A student satisfaction model for higher education providers

This study examines how overall student satisfaction in Austrian Universities of Applied Sciences can be broken down into dimensions of the student's learning experience. The book proposes a student satisfaction model for actual students in Austria taking an economic diploma course. The hor demonstrates that in addition to the academic and pedagogic quality of the teaching culture, infrastructure and quality of services based on long-term relationships with university personnel relationships should not be underestimated when trying to improve student satisfaction. The contribution to knowledge of this study is the first student satisfaction model for Universities of Applied Sciences in Austria. The empirical testing of this coherent student satisfaction model extracts non-relationship and relationship inducing factors for the specific university environment. These factors support the overall assessment of student satisfaction in the Higher Education environment. Furthermore, the emphasis on the relationship marketing aspects for Universities of Applied Sciences is confirmed. This study uses both primary and secondary data. The primary data involve both qualitative and quantitative research. The research is divided into three stages. The first stage, the analysis of the actual customer satisfaction models for services especially of Higher Education providers, uses secondary data as a principal method of research. The second stage contains the testing and validating of the preliminary model with actual students via the survey method. At the third stage, Higher Education experts and university personnel in Austria are at the core of the research to further validate and adapt the model with the case study method. This student satisfaction model could serve two purposes in the future: first, a more comprehensive tool for improving the marketing for Higher Education providers by enhancing the student learning experience, and second, informing university management for adjusting and adapting Higher Education institutions to a changing and tougher economic reality.