A quantitative survey was designed

A quantitative survey was designed to elicit student satisfaction levels across the
University’s service offerings. The questionnaire consisted of 60 questions informed by
previous research studies and subdivided into the various categories of the
service-product bundle including, lecture and tutorial facilities, ancillary facilities,
the facilitating goods, the explicit service and the implicit service. At the end students
were asked for their overall satisfaction rating and whether they would recommend the
University to a prospective student. The satisfaction questions were preceded by a
series of demographic questions that would allow the sample population to be
segmented. These included, interalia, questions regarding gender, age, level of study,
mode of study and country of origin.
Participation in the survey was entirely voluntary and anonymous. The length and
complexity of the questionnaire was influenced, in part, by the balance between the
quest for data and getting students to complete the survey.
The questionnaire was piloted among 100 undergraduate volunteers. The length of
time it took them to complete the survey was noted and at the end they were asked for
any comments regarding the validity and reliability of individual questions. They were
also asked if there was anything “missing” from the questionnaire. Based on the
feedback received a number of questions were amended and the design of the
questionnaire altered slightly. It took on average 12 minutes to complete the
questionnaire.
In order to get as large and representative a sample as possible, core modules from
programmes in all five Schools within the Faculty of Business and Law at all three
undergraduate levels were targeted. Staff teaching these modules were approached
and permission sought to utilise 15 minutes of their lecture time in order to explain the
rationale behind the survey and to persuade students to complete the survey in class.
Generally this “personal touch” was successful in eliciting a good response. Over the
course of the two weeks the survey was undertaken, only one person refused to
complete the questionnaire.
Researchers are divided as to whether or not determinants of satisfaction should be
weighted by their importance because different attributes may be of unequal
importance to different people (Angur, 1998; Harvey, 1995; Patterson and Spreng,
1997). In this study both satisfaction and importance were measured.
Measuring
student
satisfaction
255There is no such thing as the perfect rating scale. However, some prod