Perception of 4th-year secondary school students in the morning, afternoon, and evening sessions at the Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal High School in Cotui, Educational District 16-01, regarding the Instituto Tecnológico del Cibao Oriental (ITECO), School

Abstract

The low enrollment of secondary-school graduates at ITECO was a concern for the researchers, since these students prefer other higher education institutions, citing that ITECO is not a university but a teaching institute, that tuition is unaffordable given family finances, and that the academic level of teaching staff and institutional services is poor. A descriptive and exploratory design was used. The population consisted of 4,189 students and 26 teachers in the 4th year of secondary school at Liceo Francisco Henríquez y Carvajal, sampled through simple random selection. Results show most students perceive ITECO as an institute rather than a university, view its tuition as expensive, rate teacher preparation as average, note that ITECO lacks some programs offered elsewhere, and consider its teachers responsible and capable, while administrative attention and library services were rated average. Recommendations include holding workshops and campus visits for 4th-year students, designing strategies to make tuition more affordable, and running awareness campaigns to publicize ITECO's mission, vision, and services.

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