Purpose: The current work explores the attributes that serve as motivation regulations for students' selection of a higher education institute (HEI). Design/methodology/approach: With a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective, the current study used a mixed-method approach to develop a scale to measure HEI attribute-based motivation regulations. Findings: A total of eight regulations were proposed: academic/extracurricular activities, infrastructure, faculty research expertise, teaching and learning quality, placement opportunities, marketing and promotion, education cost and social influence. The first four were autonomous motivations and the remaining were controlled motivations. Research limitations/implications: The study leverages the SDT motivation continuum into a structured HEI attribute-based student motivation framework. Practical implications: The study guides HEI managers with specific attributes to position the institute appropriately. Originality/value: This is one of the few works in the higher education utilizing the complete SDT framework.