteristics (e.g., academic programs, reputation) were more influential

than interpersonal or informational sources. The study suggests that presenting

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 15

more information that highlights the institution’s strengths and able to effectively

address the student concerns, will more likely the students select that college

(Pampaloni, 2010).

One study examines the main priorities of the students among the given four

(4) categories namely, program characteristics, institutional characteristics,

marketing and recruitment approach, and significant other characteristics.

Quantitative survey was used for data collection, distributed to the selected

participants from Eastern Kentucky University. Descriptive statistics were used for

data analysis (Abdolalizadeh, 2014).

The said study indicates that program characteristics, which consists of

academic reputation and individualized faculty attention is the most important factor

that contributes in the college choice process than the overall institutional reputation.

The duration of the degree course, program requirements flexibility and wide range

of course/program offerings under the program characteristics category were also

considered as significant influences (Abdolalizadeh, 2014).

In order to determine the major factors that influence the decision of upcoming

college students in choosing their university to attend, a study used a Unified Theory

of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model which intercepts key

concepts such as Performance Expectancy, Social Influence, Effort Expectancy and

Facilitating Conditions. The results presented that only performance expectancy

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 16

(overall performance) and facilitating conditions (facilities management) were found

significant as main contributors on students’ college choices (Moody, 2020).

Early studies are more focused on the external factors and the characteristics

of the students which includes significant individuals, college recruitment efforts,

school reputation, students’ socio-economic status and academic aspirations while

others established decision-making process models. In recent studies, the impact of

technology and social media on college selection are now more evident (Moody,

2020).

Rankings are mainly utilized as a measure of quality using various indicators

and criteria which depends on the perspective of the ranking creator. The quality and

accountability of ranking system, in line with the context of national goals, differs

from every country and region. Having a standard measure of success as an annual

basis would be effective in producing accurate data in evaluating university rankings

(Sanoff, et. al, 2007).

Achiever students and/or students with higher income tend to use rankings as

one of their guides in choosing their school, while disadvantaged students are more

likely to choose community colleges or institutions which are not included on

rankings by any organizations. Rankings may also influence the student’s

employment opportunities and earning outcomes especially on business school

graduates (Sanoff, et. al, 2007).

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 17

Improved ranking has a positive impact to academic reputation of an

institution which leads to increased number of applicants and enrollees. However, it

was also emphasized that top performing schools does not equate as a best choice

for every student. Academic ambitions, career choices, financial capabilities as well

as the school facilities, size and location must be considered more as major

standards in choosing university (Sanoff, et. al, 2007).

A study by Schmidt et. al. (2011) implies, that college rankings is not

necessarily an indicator of quality education. The basis of the success of those who

graduated from prestigious colleges could be considered as selection bias, in which

the institution’s reputation and price signaling attracts outstanding students. It may

result to advantages in terms of social networking and peer effects but not

considered as indicators of good education. Selectivity measures specifically SAT

scores, wages and career data were commonly used assess the quality of colleges

or higher educational institutions. Value added measures or the need to determine

whether the students were able to acquire additional academic capabilities from a

certain educational program provided by the university, must also be considered to

be able to effectively evaluate the performance of the institution and produce

accurate results for ranking (Schmidt et. al., 2011).

Quality Assurance (QA) and Ranking are correlated altogether but have

different fundamental purposes. Rankings is used to determine “excellent quality”

based on higher education institutions (HEIs) and for promotion purposes. It is

typically managed by private companies which relies on available research-related

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 18

criteria. Quality Assurance on the other hand, is run by independent non-profit QA

agencies. QA tends to focus more on areas such as teaching and learning since, its

aim is to meet the minimum standards (mostly for accreditation) for further quality

enhancement. In addition, QA may be utilized as a framework and basis for

recognition and facilitation of mobility (Wächter, B. et.al, 2015).

Ranking results may be easier to comprehend than QA reports, its

functionality is not considered enough as one of the effective metrics in measuring

the “quality” of higher education because of its reliance to a single data source and

limitation on citations or publications. Its impact concentrates on student recruitment

and admission, as well as marketing, academic reputation, operation and

management of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) (Wächter, B. et.al, 2015).

This study by Wächter, B. et.al. (2015) aims to compare and contrast the

current methods and approach of selected countries to Europe in assessing the

quality assurance and ranking indicators of colleges. The researchers conducted (1)

desk research – based on literature and studies, (2) Comparative assessment, (3)

Semi-structured Expert Interviews to gather their data. And in order to avoid incorrect

findings, the researchers seek high-level academic experts in the field of quality

assurance and rankings to assist them on reviewing draft reports and provide them

with reliable feedback.

Global ranking focuses on smaller set of indicators based on research

outputs, while National ranking, uses larger set of teaching or student-related

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 19

indicators. Since Quality Assurance is one of the common indicators to determine

the ranking of an institution, Accreditation (an indicator of QA) is now considered as

an essential metric for ranking (Wächter, B. et.al, 2015).

Voluntary accreditation and certification of the institution’s Quality Management

System under quality assurance tools were used as measurements for

organizational effectiveness (Javier, 2012). Lyceum of the Philippines is ISO certified

and continues to strive for further improvement. LPU Batangas, specifically, the

pioneer to be awarded by Accreditation among all the LPU branches. These

instruments were provided by certifying agencies and accrediting entities such as the

Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACUCOA) (Laguador, et.al,

2014).

In a journal by Macatangay, et. al, (2016) Universities offering Customs

Administration courses are one of the HEIs that implements OBE (outcome-based

education) properly, this is a very crucial factor that employers love due to the fact

that monitoring and implementing OBE sustainably is an indication that the students

produced by these HEI (higher educational institutions) are most likely equipped with

skills that are required in employment. Our economy in general also benefits in this

setup, furthermore HEIs like Lyceum of the Philippines University that produces

excellent customs broker candidates are most likely on top on recruitment

procedures.

Faculty plays a major role in implementing the OBE and having competent

professionals as instructor for BSCA (Bachelor of Science in Customs

Administration) students, mastering the subjects that they are teaching is a must in
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 20

order to train and hone students to become a competent candidate once they

graduated in their course. Lyceum of the Philippines University utilizes and

effectively implement OBE and in turn, enable students to be knowledgeable and

have great work-related values, because OBE challenges students to be competitive

as an attitude for the students to succeed may it be in the same day nor in the same

way.

Lyceum of the Philippines has produced numerous successful customs

graduates who passed and topped the Customs Broker Licensure Examination over

the past years which brought prestige to the university as well as to the alumni itself.

This study aims to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the program. It also

seeks to identify the degree of satisfaction of the students enrolled in the said

university on the quality of instruction and student services that would act as

foundation for the creation of strategic marketing plan.

The study utilized the descriptive design and use documentary analysis and

survey questionnaire as data gathering instruments. The faculty members and

students enrolled in the customs administration program are the respondent of this

study. Likewise, percentage and weighted mean are used for statistical tools. The

result of the data analysis revealed that the customs administration program in the

Lyceum of the Philippines University manifests good status. However, the enrolment

of new students is in a decreasing trend and faculty members should improve the

research performance. Additionally, there are various good opportunities for customs

education primarily in prospects of international practicum as well as affiliation and

connections which are beneficial for the customs students. Based on findings;
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 21

expensive tuition fees, employability after graduation and demand for other courses

are the evident threats in this program. (Ditan and Aguba, 2013)

Related Studies

There are a large number of studies of school performance trends in terms of

their respective licensure examination results such as the analysis on the five-year

performance of accountancy schools as well as the study of CBLE performance

trend in the Philippines where they found the fluctuating pattern of schools’

performances. However, since the focus of this research is on creating a guideline

for students in choosing their University Campuses by using the trend of

performances of schools, these will not be reviewed in detail and will only be referred

to as appropriate.

In a study conducted by Hidayat et al (2018), the variables that the

researchers have observed were: institution fee, marketing, brand image, motivation

and facility as exogenous variable and student decision as endogen variable. Quota

sampling on one hundred fifty (150) students as respondents was used in this study.

The gathered data was acquired by questionnaires, interviews and survey. Factory

tests with regression weight and Confirmatory Factory Analysis was used by the

researchers for the data analyzation. The result of the collected data signifies that

the institution fee, marketing, brand image, and facilities have a significant effect on

the student’s decision when selecting a private university in Medan City, Indonesia.

Likewise, the data analysis of the respondent’s answers implies that the school

accreditation is one of the determining factors affecting the student’s choice since it
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 22

ensures them that the institution will provide a high quality of education and

experience. The researchers conclude that the aforementioned variables in their

study is vital on helping the students to decide on choosing their private school in

Medan therefore they also provide suggestions and recommendations for the school

to attract the interest of the students in form of; (1) private schools should market

their campus by providing more brochures that encompasses information about the

quality and reputation of the school (2) private schools must be competitive with

other campuses (3) media promotion (4) affordable institutional fees (5) improved

learning facilities.

On the other hand, in literature review conducted by Oya Tamtekin Aydin,

focuses on the development and planning of higher educational institution in order to

have a better strategy in recruiting students. This paper reviewed the following

models: Economic Model, Sociological Model, Combined Model, Marketing

Approach and the main factors of university choice process where the paper

elaborates the effects of family, reference group, reputation and attributes of

universities, personal factors, location, job prospect for a good career cost of

education and financial aid-scholarship offered by universities and presented a

conceptual framework based on the relevant literatures.

Economic model is used to discuss how students maximizes their utilities

while minimizing their risk, though it has limitation because the said model is only

reliant on the influence of rationality to the students choice, on the other hand,

Sociological model is used because it relay that student’s socioeconomic

backgrounds affect the choice of students with regards to what colleges or university
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 23

they will be enrolling in, while combined models showcases the stages of the

student’s decision making namely, predisposition, search and choice where the first

step, predisposition is the stage where the students ponder whether he/she will

continue education after that is the second stage or search where students obtain

the information about their prospected universities and after those steps is the

choice. This paper also reviewed the marketing model of the university in terms of

the recruitment of students for the university as a business, it showcases how

advertisement and promotion affect the students’ school of choice.

In a study by Tan, et al (2015), it analyzes and evaluates the performance

trend of different Customs Administration universities from the year 2009 to 2012

through their performance in the Customs Broker Licensure Examination (CBLE).

The study used a quantitative trend analysis to understand and monitor the school’s

performance. Moreover, it is mainly focused on a four-year trend analysis of the

Customs Licensure Examination of thirty selected schools on a per region basis in

order to measure the gathered data and analyze numerical data. The result of the

study was explained precisely since graphs and aid tables were provided together

with its analysis and evaluation. On the result and discussion section of the paper

explains that school in region IX illustrates a gradual declining trend. While on the

regions IV, VII, and NCR exemplifies a notable increase in trend. Gradual growth in

trend denotes that these schools employ intensive programs that enhance their

students’ skills and intellect. Lastly, regions III, XI and XII have a fluctuating pattern

due to the number of examinees and passers. In year 2009-2012, based on the
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 24

gathered data by the researchers the Customs Broker Licensure Examination was

usually unstable and fluctuating over that time frame.

The author of this paper concludes that result in trend analysis of the

Customs Broker Licensure Examination fluctuates varying on the students’

performance as well as the university itself. Students must be skilled and

intellectual prepared for the licensure examination in order to achieve good

result and pass the exam because the student’s performance reflects to

university’s competency. Furthermore, the school should improve their

curriculum and conduct an in-depth study that will help to improve their

student’s performance in order to increase the passing rate of the school as

well as the Customs Broker Licensure Examination in the Philippines.

On the other hand, in a similar study conducted by Castillo (2018), he

analyzes the six-year performance trend of a particular state university in the

Philippines by collecting the data result of the Customs Broker Licensure

Examination of that state university. The six-year performance trend of that state

university was compared to the performance of the other schools. Moreover, the

schools deemed to use for comparison are the top ten performing schools that offers

customs administration program in the Philippines for the year 2011-2016.

The gathered data used in this research came from the databased of the

Philippine Regulation Commission, a government agency responsible for

professional examination in the Philippines. Quantitative approach was used in

conducting this study; graphs and statistical data were used to present the findings

and analysis. According to the result and discussion, the performance of the subject
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 25

state university of this study in Customs Broker Licensure Examination is considered

exceedingly satisfactory because of its yearly passing percentage. Additionally, the

aforementioned university placed as the second-best customs school in the

Philippines because of its performance in the Customs Broker Licensure

Examination for the past six years. Nevertheless, the subject university has declining

passing percentage as well its national average. Therefore, the rival schools in the

region and neighboring region started to catch up with the performance of the

subject school and had been performing better than its usual performance in year

2015-2016. Likewise, the difference among the passing rate of the subject school

and leading customs administration school in the Philippines skyrocketed whilst the

margin over the other top performing customs school shrunk in year 2016.

In a journal alsoby Castillo (2018), the study evaluates and determines the

performance of top ten customs administration schools in the Philippines through the

result of the Customs Broker Licensure Examination from year 2011 up to 2017. The

study also includes statistical graphs which shows the correlation between the

number of examinees and performance ratings of each school. The gathered data

used by the author were based on the website of the Professional Regulation

Commission (PRC). Qualitative trend analysis and descriptive design were used in

conducting this study. The results of the study show that the majority of the top

customs administration university in the Philippines have varying and changing

performances in every year. The graphs presented in this paper relatively show that

schools that have fluctuating performance should conduct a study to determine what

are the reasons of their volatile and unstable performances. On the other hand,
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 26

universities that show mostly a good performance and increasing passing rate every

year should maintain their good performance. As of the conclusion of the entire

study, the graphs and result of the study reveal that there is non-significant

difference among the performances of schools whether it is located Metro Manila or

other regions in the Philippines. This concludes that students residing in provinces

does not need to go to Metro Manila but instead select a university that offers a

customs administration program in their nearest region. Aspiring customs

administration students should evaluate their chosen universities through the

performance its graduates and most importantly the passing rate of the university in

the Customs Broker Licensure Examination every year.

According to Briones and Bueno (2019), there are several factors that affects

the decision of students when choosing their university or degree program. The

quality and standard of the school is one of the main factors that students consider

when choosing their school followed by the skilled professors, learning capabilities,

infrastructure, school’s atmosphere and the ability of the school to produce board

passers. In their study the researchers examines the factors affecting the choice of

first year’s student in determining what degree program they will take and what

university will give them the high quality of education in their chosen program.

The researchers applied the descriptive survey method in conducting their

study together with first-year students from a teacher education college as

respondents. Likewise, the researchers prepared a questionnaire containing all the

variables on a four-point Likert scale. The gathered data come up with result that

students choose their school due to the school’s reputation and image, qualified

instructors, teaching facilities and the probability to get a scholarship. School

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 27

marketing is also important to attract the interest of the students. Therefore, school

administrators should consider the aforementioned factors that affects the student’s

decision when choosing their degree program and school. Also, school accreditation

and autonomous status ensures the student’s they could provide the best quality

education for them. School administrators should improve their education quality to

strengthen their image and reputation with that there is a high probability that

student’s will choose to enroll in their school. With the gathered data and result of the

study, the researchers concluded that the various factors that affects the student’s

decision were influenced by their friends and family.

Synthesis

The various sources indicate the similar behavior of students in terms of

choosing their universities. (Aydin,2015) reviewed the factors that affects the choice

of students with regards to their family socioeconomic background, personal factors

etc, and (Castillo, 2018) together with the other sources’ relays how the performance

and quality of education plays a major role in the process of students’ decision

making, the related literature also suggests that the students decision correlates to

their future employability and earnings.

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 28

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The researchers will use the descriptive research design in conducting this

study, wherein the quantitative data which will be gathered using a survey

questionnaire that will determine the factors that influences the decision of first year

students in choosing their college university. This kind of research does not include

applying experimentation to gather data, but instead careful observation and

description of phenomena, often through survey or questionnaires (Ditan and Aguba,

2013).

Respondents of the Study

This study will focus on one hundred seventy-six (176) first year customs

administration students of the top five performing Universities in the Philippines.

Alumni’s and successful customs brokers will also be use as respondents of this

study in order to know their views with regards to the process of how they

choose/chose their respective universities as their school where they will pursue

their Customs Administration career. The researchers used to slovin’s formula with

ninety-five percent (95%) confidence level and five (5%) margins of error to

determine the sample size and utilized the convenience sampling to collect data from
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 29

the available pool of respondents. The reason behind the ninety-five percent (95%)

confidence level and five percent (5%) margin of error is because this is the standard

ratio of confidence and margin of error in using the slovin’s formula, and although we

are in a state of global pandemic and there is no guarantee that all participants in our

sampling size will be responsive, the researchers will have an ample time to gather

all the data to all their respondents.

The computation of sampling size using Slovin’s formula can have either

ninety (90), ninety-five (95), or ninety-nine (99) percent of confidence level and a

margin of error in the range of one to twenty-five percent (1%-25%), and as the

researchers discuss together with our research adviser and professors, we find this

as the most reasonable computation variables to select.

Data Gathering Instrument

The main data gathering tool to be used in this study is self-constructed

questionnaire. It consists of open-ended and close-ended questions, specifically

designed to be answered by the respondents without the intervention of an

interviewer or researchers. It will first undergo (1) conceptualization of the study

variables and measurement scales, for the researchers to be able (2) to prepare the

draft instrument, for (3) pre-testing and (4) assess its reliability before it will be

distributed to the respondents.

The questionnaire is constructed by the researchers having other structured

questionnaire as basis to have a standardized and reliable questionnaire that will be

proved useful in this study. The researchers will be using scaled question to

determine the level of agreement and disagreement of the respondents and will be
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 30

analyzed thoroughly by the researchers using various statistical treatment methods.

The said questionnaire will be gathering the demographics of the respondents, their

family backgrounds and other relevant indicator in this study, furthermore there will

be another set of questionnaires to be sent out to the professors and alumni to

achieve the purpose of this paper.

The constructed questionnaire made by the researchers will be proposed to

their respective research adviser and research professor and upon their approval,

these questionnaires will then be evaluated by the panel and be revised as advised

by the former, after being validated by the panel, the researchers will be having a

dry-run and test the reliability of the questionnaire.

The researchers will be reaching out by sending formal letters to the top five

performing schools’ chairpersons or administrators to have their approval and

consent in participating in this study, the researchers will then be communicating to

the PSCAS officers of the said universities to administer the survey by sending out

the questionnaire link in their group chats and have the students answer it.

This study will be conducted through the use of survey prepared by the

researchers and was advised by their research adviser in order for their data to be

clear and concise that will obtain the respondent's experience and demeanor. The

researchers also used an approval letter that served as their guide in conducting

their survey legally.

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 31

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers followed the following procedures in conducting the

research: (1) The researchers selected the topic for the research proposal and

presented it to the adviser for consultation. (2) To have sufficient data, the

researchers used e-library and trusted websites to gather relevant information and

sources (3) Formulating the survey questionnaires, (4) getting permission from the

administrators of the top five performing schools before conducting the survey, (5)

distributing the survey questionnaires to willing respondents, (6) collecting all the

questionnaires and the stated answers will be treated with confidentiality and will be

used for this study only.

Statistical Treatment of Data

After managing the surveys, an interpretation of all the findings will be

observed by using different statistical treatment of data: Trend analysis to determine

the performance of the top ten performing customs schools in the Philippines in year

2015-2019; Percentage and weighted mean in order to determine the profile of the

respondents in terms of age, gender and social economic status and also to

determine the number of students who consider the performance of the school

before enrolling; Pearson R to verify if there is a significant relationship between the

two variables of this study which is the performance of the schools and the decision

of the students on choosing their college university; T-test to determine if the two

mentioned variables in this study have a significant difference with each other; Chi-

Square test in order to determine the difference between the categorical variables in
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 32

the same Population. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to find out the significant

difference among several groups.

The researchers will use a four-point Likert scale in making the survey

questionnaires for efficient and clear data gathering. The questionnaire was

approved by the researchers’ research teacher together with their adviser

 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 33

REFERENCES

Abdolalizadeh, M. (2014). Influential Factors in International Students' College

Choice of A Rural,
Regional University. Online
Theses and Dissertations.
240.

Aydin, O. T. (2015). University Choice Process: A Literature Review on

Models and factors Affecting the Process. Yuksekogretim Dergisi.

Bergerson, A. A. (2009). College choice and access to college: Moving policies, research,
and practice to the 21st century. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Briones, E. R., & Bueno, D. C. (2019). Factors Affecting the Decision of First Year
Degree Program and School. Institutional Multidisciplinary Research
and Development Journal.

Castillo, R. C. (2018). Performance of Top Customs Administration Schools in Customs

Brokers Licensure Examination in the Philippines. Journal of Social Sciences
and Humanities, 85-92.

Castillo, R. C. (2018). Six-Year Performance Trend in Customs Broker Licensure

Examination of a State University in the Philippines. ndian
Journal of Science and Technology,, 16.

Convenience Sampling: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/convenience-sampling/

Ditan, A. N., & Aguba, J. L. (2013). Status of Lyceum of the Philippines University
Customs Education: Basis for Strategic Marketing Planning. E –
International Scientific Research Journal.
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 34

Furukawa, D.T. (2011). College Choice Influences Among High-Achieving Students:

An Exploratory Case Study of College Freshmen. UNLV Theses,
Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 1091.
http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/2476207

Hidayat, R., Sukma, S., & Sinuhaji, E. (2018). Factors that affect Students Decision to
Choose Private Universities in Medan City Indonesia. Academy of Strategic
Management Journal.

Javier, F.V. (2012). Assessing an Asian University’s Organizational Effectiveness

Using the Malcolm Baldridge Model, Asian Journal of Business and
Governance, 2(1): 37-55

Laguador, J.M., Dotong, C.I., De Castro, E.A. (2014). The Experience of

Lyceum of the Philippines University – Batangas in Getting Ahead
of Accreditation and Certification. International Journal of Social
Sciences, Arts and Humanities.

Likert Scale Questionnaire Form: https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-

scale.html

Macatangay, A. O., Braza, L. D., Gamboa, M. N., Gonzales,

A. D., Fuentes, R. A. P., Macalalad, J. A., &
Mendoza, F. M. (2016). Status of Implementation and
Usefulness of Outcomes–Based Education in
Customs Administration Program of one Asian
University. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and
Sciences, 3(3), 62-69.

Moody, Michael Bryan (2020). Factors Influencing Students’ Choice of an Institution

of Higher Education). All Dissertations. 2628.

Pampaloni, A. M. (2010). The Influence of Organizational Image on College Selection:

What Students Seek in Institutions of Higher Education. Journal of
 Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 35

Marketing for Higher Education, 20(1), 19-48.

doi:10.1080/08841241003788037

Pearson’s R: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/pearsoncoefficient.asp

Sanoff, A. P., Usher, A., Savino, M., & Clarke, M. (2007). College and University
Ranking Systems Global Perspectives and American Challenges.
Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse.

Schmidt, W., Burroughs, N., Cogan, L., & Houang, R. (2011). Are College Rankings
an Indicator of Quality Education? International Perspectives on
Teacher Knowledge, Beliefs and Opportunities to Learn, 503-514.
doi:10.1007/978- 94-007-6437-8_23

Slovin’s Formula Calculator: https://www.hotjar.com/poll-survey-

sample-size-calculator/?

Slovin’s Formula:
https://prudencexd.weebly.com/#:~:text=%2D
%20is%20used%20to%20calculate%20the,margin
%20of%20error%20(e).&text=%2DIt%20is
%20computed%20as%20n,%2F
%20(1%2BNe2).&text=When%20taking%20statistical
%20samples%2C%20sometimes,and%20sometimes
%20nothing%20at%20all.

Tan, W. S., Almerez, A. U., Pardillo, A., Batulan, S., Gonzales, J., Cal,
C., & Labang, J. (2015). Trend of Customs Broker
Licensure Examination of the Philippines. Educational
Measurement and Evaluation Review

Wächter, B., Kelo, M., H., L. Q., Effertz, P., Jost, C., & Kottowski, S.
(2015). University Quality Indicators: A
Critical Assessment. Brussels: European
Parliament.
Lyceum of the Philippines University - Manila 36