Evaluation of the factors that determine quality in higher education: an empirical study

Abstract

Purpose -The aim of this paper is to identify the quality determinants for education services provided by higher education institutions (HEIs) in Greece and to measure their relative importance from the students' points of view. Design/mthodology/approach -A multi-criteria decision-making methodology was used for assessing the relative importance of quality determinants that affect student satisfaction. More specifically, the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) was used in order to measure the relative weight of each quality factor. Findings -The relative weights of the factors that contribute to the quality of educational services as it is perceived by students was measured.Research limitations/implications -The research is based on the questionnaire of the Hellenic Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. This implies that the measured weights are related mainly to questions posed in this questionnaire. However, the applied method (AHP) can be used to assess different quality determinants. Practical implications -The outcome of this study can be used in order to quantify internal quality assessment of HEIs. More specifically, the outcome can be directly used by HEIs for assessing quality as perceived by students. Originality/value -The paper attempts to develop insights into comparative evaluations of quality determinants as they are perceived by students.

Factors Describing Students´ Perception on Education Quality Standards

“…Because there is a subjective distortion of evaluation for example due to the failure during exams. The importance of the continuous feedback, which, in the case that a school management reflects it, can help to improve the quality of the educational process, provided by students during and after their studies corresponds to the recommendation by Tsinidou, Gerogiannis, and Fitsilis (2010). According to Thatcher et al (2016), institutions in the higher education sector should draw conclusions from the individual assessments by students, as emphasized by O´Connor and O´Hagan (2016) when assessing teachers, and adjust their subsequent strategic development, because, as indicated in the researches by Shahjahan and Morgan (2016), an assessment of the education learning outcomes brings the possibility how to improve own competitiveness in the higher education sphere.…”

“…Researches by Tsinidou, Gerogiannis, and Fitsilis (2010) emphasize the importance of opinions and feedback in the perception of the quality determinants primarily from the point of view of students against the self-assessment on the part of faculties / universities / colleges. These point out that details from students contribute to the educational services quality.…”

Student satisfaction or happiness?

“…There is influential, but not uncontested (Tsinidou et al, 2010), literature concerning higher education institutes as education service providers, functioning like any other business (DeShields, 2005). Eagle and Brennan (2007, p. 4) argue that academic staff as service providers are thus vital to process delivery.…”

Listening to and Learning from Graduates‘ Perceptions: Implications for Change?

“…As far as is known, for the rest of the variables, association with word of mouth intention was checked and there are no comparable data or relative studies in Greece. However, findings of student surveys have indicated that career prospects after graduation and the links of the University with business (Tsinidou, Gerogiannis, and Fitsilis, 2010), the finding of a job relevant to the study field (Mousouli, Florou, Nikitopoulou, and Goudas, 2003) and the fulfilment of career expectations (Kotivas, Tsipa, and Tsipas, 2005) are of major importance for Greek students regarding their course experience. There has been no further investigation on how these concepts affect their word of mouth intention.…”