Direct, indirect, and total effects.

Student loyalty generally refers to the formed bond between the student and a university. This relationship between a university and its students proves essential in a university’s success in the competitive field of higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting students’ loyalty among high school students to pursue their college or higher education in their current universities by utilizing Self-Determination Theory and Extended Theory of Planned Behavior. A total of 1224 high school students voluntarily participated and answered an online questionnaire that consist of 80 questions. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that competency had the highest direct significant effect on perceived behavioral control which subsequently led to student satisfaction, followed by relatedness and empathy. In addition, student satisfaction had the highest direct effect significant effect on student loyalty, followed by university image and effectiveness. Interestingly, university ranking, programs offered, and kinship patronage also had significant indirect effects on student loyalty. This new framework may be a theoretical foundation for universities to enhance student loyalty and student recruitment. Considering students as customers, the satisfaction of students would result in an increase in the application which would present an increase in population, sales, marketability, and profitability of the university.

学生忠诚度（Student Loyalty）通常指学生与大学之间形成的情感联结。在竞争激烈的高等教育领域中，大学与学生之间的这一关系，对于大学的办学成功至关重要。本研究旨在借助自我决定理论（Self-Determination Theory）与计划行为扩展理论（Extended Theory of Planned Behavior），探究影响高中生选择当前院校攻读本科或高等教育的学生忠诚度相关因素。共计1224名高中生自愿参与本研究，填写了一份包含80个题项的在线调查问卷。结构方程模型（Structural Equation Modeling, SEM）分析结果显示，胜任力（competency）对感知行为控制（perceived behavioral control）具有最高的直接显著影响，而感知行为控制继而影响学生满意度，影响力紧随其后的分别为关联性（relatedness）与共情（empathy）。此外，学生满意度对学生忠诚度的直接影响最为显著，其次为大学形象（university image）与办学效能（effectiveness）。值得注意的是，大学排名（university ranking）、开设的专业项目以及亲属惠顾就读（kinship patronage），同样对学生忠诚度存在显著的间接影响。本研究提出的全新分析框架，可作为大学提升学生忠诚度与招生工作的理论基础。若将学生视作大学的客户，学生满意度的提升将带动申请人数增长，进而推动大学在校生规模、营收、市场竞争力与盈利能力的提升。