Students' course selection: Differential considerations for first and last course

Prior to every semester, students make a series of interdependent Course Selection (CS) decisions. With the overall intent of investigating how CS decisions are made, this study examines differential considerations for selecting elective First Course and Last Course. Advanced undergraduate students (N = 655) described retrospectively their considerations for selecting First and Last Course. First Courses were selected for their prospective intellectual level, expected quality of teaching, and students' potential learning and occupational gains (as well as comfort in terms of day, hour, and credits). Last Courses were selected because they were comfortable and easy. Students' postcourse satisfaction with First Course was much higher than with Last Course. Comparisons of CS considerations of satisfied and dissatisfied students indicated that quality of teaching was the only dimension separating these groups for First and Last Course alike. It was suggested that CS considerations and postcourse satisfaction (as reflected, for instance, in students' ratings of teaching) are distinct phenomena based on different criteria. Conceptual implications and ideas concerning effective dissemination of information to assist students in CS were discussed.