From Digital Engagement to Enrollment Intention: The Mediating Role of Campus Attractiveness among Prospective University Students

Abstract

The increasing reliance on digital platforms has significantly transformed how prospective students evaluate and select higher education institutions. Universities no longer compete solely through academic quality, accreditation, facilities, or tuition affordability, but also through the strength of their digital marketing presence. This study aims to examine the influence of digital marketing dimensions on students’ behavioral intention to apply through campus attractiveness as a mediating variable. Specifically, this research investigates how digital content quality, social media engagement, website usability, online brand reputation, and search engine visibility affect campus attractiveness, and how campus attractiveness subsequently influences students’ behavioral intention to apply. A quantitative approach was employed, with data collected through structured questionnaires administered to 120 Grade 12 high school students in Surabaya, Indonesia, from both public and private schools. The data were analyzed using SPSS, including validity and reliability tests, normality tests, multiple regression analysis, t-tests, F-tests, and Sobel tests to examine the direct and mediating effects among variables. The results indicate that digital content quality, social media engagement, online brand reputation, and search engine visibility have a positive and significant effect on campus attractiveness. However, website usability, although positively related, does not have a statistically significant effect on campus attractiveness. Furthermore, campus attractiveness has a positive and significant effect on students’ behavioral intention to apply. The Sobel test results confirm that campus attractiveness mediates the effects of digital content quality, social media engagement, online brand reputation, and search engine visibility on behavioral intention to apply, but does not mediate the effect of website usability. These findings provide important insights for higher education institutions in optimizing their digital marketing strategies to enhance campus attractiveness and increase students’ application intentions. The study contributes to the literature on higher education marketing by highlighting campus attractiveness as a key psychological mechanism through which digital engagement shapes prospective students’ enrollment-related decision-making.