A study on students' aspirations to pursue a Bachelors Degree / Nur Diyana Zakaria, Nur Haslina Md Hashim and Nurhamiza Adzhar

UiTM places great emphasis on producing Bumiputera graduates who are knowledgeable and equipped with the right skills to compete globally. There have been reports that Bumiputera students are less motivated to seek further information or knowledge. Although most Bumiputera undergraduates qualify for graduate programmes, only minority of them are motivated to pursue studies at a higher level. The mam objectives of this study were to determine the students' perception of the importance of Bachelors degree and identify the motivational and deterrent factors influencing students' decision regarding pursuing a Bachelor degree. The main motivational factor are better job opportunities, self satisfaction and to increase their knowledge. Meanwhile, the main deterrent factors are the desire to work as soon as possible after completing study. The students are found to have high motivation and perception level irrespective of gender and field of study. However, students whose parents have no formal education or only have primary education are likely to aspire for further studies. Students who intend to study locally, UiTM seems to be their first choice of university.