Predicting first year student transfer intentions: Do relationships matter?

Stemming first year student attrition is the subject of extensive research. The novelty of this study is that it seeks to identify relationship marketing constructs that can significantly differentiate between three types of transfer intentions of first year students—those intending to stay at their current university, those intending to transfer to another university and those who are undecided. Many regional universities in Australia employ relationship marketing tactics in an attempt to avert the loss of first year students. Of interest to this research is the role of relationship benefits, relationship strength and switching barriers as predictors of students transfer intentions. A qualitative study preceded a quantitative main study (n = 334) that was conducted across three regional universities in Australia. Logistic regression revealed that the strength of the relationship formed between students and teaching staff and perceived switching barriers can secure students’ continuance of study at their current university.