Title: Selection of an undergraduate program using an analytic hierarchy process

Authors: Carlos Domínguez-Paz

Addresses: Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de La Sabana, Campus del Puente del Común, Km. 7, Autopista, Norte de Bogotá, Chía, Cundinamarca, Colombia

Abstract: Opening a new undergraduate program at a university requires a dedicated process that can be addressed as a multiple-criteria decision-making problem. A suitable method for higher education institutions is proposed. It starts with the identification of the stakeholders affected by the decision followed by the data extraction of their major concerns. A hierarchy is developed in accordance with the levels of importance of the concerns. Then, the analytic hierarchy process is applied so that prioritisation can take place. The application of this method to a particular case in Colombia showed that civil engineering is the most suitable program, followed by electronic and mechanical engineering. It is also concluded that the method can be applied for the selection and opening of any program of any university.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process; AHP; undergraduate program selection; stakeholders; pairwise comparison; multi-criteria decision-making; MCDM; higher education institution quality; Colombia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEED.2018.094289

International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 2018 Vol.9 No.3, pp.280 - 300

Received: 28 Dec 2017
Accepted: 22 Jun 2018
Published online: 26 Aug 2018 *

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