The Influence of Digital Marketing and Service Quality on Students' Trust and Interest in Choosing Liberty International College Karangasem as a Study Option

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FORMOSA NEWS - Jakarta - How Digital Marketing and Service Quality Drive Student Trust and Enrollment at Liberty International College. In an era of intense educational competition, a landmark 2026 study conducted by researchers I Wayan Yudiana, Ni Luh Putu Agustini Karta, and Ni Ketut Dewi Irwanti from Universitas Triatma Mulya investigates the critical factors influencing prospective students' decisions when selecting higher education institutions. Published in the Asian Journal of Management Analytics, the research specifically examines how digital marketing strategies and service quality shape student trust and enrollment interest at Liberty International College Karangasem. These findings offer essential insights for private educational institutions striving to convert online promotional reach into actual student registrations.

Navigating Modern Educational Competition

Modern educational landscapes face complex challenges driven by rapid globalization and digitalization. Prospective students and their parents no longer rely solely on traditional institutional reputation. Instead, they heavily depend on digital media, information transparency, campus facilities, and perceived service excellence. However, many private colleges discover that active digital promotional activities do not automatically translate into higher enrollment numbers. This performance gap highlights the vital need to understand underlying psychological drivers specifically how institutional trust and service standards mediate between digital outreach and a student's final decision to enroll.

Evaluating Student Decision-Making Through Quantitative Analysis
To uncover the mechanics behind student choice, the research utilized a quantitative design employing path analysis and Structural Equation Modelling Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS). The target population comprised twelfth-grade senior high school students, vocational school students, and recent graduates in the Karangasem area and surrounding regions who had not yet pursued higher education. Using a proportionate stratified random sampling technique, the team gathered empirical data from 96 respondents via structured questionnaires evaluated on a Likert scale. Instrument validity and reliability were rigorously confirmed prior to structural equation testing, ensuring robust statistical calibration across all variables.

Key Findings and Statistical Results
The investigation uncovered powerful, statistically significant connections between digital outreach, service standards, institutional trust, and student decision-making:

• Digital marketing exerts a strong and positive direct effect on student trust, yielding a beta coefficient of 0.407. This relationship is statistically significant with a p-value below 0.05.
  
• Service quality demonstrates a significant direct influence on student trust, registering a beta coefficient of 0.279 with strong statistical backing.
  
• Digital marketing directly impacts student interest with a coefficient of 0.241, while achieving an indirect effect of 0.160 through trust, resulting in a total impact of 0.401.
  
• Service quality directly influences student interest at 0.276, complemented by an indirect effect of 0.110 through trust, culminating in a robust total impact of 0.386.
  
• Student trust acts as a powerful catalyst and mediating variable, exhibiting a direct effect of 0.394 on student enrollment interest.
  

Real-World Implications for Educational Institutions
For educational administrators, marketing professionals, and policymakers, these findings underscore that digital campaigns alone are insufficient for sustainable growth. To succeed in highly competitive markets, private colleges must synchronize aggressive digital visibility with exceptional on-campus service delivery, robust academic facilities, and responsive administrative support. Cultivating organizational transparency, reliability, and competence directly builds the student trust necessary to convert casual web browsers into committed enrollees.

Author Profiles
I Wayan Yudiana is the corresponding author and researcher at Universitas Triatma Mulya with specialized expertise in management analytics and educational institutional strategy.
Ni Luh Putu Agustini Karta is an academic researcher and faculty member at Universitas Triatma Mulya focusing on business management and institutional analytics.
Ni Ketut Dewi Irwanti is an academic researcher and faculty member at Universitas Triatma Mulya specializing in organizational management and educational administration.

Source
I Wayan Yudiana, Ni Luh Putu Agustini Karta, Ni Ketut Dewi Irwanti. The Influence of Digital Marketing and Service Quality on Students' Trust and Interest in Choosing Liberty International College Karangasem as a Study Option. Asian Journal of Management Analytics (AJMA). Vol. 5, No. 4, tahun 2026 (hal. 793–808).
DOI Resmi: https://doi.org/10.55927/ajma.v5i4.16939
URL Resmi: https://journal.formosapublisher.org/index.php/ajma