ENROLLMENT AS SOCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT: RETHINKING UNIVERSITY CHOICE IN PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION

Research on university choice has traditionally framed enrollment as a decision driven by individual preference, academic interest, and market signaling. Such approaches dominate higher education marketing and policy literature, particularly in studies of private universities operating in competitive environments. However, growing evidence from collectivist and transitional contexts suggests that enrollment decisions are shaped less by preference maximization than by efforts to manage social and economic risk. This article advances a conceptual reinterpretation of enrollment decision-making by framing university choice as a process of social risk management rather than consumer selection. Drawing on empirical insights from doctoral research conducted in private universities in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the paper synthesizes findings to show how families evaluate legitimacy, degree recognition, affordability, and future security as mechanisms for reducing uncertainty. The article argues that perceived value functions as a collective risk assessment and that family involvement serves as a primary risk-filtering mechanism. By repositioning enrollment within a risk-management framework, the paper contributes to higher education theory and offers a new lens for interpreting student choice in private and transitional higher education systems.