students' satisfaction in higher education literature review

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• IM Salinda Weerasinghe, R. Lalitha, S. Fernando. Students’ Satisfaction in Higher Education Literature Review. American Journal of Educational Research . Vol. 5, No. 5, 2017, pp 533-539. https://pubs.sciepub.com/education/5/5/9 ">Normal Style
• Weerasinghe, IM Salinda, R. Lalitha, and S. Fernando. 'Students’ Satisfaction in Higher Education Literature Review.' American Journal of Educational Research 5.5 (2017): 533-539. ">MLA Style
• Weerasinghe, I. S. , Lalitha, R. , & Fernando, S. (2017). Students’ Satisfaction in Higher Education Literature Review. American Journal of Educational Research , 5 (5), 533-539. ">APA Style
• Weerasinghe, IM Salinda, R. Lalitha, and S. Fernando. 'Students’ Satisfaction in Higher Education Literature Review.' American Journal of Educational Research 5, no. 5 (2017): 533-539. ">Chicago Style

Students’ Satisfaction in Higher Education Literature Review

Students’ satisfaction can be defined as a short-term attitude resulting from an evaluation of students’ educational experience, services and facilities. Earlier it was measured by common satisfaction frameworks but later higher education specify satisfaction models were developed. The objective of this review is to render all available constructive literature about students’ satisfaction with a sound theoretical and empirical background. Data were collected from refereed journals and conference papers, and are constructively analyzed from different point of views to filter a sound background for future studies. The first section of the paper discuss students’ satisfaction, satisfaction models and frameworks used by previous researchers around the world and second section explain the empirical findings of previous studies in real world context.

1. Higher Education

Higher education is the education at a college or university level is perceived as one of most important instruments for individual social and economic development of a nation 39 . The primary purpose of higher education are creation of knowledge and dissemination for the development of world through innovation and creativity 21 . As well, Fortino, 23 claimed creation of prepared minds of students as purpose of higher education. Hence, higher education institutions are increasingly recognizing and are placing greater emphasis on meeting the expectations and needs of their customers, that is, the students 16 . So, successful completion and enhancement of students’ education are the major reasons for the existence of higher educational institutions. This positive development in higher education shows the importance of educational institutions understanding student satisfaction in a competitive environment 65 . Now the higher education industry is strongly affected by globalization. This has increased the competition among higher education institutions to adopt market-oriented strategies to be differentiate themselves from their competitors to attract as many students as possible satisfying current students’ needs and expectation. Therefore, numerous studies have been conducted to identify the factors influencing student satisfaction in higher education.

2. Satisfaction

Satisfaction is a feeling of happiness that obtain when a person fulfilled his or her needs and desires 55 . It is a state felt by a person who has experienced performance or an outcome that fulfilled his or her expectations 27 . Accordingly, satisfaction can be defined as an experience of fulfillments of an expected outcomes Hon, 26 . Person will satisfy when he /she achieves the expectations, hence it is a willful accomplishment which result in one’s contentment 51 . Satisfaction refers to the feeling of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing perceived performance in relation to the expectation Kotler & Keller, 32 . Customers will satisfy when services fit with their expectation 48 . Hence, it is a function of relative level of expectation connecting with people’s perception 39 . When a person perceives that service encountered as good, he would satisfy on the other hand person will dissatisfy when his or her perception crash with the service expectation. Therefore, satisfaction is a perception of pleasurable fulfilment of a service 42 .

3. Student Satisfaction

Students’ satisfaction as a short term attitude, resulting from an evaluation of a students’ educational experiences 19 . It is a positive antecedent of student loyalty 41 and is the result and outcome of an educational system (Zeithaml, 1988). Again Elliot & Shin 20 define student satisfaction as students’ disposition by subjective evaluation of educational outcomes and experience. Therefore, student satisfaction can be defined as a function of relative level of experiences and perceived performance about educational service 39 during the study period, Carey, et al 10 . By considering all, students’ satisfaction can be defined as a short-term attitude resulting from an evaluation of students’ educational experience, services and facilities.

Students’ satisfaction is a multidimensional process which is influenced by different factors. According to Walker-Marshall & Hudson (1999) Grate Point Average (GPA) is the most influential factor on student satisfaction. Marzo-Navarro, et al. 36 , Appleton-Knapp & Krentler 9 identified two groups of influences on student satisfaction in higher education as personal and institutional factors. Personal factors cover age, gender, employment, preferred learning style, student’s GPA and institutional factors cover quality of instructions, promptness of the instructor’s feedback, clarity of expectation, teaching style. Wilkins & Balakrishnan 64 identified quality of lecturers, quality of physical facilities and effective use of technology as key determinant factors of student satisfaction. As well as, student satisfaction in universities is greatly influenced by quality of class room, quality of feedback, lecturer-student relationship, interaction with fellow students, course content, available learning equipment, library facilities and learning materials Journal of Higher Education, 57(1), pp. 1-21." class="coltj"> 24 , Review of Higher Education, 24(3), pp. 309-332." class="coltj"> 33 , Higher Education, 63 (5), pp. 565-81." class="coltj"> 60 . In addition to that, teaching ability, flexible curriculum, university status and prestige, independence, caring of faculty, student growth and development, student centeredness, campus climate, institutional effectiveness and social conditions have been identified as major determinants of student satisfaction in higher education Quality Assurance in Education, pp. 251-267." class="coltj"> 17 , Journal of Educational Administration, 40(5), pp. 486-505." class="coltj"> 45 .

This section presents few models and frameworks applied by researchers to uplift students’ satisfactions in higher education literature. The models and frameworks have been arranged on chronological order of years to identify how focus has changed from past to now.

SERVQUAL is a most popular widely used service quality model which has been applying to measure students’ satisfaction around the world. SERVQUAL is a questionnaire that has been designed, developed and tested in business environment, by Parasuman in 1985 to measure service quality and customer satisfaction of a business taking five dimensions into consideration as tangibility, reliability, empathy, responsiveness and assurance 63 . That questionnaire was administrated by twice, one to measure customer expectation and next to gain customer perception 63 . Though it is widely applied in industry, is much criticized in higher education literature by scholars like; Teas (1992), Buttle (1996), Asubonteng, et al (1996), Pariseau & McDaniel (1997), Aldridge & Rowley (1998), Waugh, 63 . Being a government university in a non-profit service industry, it is difficult to apply business focused service quality model to measure student’s satisfaction as it is. For an example, the model more focuses on service providers’ quality than tangibility. In a university environment, student satisfaction is determined by multiple factors in which quality of service providers is a small part.

The investment theory of students’ satisfaction of Hatcher, Prus, Kryter and Fitzgerald illustrated the behavior of students’ satisfaction with academic performance from investment point of view. According to the theory, student perceives their time, energy and effort as investment and seek a return form that. Accordingly, students will satisfy if they are rewarded in relation to the investment they made 12 . The SERVQUAL measures students’ satisfaction from organizational point of views but the satisfaction of student is influenced by students’ side also such as their dedication, perception, results, attitudes…etc. The gap was filled by Noel-Levitz in 1994 developing “Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Index” for higher education which covers faculty services, academic experience, student support facilities, campus life and social integration. Later, Keaveney and Young (1997) introduced Keaveney and Young’s satisfaction model for higher education. It measures the impact of college experience on students’ satisfaction along faculty services, advising staff and class type considering experience as a mediating variable. But the model is too narrowed into few variables and largely ignored university facilities, lectures, non-academic staffs and services in assessing satisfaction. Going beyond mediating models, Dollard, Cotton and de Jongein introduced “Happy - Productive Theory” in 2002 with a moderating variable. According to the model students’ satisfaction is moderated by students’ distress. Consequently, student satisfaction goes up when distress is low and satisfaction goes down when distress is high. The models were too narrowed into small part of satisfaction.

Elliot & Shin developed more comprehensive student satisfaction inventory in 2002 covering 11 dimensions and 116 indicators to measure the satisfactions of students in higher education industry. The dimensions were academic advising effectiveness, campus climate, campus life, campus support services, concern for individual, instructional effectiveness, recruitment and effectiveness of financial aids, registration effectiveness, campus safety and security, service excellence and student centeredness. This index covers all services provided by academic and non-academic staff to students as well has touched physical facilities and other related services being affected to students in a university environment. Similarly, Douglas, et al developed “Service Product Bundle” method in 2006 to investigate influences on student’s satisfaction in higher education, taking 12 dimensions in to consideration which were professional and comfortable environment, student assessments and learning experiences, classroom environment, lecture and tutorial facilitating goods, textbooks and tuition fees, student support facilities, business procedures, relationship with teaching staff, knowledgeable and responsiveness of faculty, staff helpfulness, feedback and class sizes. The dimensions were arranged under four variables; physical goods, facilitating goods, implicit services and explicit service. Unlike the SERVQUAL, Service Product Bundle method provides a more comprehensive range of variables that influence student satisfaction in higher education.

Jurkowitsch, et al. 28 developed a framework to assess students’ satisfaction and its impact, in higher education. In this framework service performance, university performance, relationships with student, university standing works as antecedents of satisfaction and promotion works the successor. Later, Alves and Raposo developed a conceptual model to assess students’ satisfaction in 2010. According to the model student’s satisfaction in higher education is determined by institute’s image, student expectations, perceived technical quality, functional quality and perceived value. These influences can be identified directly or indirectly through other variables. The model further illustrated student loyalty and word of mouth as the main successors of satisfaction. When student satisfaction upsurge, he will psychologically bound with university and its activities. That represent level of loyalty he or she has. Consequences will be spread among friends, relatives, prospect students and interested parties then and there as word of mouth. The main criticism for the model is that it has largely ignored main functions of a university; teaching and learning in measuring satisfaction of students but it has been developed adding two successors of satisfaction as loyalty and world of mouth.

Moving from conventional satisfaction models, student’s satisfaction are now measured by hybrid models. Shuxin, et al. 58 developed a conseptual model integrating two mainstream analysis: factor analysis and path analysis. Direct path of the model explains the impact of perceived quality on student loyalty and indirect path describes the impact of perceived quality and student expectation on loyalty through student satisfaction. Recently, Hanssen & Solvoll 25 develop a conceptual model combining satisfaction model and facility model. The satisfaction model was developed to explain how different factors influence on students’ overall satisfaction and facility model was developed to explain influence of university facilities on student overall satisfaction. According to the model, student satisfaction work as dependent variable of overall model and host city, job prospects, costs of studying, reputation, physical facility are working as independent variables of the satisfaction model. Facility model of the framework, is used to identify the facilities at institute that are most influential in formation of student overall satisfaction, therefore dependent variable (university facility) of facility model is used as one of explanatory variables in satisfaction model. The model has more focus on university facilities and little attention was paid into teaching, learning and administrative process of institutes but it revealed a new path for scholars precisely combing two separate models for satisfaction literature.

Different scholars have used different models to assess students’ satisfaction in higher education and every model is more or less criticized by scholars. As a result, old models have been gradually developed with new insight. Following table summarized the satisfaction models developed by various scholars to measure student satisfaction in higher education.

Table 1. Students’ Satisfaction Models

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According to Table 1 , it seems that various scholars have been taking tremendous efforts to satisfy students in higher education touching different areas of satisfaction using various frameworks and models throughout last few decades. At the beginning, researchers have applied industry satisfaction models and later developed higher education based models to measure the satisfaction. The models have been developed using different dimensions into consideration and been applied in different geographical areas at different times. As a result, same dimensions have shown contradictory relationships with students’ satisfaction at different situations and different dimension have shown similar behaviors with students’ satisfaction around the world. These contrasts have been empirically tested by following scholars through their studies.

Table 2 . Summery of Satisfaction Models

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4. Empirical Research Findings

A study conducted by Garcl a-Aracil 24 in eleven European Countries, found that student satisfaction across different European Countries was relatively stable despite the differences in education systems. The study further realized that contacts with fellow students, course content, learning equipment, stocking of libraries, teaching quality and teaching/learning materials have significant influence on the students’ satisfaction. Wilkins & Balakrishnan 64 founnd that quality of lecturers, quality and availability of resources and effective use of technology have significant influence on students’ satisfaction in transnational higher education in United Arab Emirates. The study further revealed that there are significant differences of satisfactions at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Karna & Julin 30 conducted a study on staff and students’ satisfaction about university facilities in Finland. The study found that core university activities, such as research and teaching facilities, have greater impacts on overall students’ and staff satisfaction than supportive facilities. Further, study found that both academic and students perceive physical facilities are more important than general infrastructures in which library facilities are the best explanatory factor of overall satisfaction. In addition, study indicated that students satisfied with factors related to comfortable learning environment, public spaces, campus accessibility and staff satisfied with laboratory and teaching facilities. Finally, overall results indicated that the factors related to the research and teaching activities have the greatest impacts on the overall satisfaction of both groups in Finland.

Douglas 17 measured students’ satisfaction at Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University Malaysia. The study found that physical facilities of university are not significantly important with regards to students’ satisfaction but it works as key determinant of students’ choice in selecting universities. Yusoff et al, 65 identified12 underlying variables that significantly influence students’ satisfaction in Malaysian higher education setting. Accordingly, professional comfortable environment, student assessment and learning experiences, classroom environment, lecture and tutorial facilitating goods, textbooks and tuition fees, student support facilities, business procedures, relationship with the teaching staff, knowledgeable and responsive faculty, staff helpfulness, feedback, and class sizes make significant impact on students’ satisfaction. The study further identified that year of study, program of study and semester grade have significant impact on student support facilities and class sizes. Martirosyan 35 examined the impact of selected variables on students’ satisfaction in Armenia. Light of the study identified reasonable curriculum and faculty services as key determinants of student satisfaction. As well, study found negative relationships of faculty teaching styles and graduate teaching assistants with students’ satisfaction. The study also examined the effects of demographic variables on students’ satisfaction. Out of the several variables associated with student satisfaction, type of institution effect on students’ satisfaction significantly in which students from private institutions reported a significantly higher satisfaction level than their peers at public institutions. Andrea and Benjamin 8 , examined students' satisfaction with university location based on Dunedin city, New Zealand. The study indicated that students at the University of Otago perceive accommodation, socializing, sense of community, safety and cultural scene as most important attributes of university location. The study further identified shopping and dining, appeal and vibrancy, socializing and sense of community and public transport as key drivers of overall satisfaction with the university location. DeShields Jr. in 2005 to investigate the factors contributing to student satisfaction and retention based on Herzberg’s two-factor theory. It found that student who have positive college experience are more satisfy with the university than that of students who haven’t experiences.

Kanan & Baker 29 attempted to examine the efficacy of academic educational programs based on Palestinian developing universities. The study found that academic programs make significantly impact on students’ satisfaction. Navarro 41 examined the impact of degree program on students’ satisfaction in Spanish University System. The result indicated that teaching staff, teaching methods and course administration have significant effect on students’ satisfaction in Spanish University System. Palacio, et al., 44 investigated the impact of university image on students’ satisfaction. The study found that university image of Spanish University System make a significant impact on students’ satisfaction. Malik, et al. 34 explored the impact of service quality on students’ satisfaction in higher education and it was found that cooperation, kindness of administrative staff, responsiveness of the educational system play a vital role in determining students’ satisfaction. Pathmini, et al 49 identified reliability, curriculum and empathy as major determinant factor of student satisfaction in regional state universities. The findings further accentuated that administrators of regional universities should focus their attention more on these three factors other than tangibility, competence and delivery. Farahmandian, et al. 22 investigated the levels of students’ satisfaction and service quality of International Business School, University Teknologi Malaysia. According to the findings, academic advising, curriculum, teaching quality, financial assistance, tuition fee and university facilities have significant impact on students’ satisfaction. Khan 31 discussed the impact of service quality on levels of students’ satisfaction at Heailey College of Commerce, Pakistan. The findings indicated that except tangibility, other dimension of service quality have a significant impact on students’ satisfaction. It means that students don’t rate institute on the basis of building and physical appearance but on quality of education. Study further explored that students willing to put extra efforts on education when the level of satisfaction is high.

Alvis and Rapaso 6 , investigated the influence of university image on student satisfaction and loyalty in Portugal. The findings of the study indicated that university image has both direct and indirect effect on student satisfaction and loyalty. Nasser et al 40 investigated university student knowledge about services and program in relation to their satisfaction at Lebanese Catholic College. The study found that student those who have high knowledge on university procedure, rules and regulation, may hold greater educational value and thus have greater satisfaction levels. Hanssen & Solvoll, 25 identified that reputation of the institution, attractiveness of host university city and quality of facilities have strong influencing powers on students’ satisfaction however job prospects failed to influence significantly on the satisfaction in Norwegian university system. Study further identified that social areas, auditoriums and libraries are the physical factors that most strongly influence on students satisfaction. Ali, et al., 4 found academic aspect, non-academic aspect, and access, reputation, and program issues as greater influencing factors of students’ satisfaction.

With the development of higher education in the world, the importance of students’ satisfaction was emerged in the literature of higher education. At the beginning, industry based satisfaction models were applied to explain student satisfaction and later developed higher education based models to explain it. The paper was discussed the theoretical and empirical literature of higher education with the intension of enhancing existing stock of knowledge. The theoretical review proved that satisfaction is a psychological process and is affected by many factors in different settings.

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Students’ Satisfaction in Higher Education Literature Review

2017, American Journal of Educational Research

Students’ satisfaction can be defined as a short-term attitude resulting from an evaluation of students’ educational experience, services and facilities. Earlier it was measured by common satisfaction frameworks but later higher education specify satisfaction models were developed. The objective of this review is to render all available constructive literature about students’ satisfaction with a sound theoretical and empirical background. Data were collected from refereed journals and conference papers, and are constructively analyzed from different point of views to filter a sound background for future studies. The first section of the paper discuss students’ satisfaction, satisfaction models and frameworks used by previous researchers around the world and second section explain the empirical findings of previous studies in real world context.

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Student satisfaction and interaction in higher education

• Published: 01 June 2022
• Volume 85 , pages 957–978, ( 2023 )

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Given the pivotal role of student satisfaction in the higher education sector, myriad factors contributing to higher education satisfaction have been examined in the literature. Within this literature, one lesser-researched factor has been that of the quality and types of interpersonal interactions in which students engage. As existing literature has yet to fully explore the contributions made by different forms of interaction to student satisfaction in higher education, this study aimed to provide a more fine-grained analysis of how different forms of interaction between students, their peers and their instructors relate to different aspects of student satisfaction. A total of 280 undergraduate students from one of the largest higher education institutions in Singapore participated in the study. Results provided an in-depth analysis of eight aspects of student satisfaction (i.e. satisfaction with the program, teaching of lecturers, institution, campus facilities, student support provided, own learning, overall university experience and life as a university student in general) and suggested that the different aspects of student satisfaction were associated with three different forms of interaction: student–student formal, student–student informal and student-instructor.

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Introduction

In higher education (HE), student satisfaction is vital both for the success of institutions and for that of individual students, particularly in our current global climate. Rapid technological advancements, in particular, have intensified competition in the HE sector in recent years. In Singapore and other countries presently, not only do HE institutions need to compete for students with branch campuses of foreign institutions set up locally, but also with digital platforms that offer massive open online courses (MOOCs) that allow students to learn without being attached to specific institutions. By 2015, there were already about 220 international branch campuses of overseas universities in operation worldwide (Maslen, 2015 ).

In this cut-throat context, maximising student satisfaction has become a primary focus of many universities and colleges, irrespective of their physical location. Such move is no surprise considering that student satisfaction is now often used as a measure of HE institutions’ performance (Jereb et al., 2018 ; McLeay et al., 2017 ). As reflected in recent studies on the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) upon the HE sector, student satisfaction has been incorporated as an index to measure the extent to which attendant disruptions to services have affected the quality of HE services received by students (e.g. Duraku & Hoxha, 2020 ; Shahzad et al., 2020 ). However, this does not imply that HE institutions have no other considerations when it comes to making student satisfaction their top priorities to pursue service excellence. As discussed in the subsequent section, giving what students want most to keep them satisfied can have undesirable effects on students as well as on institutions. Hence, any discussion that frames the debate on student satisfaction should go beyond its role as a metric to measure HE institutions’ performance.

The vital role of student satisfaction in higher education

Students’ satisfaction with the quality of the education services they receive is a crucial index of the performance of HE institutions in today’s world (Butt & Rehman, 2010 ; Santini et al., 2017 ; Weingarten et al., 2018 ). Student satisfaction figures are also used as a means by which to distribute precious resources across HE institutions in many countries. For instance, the Australian government has recently announced the adoption of the performance-based funding (PBF) scheme to be used in future years, in which the provision of funding to Australian universities will be based, in part, on the quality of the overall student experience (Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2020 ). Student satisfaction is one of the indices that may be used to measure the overall student experience within this scheme (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019 ).

Be it academic programs or the peripheral student support services, the ability to provide high-quality services to students has been regarded by many scholars as crucial for HE institutions to withstand the increasingly competitive HE environments in which they must now operate (Butt & Rehman, 2010 ; Lapina et al., 2016 ; McLeay et al., 2017 ; Paul & Pradhan, 2019 ). Higher service quality, driven by outstanding learning processes and high levels of satisfaction with the services delivered, has been deemed to be what will “set a HE institution apart” from its rivals (McLeay et al., 2017 ).

Numerous more immediate commercial benefits derived from high levels of student satisfaction have also been highlighted in the literature. When satisfied with the quality of services provided, students are more likely to continue with their enrolled institutions and recommend them to prospective students (Mihanović et al., 2016 ). Student loyalty is another reward that HE institutions can gain from having highly satisfied students. As loyal students are more likely to engage in alumni activities, greater alumni engagement can in turn benefit the institutions through the provision of direct financial support, as well as attractive employment opportunities for current graduates (Paul & Pradhan, 2019 ; Senior et al., 2017 ).

Concurrently, with rising government interventions in various countries to regulate their HE sectors, there have been increasing calls for HE institutions to improve their service quality (Hou et al., 2015 ; Dill and Beerkens, 2013 ). As a result, the use of quality assurance regimes by governments to regulate HE has become more prominent worldwide (Jarvis, 2014 ). In a recent report, it was estimated that the tuition fees for bachelor programs in some OECD countries (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) have risen as much as 20% between 2007 and 2017 (OECD, 2019 ). With substantial cost outlays involved in the provision of HE, concerns over returns on financial investments are not limited to students and parents, but apply also to entire governments (Lapina et al., 2016 ; Weingarten et al., 2018 ). With the costs of providing HE continue to rise, many HE providers are becoming increasingly concerned about how best to meet the needs and expectations of students and keep them satisfied (Weingarten et al., 2018 ). Such concerns were valid particularly when student satisfaction was linked numerous institutional aspects. As discovered in a study conducted by De Jager and Gbadamosi ( 2010 ) on 391 students from two African universities, student satisfaction was reported to relate significantly to various institutional aspects including academic reputation, accommodation and scholarship, location and logistics, sports reputation and facilities and safety and security.

Student satisfaction is not only crucial to institutions, but also to learners themselves. Students’ satisfaction with their learning experiences is not, however, related simply to the feelings they have about the quality of the education services they receive. Within the HE literature, high levels of student satisfaction have also been linked to the attainment of important learning outcomes in HE. For instance, scholars have recognised that student satisfaction may influence outcomes such as academic achievement, retention and student motivation (Aldridge & Rowley, 1998 ; Duque, 2014 ; Mihanović et al., 2016 ; Nastasić et al., 2019 ). Evidently, such hypothesised links between satisfaction and key learning outcomes have received some empirical support to date. For instance, positive associations between student satisfaction and student performance have been reported in two HE-based studies, with one using student grades as performance indicators (van Rooij et al., 2018 ) and the other using mastery of knowledge and general success of the faculty as performance indicators (Mihanović et al., 2016 ). In contrast, strong negative associations between student satisfaction and attrition were reported by Duque ( 2014 ).

However, in considering student satisfaction with the quality of education services, the literature highlighted some key concerns of treating students as customers. Focusing on satisfying students in the same way companies satisfying their customers may result in HE institutions emphasising less on what students need most as learners, such as achieving learning outcomes or training to be work-ready, and more on what they want most in order to feel satisfied as fee payers (Calma and Dickson-Deane, 2020 ). What students want best for themselves may not necessarily be beneficial for them to attain quality education, for that they may adopt short-term perspective and prefer assessment that they can score well rather than those that they can learn well (Guilbault, 2016 ). Additionally, with a customer mindset, students may also feel they are entitled to be awarded a degree for the fees they have paid, resulting in shifting their responsibility to learn and be engaged to institutions (Budd, 2017 ). If student expectations are to be met by institutions in order to keep “customers” satisfied, this can subsequently lead to grade inflation (Hassel & Lourey, 2005 ). As such, although it is crucial for HE institutions to improve the quality of education services provided to students by meeting their expectations and keeping them satisfied, it should be noted that such action may generate undesirable effects if students were treated squarely as customers.

The construct of student satisfaction and its predictive factors

In general, student satisfaction can be viewed as a short-term attitude, which relates to students’ subjective evaluations of the extent to which their expectations of given educational experiences have been met or exceeded (Elliot & Healy, 2001 ; Elliot & Shin, 2002 ). As students form numerous expectations in relation to their educational experiences, many scholars conceptualise student satisfaction as a multidimensional construct (Hanssen & Solvoll, 2015 ; Jereb et al., 2018 ; Nastasić et al., 2019 ; Weerasinghe et al., 2017 ).

In Sirgy et al.’s ( 2010 ) framework, for instance, overall satisfaction with college life was broken down into three components, which represented satisfaction with academic aspects, social aspects and college facilities and services. Similarly, in investigating university students’ views of their academic studies, Wach et al. ( 2016 ) measured satisfaction using items across three dimensions of satisfaction. These related to the content of learning (i.e. the joy and satisfaction felt by students on their chosen preferred majors), the conditions of learning (i.e. students’ satisfaction with the terms and conditions of the academic programs) and personal coping with learning (i.e. students’ satisfaction with their own ability to cope with academic stress).

The recognition that student satisfaction is a multidimensional construct is also evident in the identification of numerous dimensions that contribute to HE students’ overall satisfaction levels. Academic aspects comprise one such set of key contributors to student satisfaction in HE. These relate to considerations such as the perceived quality of teaching, feedback provided by instructors, teaching styles of instructors, quality of learning experiences and class sizes (Aldemir & Gülcan, 2004 ; Butt & Rehman, 2010 ; Duque, 2014 ; Jereb et al., 2018 ; Nastasić et al., 2019 ; Paul & Pradhan, 2019 ; Weerasinghe et al., 2017 ). More general attributes of the courses in which students are enrolled (e.g. curriculum, course content and teaching materials) have also been cited as significant (Aldemir & Gülcan, 2004 ; Butt & Rehman, 2010 ; Duque, 2014 ; Weerasinghe et al., 2017 ).

Empirical studies have attested to the relevance of the above-named attributes in determining HE students’ satisfaction levels (Aldemir & Gülcan, 2004 ; Bell & Brooks, 2018 ; Butt & Rehman, 2010 ; Nastasić et al., 2019 ; Siming et al., 2015 ). However, this list is by no means exhaustive in describing the factors that students will consider in providing satisfaction ratings. More generic, institution-wide attributes, such as ease of access to student services and the level of infrastructure support provided by an institution (e.g. transportation and boarding services, internet access and administrative services), as well as the facilities it offers (e.g. teaching facilities, leisure and sports facilities, IT facilities and study areas) have also been recognised by scholars to contribute to HE students’ satisfaction levels (Aldemir & Gülcan, 2004 ; Butt & Rehman, 2010 ; Duque, 2014 ; Hanssen & Solvoll, 2015 ; Jereb et al., 2018 ; Weerasinghe et al., 2017 ). Less tangible aspects of students’ experiences such as the reputation and impressions of the institution (Butt & Rehman, 2010 ; Duque, 2014 ; Hanssen & Solvoll, 2015 ; Jereb et al., 2018 ), student centeredness and campus climate (Elliot & Healy, 2001 ) and students’ own life experiences while at college (Mihanović et al., 2016 ; Nastasić et al., 2019 ; Weerasinghe et al., 2017 ) have also been noted.

Interaction and student satisfaction in higher education

Beyond the factors above, the recent student satisfaction literature has highlighted the potential role played by students’ interpersonal interactions in HE as a key predictor of student satisfaction levels. This is to be expected, given the vital role of interpersonal interaction in learning. According to the social constructivist paradigm, learning is an inherently social process, in which interpersonal interactions are critical in the construction of knowledge and understanding (Pritchard & Woollard, 2013 ). Studies have affirmed that HE students recognise the importance of interpersonal interactions with their classmates and university staff in furthering their content learning (Hurst et al., 2013 ). In Burgess et al.’s ( 2018 ) comprehensive study using the data of millions of university students from the UK’s National Student Survey (NSS), the aspect of “social life and meeting people” was recognised as one of the key determinants contributing to university satisfaction despite it has not been included in their study.

In general, two forms of interaction have been examined in relation to student satisfaction in HE: student-faculty and student–student interactions. The proposed importance of student-faculty interactions in determining student satisfaction levels in HE is reflected in both the theoretical and the empirical literature. In one very early review, Pascarella ( 1980 ) reported that student-faculty informal contact was positively associated with college satisfaction, alongside other educational outcomes. Similarly, in Aldemir and Gülcan’s ( 2004 ) conceptual framework, the authors included the variable “communication with instructors both in and outside classroom” as one of the factors that contributed to university students’ satisfaction levels. This variable was then found empirically significant in predicting satisfaction levels in a sample of more than 300 Turkish university students.

Table 1 provides a broad summary of empirical studies that have examined either student-faculty or student–student interpersonal interactions as predictors of student satisfaction in HE. Collectively, these studies have reported significant associations between satisfaction and both types of interactions. Although most have focused on the context of online learning, as Kuo et al. ( 2014 ) argued, high-quality interactions are important in all forms of education, whether technology-based or more traditional.

The crucial role of interaction in HE has been underscored more recently by the concerns over the loss of social contact and socialisation following the suspension of in-person classes due to the COVID-19 outbreak which has impacted the students negatively (UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2020 ). HE students have also raised their own concerns over the quality of education they receive in online, as compared to in-person formats, which differ primarily in terms of the level of interpersonal interaction they afford (Ang, 2020 ). Such concerns make clear the perceived significance of interpersonal interaction in the overall HE learning experience.

It should be noted that there is a need to consider the role of students’ demographic background in examining the relationship between interaction and student satisfaction, with the evidence in the literature indicating that students’ demographic profiles can moderate the types and levels of interpersonal interactions they have with their peers or instructors. In a study conducted by Kim and Sax ( 2009 ) using data on 58,281 US students, differences in the frequency of student-faculty interactions were attributed to gender, alongside other demographic variables (race, social class and first-generation status). Similarly, in a study by Criado-Gomis et al. ( 2012 ) on 1000 graduates from two Spanish universities, significant differences were seen in the quality of interactions between male and female students. At around the same time, Ke and Kwak’s ( 2013 ) study of 392 students from a US university indicated that age was significantly correlated with the perceived quality of peer interactions that occurred in online learning environments.

Rationale and aims of the present study

The literature suggests a wide range of attributes that may contribute to student satisfaction levels in HE. This aligns with the propositions of Jereb et al. ( 2018 ), who underscored the complexity of student satisfaction and the myriad factors that influence it. Existing scholarly work is yet to provide a complete understanding on the different aspects of HE students’ satisfaction and establish concrete links between these aspects and the different forms of interpersonal interactions in which HE students may engage.

From Table 1 , studies conducted thus far have tended to focus on measuring student satisfaction using generic or unidimensional measures. Similarly, the measurement of interpersonal interaction has typically been restricted to only two dimensions (student–student or student-instructor), though evidence from the literature suggests a need to divide these further into formal and informal forms (Kraemer, 1997 ; Mamiseishvili, 2011 ; Meeuwisse et al., 2010 ). By taking a broader view of student satisfaction and interpersonal interactions, the present study aimed to provide a more fine-grained analysis of how different aspects of HE students’ satisfaction levels may relate to different forms of interpersonal interaction.

It has been noted that what contributes to student satisfaction levels can be highly contextual. In defining overall student satisfaction in HE, Duque ( 2014 ) contended that overall satisfaction with an organisation will be based on all encounters and experiences a consumer has with that particular organisation. It is acknowledged, therefore, that the results presented in this paper may be particular to the context in which the study was conducted (the details of the participating institution and the participants selected for this research were provided in the “ Method ” section below).

Three research questions were formulated to guide the research conducted in this study:

How satisfied were the students with different aspects of the HE institution studied, and how did satisfaction levels vary across these different aspects?

How did different forms of interpersonal interaction relate to different aspects of these students’ satisfaction levels?

Did the types of interpersonal interaction in which students engaged vary with students’ gender and age?

Participants and setting

Students participated in this research were enrolled 14 international undergraduate degree programs from the UK, offered by the participating institution. The institution is one of the largest private HE institutions in Singapore at the time of the study. Established in the 1960s, the institution admits approximately 17,000 local and foreign students. Its physical campus offers a variety of facilities such as library, performing art theatre, cafeterias and sport facilities. The institution also offers a wide range of services such as counselling and career advisory services.

These students were invited to participate in an online survey in the middle of the 2018–2019 academic year, to report their satisfaction levels with different aspects of their learning experiences, and on the forms of interpersonal interactions in which they typically engaged. In all, 280 students provided complete responses to the survey. Of this sample, 105 (37.50%) were males and 175 (62.50%) were females. The respondents were aged between 18 to 40 years old, with an overall mean of 22.79 years ( SD  = 2.40). One hundred and ninety-seven (70.36%) were continuing students, while 83 (29.64%) were final year students.

• Student satisfaction

Drawing upon the existing literature, the present study focused on eight aspects of student satisfaction, classified into three categories (academic, institution and university life). Each of these eight aspects was represented by a single item in the student satisfaction measure, to which students responded on a 7-point rating scale (see Table 2 below). The rated satisfaction scores obtained for all the eight aspects form the eight dependent variables, each to be predicted by the four interaction variables (see next section).

Interaction

Following Meeuwisse et al.’s ( 2010 ) model, four forms of interaction were measured in the study, each representing a different dimension of interpersonal interaction. Each was measured by a number of items in the interpersonal interaction measure, as shown in Table 3 . In the survey, respondents were asked to select the items that related to them, based on their own experiences of interacting with their peers and instructors/lecturers. Therefore, for each respondent, the total score obtained for each of the four types of interpersonal interaction was simply a summed total based on selected items within each type. The four scores obtained formed the four independent variables (i.e. predictors) used to predict each of the eight satisfaction variables (the dependent variables) explained above.

The online survey was hosted on the Qualtrics platform, a web-based survey tool that allows respondents to answer online survey questions. Institutional ethics approval was first obtained prior to conducting the survey. Email invitations were sent to students to participate in the online survey. The purpose of the survey, time required to answer the survey, identity confidentiality and data protection assurances were all stated in the email. Participants were asked to consent to participate before entering the survey. Two email reminders following the initial invitations were also sent to increase participation rates. A pilot study, conducted before the launch of the survey, indicated that the instructions and questions within the survey were clear to a pilot sample of 14 students who attended the same university as the intended survey participants.

The analysis was divided into three parts to address the three research questions. Descriptive statistics and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse and compare levels of student satisfaction across the eight aspects identified, to address research question 1 (How satisfied were the students with different aspects of the HE institution studied, and how did satisfaction levels vary across these different aspects?). This provided a broad overview of student satisfaction levels within the specific HE institution in which the study was conducted.

Stepwise regression and correlation analyses were conducted to address research question 2 (How did different forms of interpersonal interaction relate to different aspects of these students’ satisfaction levels?) via SPSS V26. Using the satisfaction ratings for each identified aspect of student experience (program, institution, student’s own learning, teaching of lecturers, student support provided, life as a university student in general, campus facilities and overall university experience) as the dependent variables and scores for the four types of interpersonal interaction (student–student formal interaction, student–student informal interaction, student-instructor formal interaction and student-instructor formal interaction) as independent variables, eight regression models were formulated. Results obtained were interpreted and analysed to uncover more specific relationships between different dimensions of student satisfaction and interpersonal interaction.

Bivariate correlations between two demographic variables (age and gender) and the four interaction variables were examined to address research question 3 (Did the types of interpersonal interaction in which students engaged vary with students’ gender and age?). The results obtained were analysed to reveal how the age and gender of the students were associated with their engagement in different forms of interpersonal interaction, and thus, suggest how these variables might contribute differentially to student satisfaction levels.

Five multivariate outliers were detected using the Mahalanobis distances, tested at a significance level of 0.001 and subsequently removed from the analysis. This is because the presence of outliers can distort the statistical analysis performed (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013 ). This resulted in only 275 cases being used in the analyses for the study.

Student satisfaction on different aspects of the institution

The descriptive statistics presented in Table 4 suggest that in general, respondents were favourable about their institution in terms of the different satisfaction elements surveyed. The mean satisfaction score for all eight aspects was higher than 4 (midpoint of the rating scale). For seven of the eight aspects of satisfaction, the median and mode scores were recorded at 5. The proportion of respondents with ratings of 5 and above was in the range of 59.27–76.36% for the same seven aspects.

Comparing different aspects of satisfaction, the respondents were most satisfied with the two academic aspects, particularly with the academic program in which they were enrolled. For both “program” and “teaching of the lecturers”, the mean scores were the highest among all the eight aspects of student satisfaction, and more than 70% of the respondents gave a rating of 5 or above for these two aspects.

They were least satisfied with the items referring to their university lives while studying at the institution. The range of mean scores for the three aspects within this set (4.36–4.78) was generally lower than for other aspects of satisfaction (academic, 4.96–5.12; institution, 4.49–4.85). The item “My life as a university student in general” attracted a particularly low number of positive ratings, with mean, median and mode scores ranked lowest for this item among all the eight aspects of satisfaction surveyed. Less than 50% of respondents gave a rating of 5 or above for this aspect. Among the three aspects surveyed, however, the respondents were most satisfied with “my own learning”.

Among all the three institutional aspects surveyed, “institution” was the aspect with the highest mean score, and the only item in this group in which more than 60% of respondents gave a rating of 5 or above. Satisfaction levels for “campus facilities” and “Student support provided” were notably lower, even when compared with some of the university life aspects.

The results from the repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference across the eight satisfaction mean scores, F (7,268) = 14.79, p  < 0.001. The effect size (partial \({\eta }^{2}\) ) was 0.28, indicating that some 28% of variance in satisfaction scores was attributable to the type of satisfaction measure used. The pairwise comparisons also showed that each of the satisfaction mean scores was significantly different from at least two other mean satisfaction mean scores. The mean scores for satisfaction in terms of “program” and “my life as a university student in general”, in particular, were different from the mean satisfaction scores of the other six aspects measured (Table 5 ).

Interaction and student satisfaction

The bivariate correlations between the eight satisfaction variables and the four interaction variables are provided in Table 6 . To explore relationships between these eight variables and the interaction variables, separate stepwise regression analyses were performed, in each case, with satisfaction ratings as the dependent variable, and the four interaction variables entered as predictors.

Relationships between interaction and student satisfaction with academic aspects

The two stepwise regressions performed for satisfaction scores associated with academic aspects are shown in Table 7 . In both cases, the analysis stopped after one step. For satisfaction ratings related to the “program”, student–student informal interactions were identified as the only significant predictor, while for satisfaction with “teaching of the lecturers”, student-instructor formal interaction was identified as the only significant predictor.

Relationships between interaction and student satisfaction with institutional aspects

Three stepwise regressions were performed with the satisfaction scores for “institution”, “campus facilities” and “student support provided” as the dependent variables, respectively. Again, the analysis stopped after one step for satisfaction related to the “institution” and also for “student support provided”. Student–student informal interactions were identified as the only significant predictor of both ratings. There were no significant predictors of satisfaction in terms of “campus facilities”.

Relationships between interaction and student satisfaction with university life

Three stepwise regressions were performed for the satisfaction scores related to “my own learning”, “my overall university experience” and “my life as a university student in general” as the dependent variables. Again, the analysis stopped after one step in all three cases. Student–student informal interaction was identified as the only significant predictor of satisfaction on all three aspects of the students’ self-reflective experiences. The association between student–student informal interaction and satisfaction with respect to “my own learning” and “my overall university experience” was slightly stronger than for “my life as a university student in general”.

Comparison between the four forms of interaction in predicting student satisfaction

From the regression analysis, each of the four interaction variables was identified as a significant predictor of at least one aspect of student satisfaction. At the same time, no aspects of satisfaction were predicted by more than one predictor. Furthermore, satisfaction with campus facilities was not predicted by any of the four interaction variables.

Overall, student–student informal interaction was the only variable that significantly predicted more than one satisfaction aspect (one academic aspect, one institutional aspect and all three university life aspects). None of the other three interaction variables significantly predicted more than one satisfaction aspect, with student–student formal interaction significantly predicting only “student support provided”. Student-instructor formal interactions significantly predicted ratings in terms of “teaching of the lecturers”. Student-instructor informal interactions did not significantly predict any of the satisfaction variables.

Associations between demographic and interaction variables

Table 8 presents bivariate correlations between the four interaction variables and the two demographic variables of age and gender. Significant positive correlations were found between the two demographic variables and student-instructor formal instruction. The positive correlation between gender and student-instructor formal interaction indicates that male students were likely to have more formal interactions with their instructors than were female students. In the case of age, the significant positive correlation indicates that older students (this can be taken as those above the mean age of 22.79 years in the participating institution) were more likely to have formal interactions with their lecturers than were younger students (those below the mean age of 22.79 years in the participating institution).

No significant correlations were found between the two demographic variables and any other interaction variables.

The present study aimed not only to provide a more in-depth analysis of different aspects of HE students’ satisfaction in one HE institution in Singapore, but also to provide a more nuanced analysis of relationships between these aspects and different forms of interpersonal interactions in which HE students engaged. The following sections discuss the findings of the study in greater depth, to address the three formulated research questions.

Student satisfaction on academics, institutions and university life

In addressing research question 1 (How satisfied were the students with different aspects of the HE institution studied, and how did satisfaction levels vary across these different aspects?), while the findings show that students were generally satisfied with the different aspects surveyed, satisfaction levels were not the same across different aspects. This reinforces the notion that student satisfaction in HE ought to be treated as a multidimensional construct. Findings also confirmed that the differences across various satisfaction levels were statistically significant.

More importantly, the findings suggest that general satisfaction as university students requires the fulfilments in aspects beyond what most institutions are currently providing to their students. As reflected in the results, the respondents’ life satisfaction as university students was noticeably lower than satisfaction attained for all other aspects. Not only did “my life as a university student in general” have the lowest satisfaction mean score among all satisfaction aspects measured, it was also noted that its mode and median scores were lower than the midpoint score of 4. As depicted in Rode et al.’s ( 2005 ) and Sirgy et al.’s ( 2010 ) frameworks, HE students’ life satisfaction depends upon on satisfaction attained from a wide range of academic and non-academic aspects.

Analysing the different aspects of satisfaction separately as was done here would provide more nuanced feedback to HE institutions, empowering them further to focus on various aspects of the services they provide to enhance student learning experiences and satisfaction. In this case, the fact that satisfaction with student support was notably lower than the ratings obtained for most of the other satisfaction aspects, the results strongly suggest that enhancing the usual institutional aspects such as campus facilities or administrative services will not be the most effective approach to enhancing student satisfaction. As indicated in Kakada’s ( 2019 ) study, student satisfaction was found positively related to technology, academic, social and service supports provided.

The role of interaction in higher education student satisfaction

Through research question 2 (How did different forms of interpersonal interaction relate to different aspects of these students’ satisfaction levels?), the study aimed to provide a more nuanced analysis of relationships between interpersonal interactions and student satisfaction in HE, by examining how each specific form of interaction related to different aspects of student satisfaction.

Results indicated that student satisfaction in HE was not only explained by who the students interacted with (peers vs. instructors), but also how they interacted with these individuals (either in a formal or an informal format). With three forms of interaction (student–student formal, student–student informal and student-instructor formal) found to be significant predictors of different aspects of satisfaction, this suggests that how the students engage with their peers and lecturers was also vital in explaining their satisfaction with their HE experiences. This further reaffirms the notion that both formal and informal interactions are crucial in HE as posited in Tinto’s, 1975 model of college student attrition (Tinto, 1975 ).

The results also underscored the relative importance of different forms of interpersonal interaction in explaining different aspects of student satisfaction. From the results, student–student informal interaction was significantly associated with satisfaction in all three aspects studied—academic, institution and university life. This suggests that student–student interaction could be the most critical form of interaction in terms of student satisfaction levels. Other forms of interaction were also significantly associated with specific aspects of satisfaction. Student-instructor formal interaction was a significant predictor of HE students’ satisfaction with the teaching of their instructors, while student–student formal interaction significantly predicted satisfaction with the student support provided by the institution. As such, the different forms of interaction appear to play complementary roles in predicting students’ overall satisfaction levels. With consideration on the specificity of different forms of interaction and different aspects of satisfaction, this adds greater depth to the existing literature in discussing the role of student–student and student-instructor interactions as predictors of student satisfaction as most past studies tend to draw limited distinction between different forms of interactions, or between different aspects of satisfaction (see Chang & Smith, 2008 ; Palmer & Koenig-Lewis, 2011 ).

The more granular level of findings on the relationship between interaction and student satisfaction have several possible implications for practice in the HE context. First, the findings suggest a need for HE institutions to recognise the vital role of student–student informal interactions as a predictor of HE students’ satisfaction levels. This finding aligns with the propositions of other scholars in the field. For example, Meeuwisse et al. ( 2010 ) posed that students’ informal relationships with their peers are vital in developing their sense of belonging. In a separate study conducted by Senior and Howard ( 2014 ), it was found that collaborative learning was fostered through friendship groups in which students interact with one another to develop conceptual understanding. From a broader perspective, this finding is consistent with the notion that peers play a significant role in HE student development. In Astin’s 1993 landmark study involving more than 20,000 college students, it was suggested that peer influences had contributed significantly to the growth and development of undergraduate students (Feldman & Astin, 1994 ). Thus, HE institutions who wish to bolster student satisfaction levels could identify ways to establish structures that foster more frequent and higher quality informal student–student interactions. As indicated in Burnett et al.’s ( 2007 ) study, the frequency and intensity of interaction between students and instructors and peers contributed to the students’ satisfaction levels.

Second, with the findings indicating the need to improve student support, the institution concerned should incorporate the element of formal student–student interaction in the provision of student support. One such initiative is the peer-to-peer support programs. Within the literature, such support programs have been reported to have positive impacts on HE learning in different studies (Arco-Tirado et al., 2019 ; Backer et al., 2015 ; Munley et al., 2010 ). As the institution concerned has already put in place a peer tutoring program (called Peer-Assisted Learning Program), it could also consider fostering greater student–student formal interaction in other support areas to further improve student satisfaction, as recommended by Kakada et al. ( 2019 ).

Age and gender were also found to be significantly associated with student-instructor formal interactions, which implies that institutions could consider age and gender differences in designing such structures. For example, given that male students were likely to have a greater number of formal interactions with their lecturers, HE institutions may need to consider more differentiated practices that faculty members can adopt to ensure that new female students engage regularly in formal interactions with them.

Overall, the more nuanced analyses provided by the present study not only expand previous understandings of student satisfaction and interaction in the context of HE, but also offer practical insights upon which HE institutions can draw to elevate their students’ satisfaction levels. From the findings, it is suggested that HE institutions should evaluate more specifically different aspects of student satisfaction on a regular basis, as well as focusing upon enhancing the quality and quantity of interpersonal interactions in which students regularly engage.

It should be noted that, given the highly contextualised nature of student satisfaction research (Santini et al., 2017 ), the generality of the present study may be limited to universities that are similar to the one that participated in the present study. Future research should, therefore, seek to determine whether the results of the present study generalise to other contexts. The study could also be replicated with students studying at other levels (e.g. the postgraduate level) or those with particular profiles (e.g. international students, students at risk or students from minority ethnic group).

Also, as a construct that relates closely to attitudes and expectations, student satisfaction is likely to change over time. As such, research on student satisfaction in HE should be a continual process as no single study—conducted at a specific timepoint—can entirely capture the changing nature of student satisfaction over time. Thus, HE institutions themselves are likely to be in the best position to evaluate the factors which predict their own students’ satisfaction levels, ideally, as an element of regular, ongoing quality improvement efforts.

Data availability

Data will be made available on request to the corresponding author.

Code availability

No non-commercial software or custom code used in the study.

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Wong, W.H., Chapman, E. Student satisfaction and interaction in higher education. High Educ 85 , 957–978 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00874-0

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00874-0

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