EVALUATION OF STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION AND SERVICE QUALITY: THE CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN POLAND
Wrocław University of Science and Technology (POLAND)
About this paper:
Conference name: 10th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies
Dates: 2-4 July, 2018
Location: Palma, Spain
Abstract:
Research aim:
The issue discusses in the article concens on quality of higher education, especially on such indicators as: fitness for purpose, value added, total quality management, academic audit. The reason for this is the importance of improving the quality of the educational process and grapples with the "student experience," (Bruno, Dell’Aversana, 2018, Cox, Imrie, Miller, 2014; Tsinidou, Gerogiannis, Fitsilis, 2010; Wright, O'Neill, 2002) That is why the aim of the article was to assess the level of student satisfaction with the most important aspects of studying Computer Science and Management at the Faculty of Computer Science and Management at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology as well as to create a list of the best and worst evaluated areas. Based on the obtained results, a set of recommendations was proposed, aimed at improving the quality of provided services.
Research instrument:
For the purposes of this study a survey questionnaire was developed. It was divided into the following areas: study conditions, academic staff, service and library. The study was conducted in 2017 on a sample of 167 students.
Research results:
Level of satisfaction in the area of study conditions: most of the 24 elements comprising this area were rated above the neutral point (the average score of 3.0). The mean score for the whole area was 3.49. The most important factors were: opening hours and waiting time at the Dean's office and communication skills of the Dean's office staff. Level of satisfaction in the area of academic staff: analysis of 10 elements comprising the area indicated that most of them were rated above the neutral point (the average score of 3.0). The mean score for the whole area was 3.40. The highest score was given to availability of teachers for consultations and the lowest score to fair evaluation by teachers. The most important aspects were shown to be: content level, commitment to conducting classes and fair evaluation. Satisfaction level in the area of educational service: analysis of 13 elements showed that this was the area with the lowest score. The mean score for the whole area was 3.13. The most important appeared to be: meeting expectations and providing opportunities for the development of students' skills through study program, right selection of mandatory and elective courses and the distribution of student workload in the current year as well as in the course of studies. Level of satisfaction in the area of faculty library - analysis of this area showed that some of the respondents do not use the services offered by the library at all. The mean score for the whole area was 3.87.
Summary:
In recent years, measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education has become a major issue. This paper outlines the development of the evaluation of the quality of higher education and confirms its reliability and construct validity for use in a Polish context. Based on the collected data, a set of recommendations was developed to improve the quality of the provided services. They focused on the following issues: the study conditions, the academic staff (strengthening the content level of classes as well as the teaching potential of employees, improvement of the evaluation system), the educational service (the development of new or a modification of study programs and timetables) and the changes in the role of of library to increasing the potential for use of it.Keywords:
Evaluation of students’ satisfaction, service quality, university education.