What makes students satisfied? A discussion and analysis of the UK’s national student survey
TL;DR: This paper found that students registered on clinical degrees and those studying humanities to be the most satisfied, with those in general engineering and media studies the least, and that contentment was higher among part-time students and significantly higher among Russell group and post-1992 universities.
Abstract: This paper analyses data from the National Students Survey, determining which groups of students expressed the greatest levels of satisfaction. We find students registered on clinical degrees and those studying humanities to be the most satisfied, with those in general engineering and media studies the least. We also find contentment to be higher among part-time students, and significantly higher among Russell group and post-1992 universities. We further investigate the sub-areas that drive overall student satisfaction, finding teaching and course organisation to be the most important aspects, with resources and assessment and feedback far less relevant. We then develop a multi- attribute measure of satisfaction which we argue produces a more accurate and more stable reflection of overall student satisfaction than that based on a single question.
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TL;DR: This article found that students are more receptive to assessment feedback when they can obtain valuable information about how they can improve their future performance and learning strategies, however, they are more likely to ignore negative feedback.
Abstract: Assessment feedback allows students to obtain valuable information about how they can improve their future performance and learning strategies. However, research indicates that students are more li...
91 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a critical analysis of the United Kingdom's higher education Key Information Set (KIS) is presented, arguing that the KIS reified a neoliberal perspective about the worth and value of higher education qualification, positioning it as a commodity of value only to the paying individual rather than being something of value to society as a whole.
Abstract: This paper provides a critical analysis of the United Kingdom’s higher education Key Information Set (KIS), which was implemented following the 2011 UK White Paper ‘Students at the Heart of the System’. It argues that one of the central tenets of the KIS – providing information that students within a free market can make an informed choice and, through this process of consumer choice improve the quality of teaching, is untenable because a central component of the KIS, the National Student Survey (NSS), is unreliable when used for comparing university courses. Further, it argues that the KIS reified a neoliberal perspective about the worth and value of higher education qualification, positioning it as a commodity of value only to the paying individual rather than being something of value to society as a whole. It will be of particular interest to academics and policy makers from outside of the United Kingdom, where governmental and regulatory agencies may be implementing similar policies.
45 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, students' dissatisfaction with peer assessment has been widely documented, while most relevant literature places focus on the cognitive (content and uptake of feedback) or structural (feedback desi...
Abstract: Students’ dissatisfaction with peer assessment has been widely documented. While most relevant literature places focus on the cognitive (content and uptake of feedback) or structural (feedback desi...
45 citations
TL;DR: A Mobile Learning Framework for Assessment Feedback (MLFAF) is presented, developed using a design-based research approach, that can be used as a foundation to study the requirements when developing and implementing wide-scale mobile learning initiatives that underpin longitudinal practices, as opposed to short-term practices.
Abstract: Students’ lack of engagement with their assessment feedback and the lack of dialogue and communication for feedback are some of the issues that affect educational institutions. Despite the affordance that mobile technologies could bring in terms of assessment feedback, research in this area is scarce. The main obstacle for research on mobile learning assessment feedback is the lack of a cohesive and unified mobile learning framework. This paper thus presents a Mobile Learning Framework for Assessment Feedback (MLFAF), developed using a design-based research approach. The framework emerged from the observation of, and reflection upon, the different stages of a research project that investigated the use of a mobile web application for summative and formative assessment feedback. MLFAF can be used as a foundation to study the requirements when developing and implementing wide-scale mobile learning initiatives that underpin longitudinal practices, as opposed to short-term practices. The paper also provides design considerations and implementation guidelines for the use of mobile technology in assessment feedback to increase student engagement and foster dialogic feedback communication channels.
27 citations
TL;DR: While there is now extensive research on informal feedback seeking behaviour by employees in organizations, this literature has received limited attention in higher education as mentioned in this paper, which is a problem in many areas of higher education.
Abstract: While there is now extensive research on informal feedback seeking behaviour by employees in organisations, this literature has received limited attention in higher education. This paper addresses ...
26 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors tried to test the hypothesis that utility depends on income relative to a "comparison" or reference level using data on 5,000 British workers and found that workers' reported satisfaction levels are inversely related to their comparison wage rates.
2,897 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a conceptual model articulating the nature and determinants of customer expectations of service is proposed and discussed, specifying three different types of service expectations: desired service, adequate service, and predicted service.
Abstract: A conceptual model articulating the nature and determinants of customer expectations of service is proposed and discussed. The model specifies three different types of service expectations: desired service, adequate service, and predicted service. Seventeen propositions about service expectations and their antecedents are provided. Discussion centers on the research implications of the model and its propositions.
2,605 citations
Journal Article•
2,392 citations
Book•
31 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a marketing planning process for the education marketplace, which includes identifying and analyzing marketing issues, providing Quality Service, Value, and Customer Satisfaction, and presenting educational programs and services.
Abstract: 1. The Education Marketplace. 2. Providing Quality Service, Value, and Customer Satisfaction. 3. Identifying and Researching Marketing Issues. 4. The Marketing Planning Process. 5. Analyzing and Adapting to the Environment. 6. Defining Institutional Resources and Direction. 7. Formulating Market Strategy. 8. Measuring and Forecasting Market Size. 9. Segmenting, Selecting, and Appealing to Markets. 10. Understanding Consumers. 11. Designing Educational Programs. 12. Pricing Educational programs. 13. Delivering Educational Programs and Services. 14. Communicating with Markets. 15. Attracting and Retaining Students. 16. Attracting Resources. 17. Evaluating Marketing Performance.
870 citations
Book•
23 Feb 2012
TL;DR: Stefan Collini challenges the common claim that universities need to show that they help to make money in order to justify getting more money, and argues that the authors must reflect on the different types of institution and the distinctive roles they play.
Abstract: Across the world, universities are more numerous than they have ever been, yet at the same time there is unprecedented confusion about their purpose and skepticism about their value. "What Are Universities For?" offers a spirited and compelling argument for completely rethinking the way we see our universities, and why we need them. Stefan Collini challenges the common claim that universities need to show that they help to make money in order to justify getting more money. Instead, he argues that we must reflect on the different types of institution and the distinctive roles they play. In particular we must recognize that attempting to extend human understanding, which is at the heart of disciplined intellectual enquiry, can never be wholly harnessed to immediate social purposes - particularly in the case of the humanities, which both attract and puzzle many people and are therefore the most difficult subjects to justify. At a time when the future of higher education lies in the balance, "What Are Universities For?" offers all of us a better, deeper and more enlightened understanding of why universities matter, to everyone.
793 citations