Original scientific paper

RESEARCH INTO STUDENT SATISFACTION FACTORS

Tihomir Vranešević orcid.org/0000-0002-9118-0507 ; Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Miroslav Mandić orcid.org/0000-0001-6118-6687 ; Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Sandra Horvat ; Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

The primary and the secondary data show that universities are increasingly aware of the importance of pleasing their students. Numerous surveys made for this purpose have proven that whether students are pleased with their university positively influences their motivation, attendance, whether they would recommend the university to other people and, thus, the university budget increases. Many other such dissertations carried out at other European universities speak on behalf of the hypotheses formed in this paper. Most of them talk about the importance of high academic and educational levels as the key in meeting the students’ expectations. Furthermore, ever greater significance lies within certain elements of education that are usually undervalued, such as administrative staff and infrastructure that should help rather than complicate and harden the duration of study. This survey explores the satisfaction of the students attending the Graduate School of Economics & Business, The University of Zagreb, which is, according to the number of enrolled students one of the largest faculties in this region. The most recent surveys show that universities increasingly understand their role as service trade institutions. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to meet the needs and wishes of their ‘customers’, meaning students. This is especially true for faculties that are partially or fully financed from the state budget. On the other hand, the number of candidates in higher education is constantly growing, which requires an attitude of placing the customer in pole position. One of the major problems that most faculties face is the fact that only a small number of students graduate in due time, which directly reflects their satisfaction with the study programme. The paper, therefore, deals with the main points which influence the clients’ satisfaction. The most significant models of monitoring the students’ satisfaction have been elaborated and, following these efforts, a research is expected to measure the current students’ satisfaction and define certain specific guidelines and models. Monitoring the satisfaction of the clients and their general needs and wishes is not a new concept but certain institutions are simply not aware of its importance. Numerous surveys have shown that it is far more expensive to attract new clients than keep existing ones. In conclusion, universities, as with every other service trade, have to behave in accord with basic principles of marketing. This means that the satisfaction of the client should be the centre of their attention.

Keywords

student satisfaction; factors of satisfaction; students’ expectations; faculty; basic marketing principles

Hrčak ID:

38524

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/38524

Publication date:

30.6.2007.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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