Student satisfaction : the view from the bottom of the ivory tower

Murphy, Terry J. (1992) Student satisfaction : the view from the bottom of the ivory tower. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (30MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

This study describes the perceptions and satisfactions of 43 senior students in the Faculties of Arts and Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). It identifies those factors that affect student satisfactions and recommends ways to make the university experience more satisfying and rewarding for students. -- Higher education scholars have paid little attention to student satisfaction as an educational outcome. Much of the data are quantitative, American and designed for use in conceptual models of attrition or retention. These models suggest that students who are integrated into the social and academic domains of university life express higher levels of satisfaction than those less socially and academically integrated. However, while this research has added to our understanding of how the 'degree of fit' between students and their environments may affect educational outcomes, there is still a significant gap in our knowledge as to how the interplay of students' entry traits, thei. institutional experiences and the characteristics of the university affects student satisfaction. -- This study suggests that an important part of the integration process involves the pursuit of goals in the organizational setting. To achieve these goals students require certain resources - monetary support, cultural capital, institutional rewards, social support networks and lay referral systems. The unequal distribution of these resources and the inability to define goals in an organizational setting ultimately account for variation in student satisfaction levels. Furthermore, student satisfaction is an emotional state oriented toward future expectations. Satisfied students appear much more optimistic than dissatisfied students that their education will prepare them for the limited opportunities after graduation. -- Undergraduates at MUN expressed dissatisfaction with the following aspects of the student experience: teaching, administrative procedures, student loans, social support and advising and counselling for students. At the same time, the majority of students appear to have reconciled themselves to the more adverse conditions of university life. They maintain unexpectedly high levels of satisfaction by adjusting their aspirations to current economic realities.

Actions (login required)

View Item