Abstract:

Introduction: Recently we have seen a rapid increase in the number of communication platforms aiming to facilitate remote interaction with students. However, the wide range of online platforms currently available can make communication overwhelming and potentially challenging for students. The objective of this study was to compare student satisfaction with communication between users and non-users of an innovative mobile application that centralizes online faculty-related information at a public research university in the Netherlands.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 102 second- and third-year university students who answered an online survey (50 users and 52 non-users of the mobile application). Student satisfaction with faculty communication was measured using 7 questions on a 5-point Likert scale (from 1: very dissatisfied to 5: very satisfied). The internal reliability of the scale used was high (Cronbach’s alpha = .83). The average score of student satisfaction with communication was compared between users and non-users using t-tests. The percentage of students dissatisfied with communication between users and non-users was analyzed using a Chi-square test.

Results: Students that used the mobile application were significantly more satisfied with communication than students that did not use the application (p = .010). The average score and standard deviation of student satisfaction with communication was 24.4 ± 5.1 and 21.7 ± 5.2 points in the users and non-users, respectively. Specifically, students that used the mobile app showed higher satisfaction with overall communication (3.6 ± 0.9 versus 3.1 ± 1.0 points, p = .010), centralization of faculty-related information (3.2 ± 1.1 versus 2.7 ± 1.0 points, p = .017), and frequency of e-mails received from the faculty (3.5 ± 1.0 versus 3.1 ± 1.0 points, p = .023). The percentage of students dissatisfied with communication was lower in the users versus non-users (16% versus 39%, p = .025). The three characteristics of the mobile app that students liked most were that the information was centralized (38%), clear (18%), and they had easy access to their schedule, grades, and classrooms (18%). Most users found that the application was useful and agreed with its continued use (74%).

Conclusion: Students that used the mobile application were more satisfied with communication than students that did not use it. This study provides relevant information about student experience with communication at university in users and non-users of a mobile application and identifies opportunities to scale up the application’s implementation to the whole faculty.

Keywords:

Higher education, mobile application, undergraduate experience, student satisfaction, communication.