Introducion

Different elements affect students' expectations regarding the choice of a higher education institution (HEI). As consumers, students want to find an offer that fulfills their expectations for higher education, which is influenced in their experience by social, cultural, demographic, psychological, technological, political and economic factors (Kotler & Keller, 2012; Schiffman & Kanuk, 2009). The importance of identifying student expectations leads to the understanding of how activities directly involved in obtaining, consuming and disposing products and services are performed, including the decision processes that precede these actions to fulfill needs and desires (Richers, 1984). However, an opposite effect may occur, due to the cognitive mismatch that may exist in these processes (Bateson, & Hoffman, 2015; Samara & Morsh, 2005; Giglio, 2011). This implies that the HEI must do a correct interpretation of the student's expectations in their different roles, in order to considerably reduce this gap. Such roles go beyond the institution's boundaries, and involve connected aspects of life in other areas. Knowledge and awareness of these factors can help institutions understand such expectations, and thus offer an engaged service towards the students’ perspective and a friendly environment for their learning and development. This statement can be supported by Sarrico and Rosa (2014, p.176) for whom “students seem to be more satisfied with higher education institutions and study programs when they have favorable conditions, which means that student satisfaction cannot be dissociated from satisfaction with life in general ”. Therefore, the objective of this research was to identify the main elements related to the students’ expectations towards higher education, by the meta- analytic study of the publications from the past 10 years. Such perspective allowed to establish a connection between the variables evidenced in the research that was guided by the following research question: what are the students’ expectations towards higher education identified in the research conducted in the last decade? The article is divided in five sections. The first one presents a brief theoretical review of consumer behavior and its relation with the services and higher education in order to enlighten the main assumptions related to the area. The second section presents the methodological procedures used and then comes the presentation and analysis of the results, classified in main aspects to be considered. Section four discusses the results and the last, fifth section, the conclusions of this research.

1 Theoretical review

1.1. The relationship between the consumer and the service sector

The study of consumer behavior aims to know the different variables that involve their decisions and behavior in the purchasing process and relationship with different organizations. However, Kotler, Hayes and Bloom (2002) say that in the service sector organizations, consumers participate actively in this process. Unlike the purchase of products, the acquisition of services has particularities due to four basic characteristics: intangibility (services cannot be touched), perishability (services cannot be stored), simultaneity (services are produced and consumed at the same time) and heterogeneity (potential for high variation in service performance) (Zeithaml; Berry & Parasuraman, 1996). Considering the specific simultaneity of services, the consumer interacts in the process and reacts mentally and physically by concomitantly assessing services’ quality. Implicit and explicit promises, momentary and permanent reinforcements in the services provided, perceptions of service alternatives, personal perceptions, recommendations and previous experiences consist of relevant particularities in the dimensions that determine service customer expectations (Zeithaml; Berry & Parasuraman, 1993). Furthermore, in the specific case of a service in which there is little physical evidence to allow prior evaluation of the offer, the risks may seem more significant, making the consumer more involved in decision process. Such risks directly imply on consumer satisfaction, which is considered a key aspect to retain customers due to the adequate fulfillment of their expectations (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Therefore, the degree of satisfaction can be crossed with different expectations and the degree of consumer’s involvement. Blackwell, Miniard and Engel (2005) emphasize that the degree of involvement is associated with the importance that a person gives to a product or service, which makes it increasingly meaningful to evaluate the consumer’s expectation and satisfaction, a challenging task for business managers of service sectors.

1.2. The consumer’s development in higher education

The scenario of higher education institutions requires an understanding of the market changes and also of the students' perceptions about the importance of higher education, which should be dynamically aligned. In describing some of the students' expectations regarding HEIs, it is noticed that they go far beyond financial value, also include value aspects such as identity, trust, relationship and emotional balance. “Institutions in this sector need to monitor changes in the education sector (...) know the public they serve and the innovations that arise in the environment, develop (...), acquire and exploit new knowledge and skills” (Takahashi, Bulgacov, Semprebon & Giacomini, 2017, 474). Samura (2015) detaches that some sources of expectations may be implicit and others may be explicit and verbalized: “Internal expectations include students' ideas about university life and aspirations anchored in the interests and passions they expect for the result of their experience; while external ones refer to the people, ideas, and social forces that impact, guide, and shape students and their choices” (Samura, 2015, p. 606). In this context, Santaella (2013) argues that ubiquity led to significant economic, cultural and especially human cognitive transformations derived from new ways of assimilating culture, new mental habits and new ways of acting. Students, as consumers, have evolved to a value perspective by assessing the company's offer (Kotler & Keller, 2012) for which they have multiple tools for verifying their arguments and thus seeking for the best options. This progress makes them evaluate which offer provides the best value and engagement (Kotler, Kartajaya & Setiawan, 2017). They create a value expectation and act on it, in which the chance of satisfaction and repeated purchase depends on whether or not the offer fulfills that expectation. Students are known to go through different phases and expectations throughout their pre-post- college life. The pre-university phase can be considered a totally aspirational phase when students enter college with hopes, dreams and aspirations of who they wanted to become and what they want to do. In addition, expectations evolve differently to students based on their own personality and experiences. As students progress through the course, they become older and more critical, and in their senior year show less satisfaction with the HEI (Sarrico & Rosa, 2014). This satisfaction may decrease or increase in the post-university phase due to the student's perception of the real value added to his personal and professional life. From the perspective of Kotler and Fox (1994) creating high levels of satisfaction and matching student’s expectations are key elements for an educational institution to be successful, however this is often relegated as lack of resources occurs, or the HEI action is more concerned with another kind of issue.

2 Methodological Procedures

This study adopted the exploratory-descriptive research approach applying the meta- analysis as the main technique. The popularity of meta-analysis in recent decades may come from the current explosion of information worldwide, especially in the scientific area. For Cooper (2016) “concern about the potential for error and inaccuracy in traditional narrative synthesis has encouraged social science methodologists to develop more rigorous and transparent alternatives” (Cooper, 2016, p. 07). The script, steps and the meta-analysis planning aim to analyze empirical results and produce literature synthesis through the identification of relevant variables. Therefore, the methodology used in this research based on Cooper’s (2016) proposal is organized in seven stages, as follows:

• identification / formulation of the research problem. The first stage was to identify the research problem with the definition of the variables, from the expected association pattern for bibliometric analysis (Cooper, 2016). The research question and the causal research variables collected are presented in Chart 1

• literature gathering. For the data gathering in the second step, this study first used the systematic literature review technique (Thorpe, Holt, Macpherson, & Pittaway, 2005; Tranfield, Denyer, & Smart, 2003). The literature survey was carried out in the Portal of journals of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) to cover national and international publications. The decision to search the database through the Portal was due to the need to include publications from various areas of knowledge that were aligned with the research question.

• gathering information from each study. In this stage, it was defined the information for the bibliometric analysis, in response to the research question identified in the first stage. In order to enable the research objective, it was initially made a selection of a theoretical conceptual framework in which the keywords “higher education” and “student’s expectations” were considered for the advanced search carried out in a combined way. In the first search, 249 articles were identified. The timeline analysis from 2008 to 2018 resulted in a sample of 108 articles, and when the condition of peer-reviewed articles was selected, a new total of 101 articles were found, and one publication was eliminated because it was duplicated, totalizing 100 articles for the sample result.

• quality assessment of the studies. At this stage, a careful reading of the titles, objectives and abstracts of the publications was made, identifying a qualified bibliographic portfolio composed by 40 articles. At the quality evaluation phase, 2 articles were excluded and the final sample resulted in 38 publications. Among the exclusion criteria of the articles regarding the methodological aspects, it was the fact that many of the publications had no affinity with the theme, despite having the keywords, they deviated from the research focus.

• quality analysis of the studies. For Cooper (2016) a way for the researcher ensure the validity of the results is by satisfying three assumptions: (a) the individual research findings that will be cumulatively attached should look the same as the research question, (b) should be independent, and (c) the researcher should believe that the results of each study are valid. As the studies related to student expectations regarding the higher education show tacit and explicit aspects, the observance of both qualitative and quantitative study results as well as the selection of different types of research design can be considered valid, without affecting quality of the observed results. Regarding the analysis and synthesis of the outcome, this survey used the meta-analysis technique supported by content analysis in order to identify and classify the variables and categories of expectations here identified. As steps vi) analysis and synthesis of study results and vii) interpretation of the collected data require further details, they are described respectively in topics 3 and 4 below.

3 Presentation and analysis of the outcome

The largest number of publications was in 2014, with a total 15.79% of the total number of articles of the sample, as shown in Graph 1.

Graph 1
Frequency of publications by period
Source: elaborated by the authors

Disaggregating the sample by journal, Table 1 shows that the publications are shared among different journals, and of the total of journals with publications, 75% of the sample (21 journals out of 38 journals) had only one publication in the period. This can be due to the range of the approach to the subject as well as the diversity regarding different areas of knowledge.

Among the journals with the largest number of publications, Tertiary Education and Management was the magazine with the highest relative concentration (10.53%), with 4 articles. Higher Education Research and Development comes in second with a percentage of 7.50% corresponding to 3 articles; and 5 journals appear in third place with a relative concentration of 5.26% and the publication of 2 articles each (College Student Journal, European Journal of Education, International Journal of Educational Management, Journal of Studies in International Education, Studies in Higher Education).

Table 1

Distribution of Searches by Periodic

Source: elaborated by the authors

The origination of the studies can be identified in Table 2. The United Kingdom is the country with the largest share, with 8 documents and 21.05% participation, followed by the United States and Australia with 7 documents and 18.42% respectively each, and Portugal with 4 documents and 10.53% participation. The other studies are equally represented by 13 countries with 2.63% of the participation, and 1 article each. The analysis of the sample by region / continent shows that Europe is the region with the largest number of publications, with 15 articles and 39.37% of publications, followed by Oceania with 9 publications and 23.68% of participation and America with a total of 8 publications and 21.05% share.

Table 2

Distribution of Searches by Origination

Source: elaborated by the authors

After that, the publications were analyzed regarding the amount of tables, graphs, charts and figures - the results are summarized in Table 3. In the analyzed sample it was found a broad use of graphic resources, such as table, charts, graphs and figures -, elements that are characteristic of empirical research which aim to facilitate the visualization and interpretation of the results. The analysis shows that the distribution of tables is more homogeneous than the graphics. The articles published use on average 2.19 tables with a standard deviation of 2.28 and a coefficient of variation of 0.95. The average graph per article is 1.81, standard deviation of 3.75 and coefficient of variation of 2.07.

Table 3

Descriptive Statistics of Graphic Resources Used

Source: elaborated by the authors

Figure 2 shows the descriptive statistics with the analysis of the results of the methodologies used in the selected sample. The analysis of the methodology refers to the corresponding methods, techniques, instruments and types of design used. In this study it was identified the type of research (quantitative, qualitative or quali / quanti), the type of design (small, medium or large studies) and the technique / instrument used. It was also verified that most of the research type of studies are of quantitative origin (55.26%), followed by qualitative studies (33.26%). In this study, the criteria for classifying the research design type were established as follows: studies with samples smaller than 100 were classified as small studies, samples from 100 to 500 as medium studies and surveys with samples above 500 as large studies. The small study (36.84%)1 was the type of study design most used in the sample, followed by the large study (31.58%).The survey most used was the technique / instrument, applied in 57.68% of the total publications of the sample, and from this total 18.42% of the total sample used the survey application associated with Likert scale, and 13.26% associated with survey with qualitative techniques, such as interview and focus group presented in Figure 2. strategies considered efficient are the word cloud, the mind mapping and the categorization. Figure 3 contains the analysis of the keywords of the selected articles.

Figure 3
Keyword Cloud
Source: elaborated by the authors

Figure 3
Keyword Cloud
Source: elaborated by the authors

To prepare the word cloud, keywords defined by the authors of the sample publications were used, a total of 140 ones, this indicates an average of 3.69 keywords per article. However, it is important to emphasize that only 30 articles (78.95%) had the specified keywords and 21.05% (a total of 8 articles) did not have any of them; this analysis identifies 4.67 keywords per article, whereas publications vary from 3 to 7 keywords. The most recurring terms were Education (14.29%), Student (13.57%), Higher (10.0%) and Expectation (7.86%), followed by University (4.29%) and the words Satisfaction, Transition, Experience, Mobility, Teaching with 2.86%.

Yet, it is relevant to highlight that those terms are semantically associated with each other and are related to compound words and terms, which therefore requires a deeper and more careful analysis through the mind mapping. The mind mapping is a technique developed by Tony Buzan (Buzan, 2005) which allows to verify and to correlate a series of ideas about a central theme, ideas that are related to each other and composes the subject through hierarchy and unity analysis.

As can be identified in figure 3 the most representative words of the sample were student, higher education and expectation, being replicated and identified in figure 4 as the central terms of the study and the mind map. Figure 4 represents a content analysis of the keywords identified in the selected articles, in which it was possible to create a mind map with the different paths addressed by the theme.

Figure 4
Mind map from word frequency analysis in the word cloud
Source: elaborated by the authors

The words that appear as satellites in the 1st level of connection in branches of the central idea consist of themes that represent the main scope of the studies. Topics that appear linked to the 2nd level in the branches represent the terms in the lower number of repetitions, where it has been observed that many of them consist of single or compound words although with different meanings (eg education / higher education). The analysis was accomplished from the identification of the total keywords linked to the main terms, enabling a more qualitative data processing generated by the tool, in which the main words were highlighted in red and bold typography and the secondary ones were only identified in common typography, and the words that represented synonyms (ex. international / internalization) were excluded. A third analysis was made using content analysis of the 38 articles regarding the expectation topic, in which the student's expectations regarding higher education were identified. The content analysis was based on Bardin's (2016) proposal organized in three phases: 1) pre-analysis, 2) material exploration and 3) data processing, inference and interpretation. The different phases of the analysis and of the dimensions of coding and categorization facilitated and made it possible interpretations and inferences: “transformation of the raw text data, (...) by clipping, aggregation and enumeration, allowing to reach a representation of the content or its expression” (Bardin, 2016, p. 103). As each study covered the plurality of students' expectations for higher education, a complex theme, several elements were identified and classified into 14 variables, which a posteriori resulted in its classification into nominal expectations categories through reading, analysis of content identification of the variables in the sample of publications, as seen in Table 4.

Table 4

Identification of the categories of the main expectations of students regarding higher education

Source: elaborated by the authors

The 14 identified categories represent the identified expectations which affect the student's relationship with the higher education institution and are interrelated with each other. The most commonly identified nominal category was “Stakeholder Connection” appearing in 97.37% of the articles, followed by “Social Development and as an Individual” (71.05%), “Teachers as Mentors” (60.53%) and “Sense of Belonging” (50.00%). The basis of the analysis of the variables that lead to the classification and identification of categories is detailed in Chart 2.

Chart 2

Content analysis of identified and classified categories Source: elaborated by the authors

Source: elaborated by the authors

Chart 2. Cont.

Content analysis of identified and classified categories

Source: elaborated by the authors

Chart 2.Cont

Content analysis of identified and classified categories

Source: elaborated by the authors

4 Discussion of the outcome

For Cooper (2016, p. 218), the discussion of the meta-analysis results enables “the transformation of annotations, impressions and coding forms into a cohesive public document describing his research synthesis (...) with profound implications for accumulation of knowledge”. Based on this assumption, this chapter presents a discussion on student’s expectations regarding higher education from the analysis of the data sample used in this study. Perceptions about expanding the boundaries of the university and social relations, social and individual development, teachers as mentors, living with belonging, learning through innovative and effective methods and technologies among other factors should be considered significantly by HEIs, and they are reported below. It is important to emphasize that it is the student's experiences with the HEIs that will demonstrate the alignment or lack of the expectations and consist on significant element to be considered in the study. The first student’s experience refers to the transition from secondary to higher education (Torenbeek et al., 2010; Foster & Hermann, 2011; Winterton & Irwin, 2012; Krieg, 2013; Catterall et al., 2014; Heublein, 2014; Jones et al., 2016; Hassel & Ridout, 2018) just as the social adaptation, job search and internationalization phases (Park, 2009) which consist of much more than just academic experience and leads to stress, tensions and difficulties associated with each other. Integrating and clarifying the path of university life for incoming students, enlighten the differences between school and university from their perceptions should help them to make the transition to higher education (Jones, 2010; Jones et al., 2016; Hassel & Ridout, 2018) providing support for the academic challenges to be faced (Krieg, 2013).

Fish et al. (2016) highlight that the physical properties of a college can send a subjective message to students about who or what is valued in the institution. However, for students, the campus is not only a unique physical environment but it is extended to new geographical (Park, 2009; Harris & Marlowe, 2011; Pham & Lai, 2016; Heffernan et al., 2018) and social (Griffin) horizons. et al., 2012). In some cases, experiences such as academic mobility and international experiences (Kingston & Forland, 2008; Beaven & Golubeva, 2016; Park, 2009) can enable students to expect the development of intercultural competence, mobility and social advancement (Harris & Marlowe, 2011; Griffin et al., 2012; Beaven & Golubeva, 2016; Pham & Lim, 2016).

In this matter, elements such as safety (Fish et al., 2016); physical and mental well-being (Fish et al., 2016; Brinkworth et al., 2009); leadership development (Bowles et al., 2014; Fish et al., 2016); integration on virtual environment (Gosper et al., 2013; Bowles et al., 2014); establishment of social relationships, networking and social and academic mobility (Bowles et al., 2014) are part of the context of university life, going far beyond the physical environment. So, it is inferred that aspects of academic and social life are connected with the sense of community and the culture of belonging (Kingston & Forland, 2008; Park, 2009; Bowles et al., 2014; Samura, 2015; Fish et al., 2016), which involve social scale development and personal growth (Machado et al., 2011; Samura, 2015; Fish et al., 2016). Futhermore, social development and a sense of belonging to a community go beyond traditional academic environments and merge with digital environments (Baxter, 2012). In that way, diversity and social inclusion are themes considered increasingly current in students' expectations (Kingston & Forland, 2008; Harris & Marlowe, 2011; Griffin et al., 2012; Catterall et al., 2014). Aspects connected to real social inclusion lead to the students’ desire to maintain individual identity as opposite to the use of stereotypes (Samura, 2015; Kingston & Forland, 2008), thus contributing to the construction of a “rich mosaic of different experiences and learning approaches” (Harris & Marlowe, 2011; Sarrico & Rosa, 2014). Nicolescu and P[acaron] um (2009) emphasize the importance of looking at the HEIs’ adaptation difficulties to educational changes conditions as well as social and labor market requirements. By that, the skills and abilities to be developed through higher education must converge on social and individual development through effective preparation for post-college life through gaining qualifications (Spronken – Smith et al., 2009, Bowles et al., 2014, Griffin et al., 2012). That’s because for many students the college purposes also represent the time for self-discovery and personal growth (Machado et al., 2011; Samura, 2015). Consequently, the academic curriculum, the teaching and learning methods must become more dynamic and in constant evolution (Kingston & Forland, 2008, Brinkworth et al., 2009; Heublein, 2014) based on understanding the new realities of the social context for higher education (Nicolescu & P [acaron] um, 2009). In this scenario, flexible learning and teaching strategies are essential to foster an inclusive and converging environment (Brinkworth et al., 2009; Jones et al., 2016), in which the changing role of teachers (Brinkworth et al. , 2009; Foster & Herman, 2011; Jones et al., 2016; Khan, 2012; Bailie, 2014; Sarrico & Rosa, 2014; Samura, 2015; Fish et al., 2016; Beaven & Golubeva, 2016; Hassel & Ridout, 2018) should develop a new role as a mentor and facilitator in the learning and academic-social integration process (Baxter, 2012) by leading the students to a wider autonomy and individual responsibility. The individual (Nicolescu & P [acaron] um, 2009; Krieg, 2013; Jones et al., 2016) and social development is an educational approach increasingly current, in which teachers as mentors must lead students to adapt themselves to new demands and emerging challenges, becoming independent learners. However, a significant element that influences this connection is – and must be ended – the expectation’s mismatch between teachers and students (Borghi et al., 2016, Hassel & Ridout, 2018) in issues such as communication, feedback and availability of the teacher, which according to Bailie (2014) needs to be identified and dealt quickly. For that reason, this is a key mechanism for students to feel supported, comfortable, getting used to the university environment (Brinkworth et al., 2009, Khan, 2012; Yeh & Tao, 2013, Vandoom & Eklund, 201; Jones et al. ., 2016; Hassel & Ridout, 2018) whether in physical or digital environment (Bailie, 2014; Beaven & Golubeva, 2016). Understanding such an element becomes vital to make a communication link between teachers and students (Borghi et al., 2016, Hassel & Ridout, 2018), in which educators will need to have sufficient resources and in particular the time required to provide this kind of learning support (Vandoom & Eklund, 2013) due to the growing diversity of students. This communication reflects the students' expectations regarding social (Samura, 2015) and academic engagement. Furthermore, to understand and bind with the perspective of the different stakeholders involved with the academic, social and professional development universe represents an extremely significant aspect for the survival of HEIs (Kingston & Forland, 2008; Nicolescu & P [acaron] um, 2009; Winterton & Irwin, 2012; Krieg, 2013; Sarrico & Rosa, 2014; Low, 2015; Sahin et al., 2018) in which institutions, partners, IES employees, parents, employers and teachers stand out. Partner institutions and staff are considered important stakeholders in this scenario because they act directly in welcoming and guiding students upon information, requirements, student services and other organizational aspects (Brinkworth et al., 2009; Nicolescu & P [acaron] an , 2009; Bowles et al., 2014; Pham & Lai, 2016). The parents, in a stakeholder’s role affect not only the course choice, but also the career choice (Dias & Sá, 2016; Hassel & Ridout, 2018; Sahin et al., 2018) and on the experience lived in higher education (Winterton & Irwin, 2012; Krieg, 2013; Sarrico & Rosa, 2014; Low, 2015). On the other hand, employers expect that the university is able to help in the development of market-demand skills such as thinking skills, teamwork, problem solving, individual development and assimilation of new knowledge (Spronken – Smith et al., 2009 ; Nicolescu & P [acaron] um, 2009).

However, it is important to consider that understanding the student's mindset about the partnership style and the university proposal (Heffernan et al., 2018), as well as the university's image (Kotler & Fox, 1994) can influence a range of expectations beyond satisfaction and student’s loyalty (Alves & Raposo, 2010; Machado et al., 2011), considering that such comprehension includes functional and emotional aspects. Among the functional aspects is the valorization of the investment in the quality of higher education, which grows in proportion to the expected return on university education (Nicolescu & P [acaron] um, 2009; Jones, 2010; Bachan, 2014) as well as students' concern to burden the family with expenses, especially in lower socioeconomic groups (Griffin et al., 2012; Winterton & Irwin, 2012). Yet, the investment in university education is not only financial but also emotional (Hassel & Ridout, 2018). For students, the college education does not necessarily means a guarantee of wealth and stability (Rolleston & Oketch, 2008, Moorman, 2011), but refers to expectations about self-knowledge and the developing social life skills (Nicolescu & P [acaron] um, 2009; Park, 2009; Spronken- Smith et al., 2009; Machado et al., 2011; Krieg, 2013; Bowles et al., 2014; Samura, 2015) and professional (Rolleston & Oketch) , 2008, Nicolescu &, P [acaron] um, 2009; Park, 2009; Machado et al., 2011; Bachan, 2014; Sarrico & Rosa, 2014, Sahin et al., 2018.).

5 Conclusion

The HEIs need to effectively understand and accomplish the demands of the student’s expectations for higher education, by offering a product or service which performance is up to its attributed value. The conclusions of this study can contribute to understand the students' expectations regarding higher education since their entry to their post-university life and thus allow the identification of elements to support the strategic directions that facilitate the transition process in the area towards a new educational scenario. From a theoretical point of view, researches on student expectations tend to be resistant about the integration of theories related to the study of consumer behavior, causing gaps on knowledge and skills development that continuously drawback and block changes towards a strategic context on creating value in a collaborative way. So, this study made it possible to identify that expectations pervade boundaries that at no time inflict theories and educational elements, but align themselves with a new social context. As shown in the analysis, the service that involves the university environment welcomes the challenge of new social and learning conditions for the student.

Practical implications that have been identified by this study include the requirement for information related to a sense of belonging, connection with stakeholders, need to monitor knowledge and learning aligned to student expectations, understand the international student intercultural context, create a welcoming social environment, prepare teachers for follow-up and transition, constantly monitor and improve methods. The diversity on the university social environment should include practices that foster experiences of social and individual development beyond integration through a range of inclusive learning and teaching practices. As stated above, expectations occur throughout college life; before, during and after it, and their understanding is more complex than a study that addresses only one of these elements. This makes it relevant for HEIs to collect information about students' perceptions and their experience in higher education in order to integrate them with the social and technological evolution required by the new established scenario. The practical implications identified by this study consider a new perspective of the HEIs on the dynamics of the university environment, in which society requires individuals and flexible professionals, people who can quickly fit into the local culture, exhibit interpersonal skills, communicate well, take responsibility. Finally, people who can use their skills to make society and organizations evolve through brilliant ideas and persuade colleagues to have new approaches and are willing to make changes, people who can anticipate and lead change. This research also has some limitations that need to be mentioned. It focused on the analysis of research conducted in the last decade. However, such studies did not have just one methodology applied, but various methods to monitor students' expectations regarding higher education were identified. The theoretical survey demonstrated a series of expectations identified and classified into categories, such as their evolution over time, which highlights the need for monitoring and updating the HEIs regarding them due to the dynamism of modern relations. Nevertheless, there may be other expectations of the student regarding higher education that have not been mentioned and which may be considered relevant. For future studies it is considered important to broaden this research to other boundaries by examining the student's insertion in the current university context. Last but not least, studies on student’s expectations regarding higher education come from different sources and it is clear that the expectations identified suggest elements that converge to the study of consumer behavior and creation of value within Marketing area. Thus, it is necessary that the actions of the HEIs are aligned with the identification of students' expectations as well as the market process of creation of value, especially in the higher education.

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Información adicional

How to cite the article:: Moraes, C. do C. S. B., Montebello, M. I. de L., Zaccaria, R. B., & Cremonezi, G. O. G. (2019). Identification of students’ expectations regarding higher education in the new social context: a meta-analytic study. Revista Brasileira de Marketing, 18(3), 222-245.