Received December 2017. Volume 10, Number 4, 2017 WAYS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS' DECISION FOR ACADEMIC STUDIES Simona Sava, Madalin Bunoiu, Laura Malita Abstract: Student population in Romanian higher education has been decreasing in the last years. The dropout is quite high. Such data force the universities to look for concrete solutions to widen the participation, the retention and the completion rate. Informed decision about academic studies, clear academic and career goals are prerequisite for study success. Thus, at the West University of Timisoara (WUT) was carried out a pilot study, on 900 students enrolling for higher education, to find out about the way they have chosen their academic studies and about their expectations. Their views and suggestions for easier and clearer options are ground for tailored policy measures within our university and beyond. The initial evaluation on the new students is a basis for a better focused interaction with them during their first year of studies. Also, the data suggests possible specific measures to improve retention rates, such as: diversified student services, covering academic guidance services, not only career guidance services, as well as a stronger collaboration between universities and highschools, for a better orientation and guidance of the pupils for their possible academic studies. Key words: access to higher education, academic counselling, student drop out, policy measures 1. Introduction - Focus on improved students’ access to higher education “Widening access to higher education is a tool for social and economic development” (EC 2012, 2014) being therefore one of the main goals to be reached by 2020, agreed upon by the 47 ministers responsible for higher education. Therefore, within the “Social dimension”, set as one of the general policy priorities by the Bologna Follow up Group (BFUG), the “Students' access, drop-out/retention and completion” became a distinct policy sub-priority, data being collected from member states periodically to map how such issue is addressed by the national policy makers. The social dimension of higher education is seen not only as social justice, ensuring equity and equal opportunities, in order to create a better and more socially cohesive society, but also as a way to enhance social capital, maximizing talents (Orr 2012:173). This aim is an even more relevant one for the higher education system of Romania, as the research data indicates it as the most socially exclusive system in Europe, i.e. a system characterized by a significant under-representation of students with low educational background, and with a high degree of influence of parents' educational attainment on students’ chances to achieve a higher education (EC 2012:78). One of the main challenges for Romanian universities is to attract and to retain students, as the student population graduating high school is continuing decreasing. The universities, therefore, in the last years, increased and diversified their efforts and advertising activities, improving this way provision of academic and career guidance services targeting potential students to universities, in particular upper secondary pupils. These services can be considered as outreach activities, aiming to raise awareness and to enable pupils to make appropriate choices for their academic study, and not only as advertising activities. Efforts for attraction and increased access to higher education are even more relevant for countries like Romania, with only about 25,6% participation at tertiary education in 2016, and a target till 2020 for 26,7%, far beyond the target of 40% of Europe (EC, 2017b, Eurydice, 2017).