Factors affecting satisfaction from students in higher education

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business Phan Thi Kim Thoa FACTORS AFFECTING SATISFACTION FROM STUDENTS’ CHOICES IN HIGHER EDUCATION ID: 22120074 MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours) SUPERVISOR: Dr TRAN HA MINH QUAN Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2015 Table of contents Table of contents i List of figure iii List of table iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v ABSTRACT Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research background 1.2 Statement of the problem 1.3 Research objectives 1.4 Research significance 1.5 Research scope 1.6 Research structure Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW, HYPOTHESE AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL .7 2.1 The concept of Higher education 2.2 Overview of students‟ choice 2.3 Satisfaction from Students‟ choice 10 2.4 Hypotheses 11 2.4.1 Students’ characteristic 11 2.4.2 Influence of significant people 12 2.4.3 Career opportunities after graduation 13 2.4.4 Higher education universities’ characteristics 13 2.4.5 Higher education universities’ efforts to communicate with prospect students .14 2.5 Research model 15 Chapter RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17 3.1 Research process 17 3.2 Research design 18 3.3 Sample selection 18 3.4 Data source 19 3.4.1 Primary data 19 3.4.2 Secondary data 20 3.5 Measurement scales 20 3.6 Data analysis method 22 Chapter DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 25 4.1 Sample descriptive statistics 25 4.2 Assessment and Refinement of measurement scale 26 4.2.1 Cronbach’s alpha test 26 4.2.2 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) 29 4.2.3 Revised conceptual model 38 4.3 Hypotheses Testing 40 4.3.1 Regression assumptions 40 4.3.2 Regression analysis 43 4.3.3 Hypotheses testing 45 4.4 Research findings 48 Chapter CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, LITMITATION AND DIRECTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 50 5.1 Conclusion 50 5.2 Managerial implication 51 5.3 Limitation and direction for future research 52 References 54 APPRENDIX 59 APPRENDIX 1: INTERVIEW QUESTION 59 APPRENDIX 2: SURVEY 60 APPRENDIX II: BẢNG CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT 64 List of figure Figure 2.1: The conceptual research model 15 Figure 3.1: Research process 17 Figure 4.1: The revised research model 39 Figure 4.2: Test for homoscedasticity 40 Figure 4.3: Normality test 42 Figure 4.3: Normal P-Plot 43 List of table Table 3.1: Measurement scales 21 Table 4.1: Genders of respondents 25 Table 4.2: Kind of higher education universities (HEUs) 26 Table 4.3: Gender, Kind of higher education universities (HEUs) 26 Table 4.4: Reliability Statistic 27 Table 4.5: Reliability testing results 27 Table 4.6: KMO and Barlett‟s Test 29 Table 4.7: Total Variance Explained 30 Table 4.8: Component Matrix 30 Table 4.9: KMO and Barlett‟s Test 31 Table 4.10: Total Variance Explained 31 a Table 4.11: Rotated Component Matrix 32 Table 4.12: Regroup measurement scale 33 Table 4.13: Reliability testing results 34 Table 4.14: KMO and Barlett‟s Test 36 Table 4.15: Total Variance Explained 36 Table 4.16: Rotated Component Matrix 37 Table 4.17: Correlation 41 Table 4.18: Coefficients .42 Table 4.19: Model summary 44 Table 4.20: ANOVA 44 Table 4.21: Coefficients .45 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I firstly would like to express my sincere gratitude to the ISB – International School of Business, ISB Research Committee and all the professors who help and support me during the course of this Master program With respect and deep gratitude, I would like to thank my advisor Dr.Tran Ha Minh Quan for the continuous support for my research, for his patience, motivation, enthusiasm and immense knowledge I also would like to give thank the ISB staff, for their warmth and support over the period of my study, research and writing this thesis I thank all the participants, students from higher education universities in Ho Chi Minh City This study would not have possible without their cooperation I also acknowledge the universities that allowed me to conduct the survey Lastly, I would like to thank my family and my friends who always encourage and support me during the time of my research ABSTRACT There are more and more higher education universities in Viet Nam Therefore, the graduated high school students have more opportunities to continue their study in higher level However, there are many students not satisfy with their choice The central problem investigated in this research is the factors affecting satisfaction from students‟ choice in higher education Based on the previous related research and study, the research try to exam the affect from five factors - students‟ characteristics, the influence of significant people, the career opportunities, the fixed characteristics of the higher education universities and efforts of the own universities to communicate with prospect students - to satisfaction of students‟ choice In doing this, the study has collected data from 257 students in Ho Chi Minh City The research results show that there are six factors affecting satisfaction from students‟ choice (the career opportunities factor is divided into two factors: social occupational structure and career expectation) However, the data just supports five the hypotheses and confirm that five factors contribute significant meaning to the satisfaction from students‟ choice (except the efforts of the universities to communicate with prospect students) Keywords: higher education, satisfaction, students‟ choice, students‟ characteristics, influence of significant people, career expectation Chapter INTRODUCTION The first chapter introduces the background of Vietnamese higher education as well as the status of satisfaction from students‟ choice After that, this chapter also raises the management problem and the research objectives to explore the factors affecting satisfaction from students‟ choice in higher education Finally, the scope is proposed and the research structure is presented 1.1 Research background The Vietnamese higher education sector has growth rapidly as the results of the efforts from the Ministry of Education and Training This is the long-term goal of the government to make Vietnam as an excellent education center in Southeast-Asia The growth of the higher education sector can be seen in many aspects, such as: the increase in higher education organizations, the increase in students‟ enrollment, the increase in the government‟s efforts and the increase in the output quality With many policies of liberalization and democratization in the higher education sector introduced by the government, there are more and more higher education universities operating in Vietnam According the statistic results from Ministry of Education and Training (2013), in recent years, the number of universities and colleges in Vietnam has increased continually: 403 in 2010, 414 in 2011, 419 in 2012 and 421 in 2013 So, these universities are facing with a very difficult task to compete the other universities to attract students to choose their programs The increase in the number of higher education organizations can help the high school students have more choice to select the university where they continue their study However, a research from Supporting and Psychological Counseling Center of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Hanoi shows that 75.6 percent of students did not satisfy with their choice in higher education universities (Duy Anh, 2013) Moreover, the research also presents that there were 32.4 percent of students wanted to rechoose higher education universities The satisfaction from students‟ choice in higher education is very important If the students satisfy with their choice in higher education, they will have more motivation in their study as well as their career in the future This will help students can promote their full ability in work, improve their productivity and labor efficiency In the other hand, if the students not satisfy with their choice, they must spend more time and cost to re-study Therefore, it is very necessary to determine the factors affecting satisfaction from students‟ choice 1.2 Statement of the problem Nowadays, as the requirement of higher education has been increasing rapidly, there are more and more universities with many promotion schemes to increase brand awareness as well as attract more student to choose their programs Therefore, these universities are facing with the fierce competition To be successful in higher education sector, the most important task for these universities is to identify the factors that affect satisfaction from students‟ choice and have right strategies to take advantages from these factors to provide the best solution in education for students as well as increase the universities‟ reputations Besides that, in the reality, there are many students who not determine exactly their choice in higher education According an investigation result from Nguoi lao dong Newspaper (2005), more than 64 percent of students cannot identify their career objects when they choose higher education universities From this article, there are more than 60 percent of students admit that they not receive career orientation when registering to the university Another research from Vietnam National University Hanoi also pointed that 65.4 percent of students cannot know about career objectives (Thanh Ha, 2013) So that, there are 75.6 percent of students not satisfy with their choice in higher education universities Therefore, the aim of this research will determine the factors affect to satisfaction from students‟ choice From this, it will help families, high schools and other education organizations have the right methods to orientate career as well as create the best conditions for the high school students to choose higher education universities With the potential growth of education sector and the competition from higher education universities to increase the satisfaction from students‟ choice and attract more students, the question raised by marketers is that what are key factors affect to satisfaction from students‟ choice From many related theories and research from other nations and some investigation in Vietnamese context, they are five factors: students‟ characteristics, the influence of significant people, the career opportunities, the fixed characteristics of the higher education universities and efforts of the own universities to communicate with prospect students in satisfaction of students‟ choice Based on these studies, this research aims to exam these factors by measuring the relationship between them with the satisfaction from students‟ choice 1.3 Research objectives This research aims to give scholars as well as the managers of the higher education universities in Ho Chi Minh City an answer to the question: What factors affect satisfaction from students‟ choice in higher education? This will find out the effect of students‟ characteristics, the influence of significant people, the career opportunities, the fixed characteristics of the higher education universities and efforts of the own universities to communicate with prospect students in satisfaction of students‟ choice on satisfaction from students‟ choice in higher education To archive the objective, this research will try to investigate: - Whether there is a relationship between students‟ characteristics and satisfaction from students‟ choice or not? If yes, this is the positive or negative correlation - Whether there is a relationship between the influences of significant people and satisfaction from students‟ choice or not? If yes, this is the positive or negative correlation This chapter showed an overview of the research in conclusion section After that, it also presented the implication Finally, it pointed out the limitation while doing the research and suggested some directions for further research References Arambewela, Rodney A and Hall, John (2001) Post choice satisfaction among international postgraduate students from Asia studying in Victorian universities ANZMAC Conference 2001 : bridging marketing theory and practice : conference proceedings : Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference 1st - 5th December 2001 Massey University, 2001 (ISBN: 0473082063) Brassington, F (2006) Principles of Marketing (4th ed.) Harlow: FT Prentice Hall Bryant, F B and Yarnold, P R (1995) Principal-components analysis and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis In L G Grimm & P R Yarnold (Eds.), Reading and understanding multivariate statistics (pp 99-136) Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Chapman, D W (1981) A model of student college choice The Journal of Higher Education 52(5), 490-505 (1981) Chapman, D W and R.H.Johnson (1979) Influences on Students’ College Choice: A Case Study Ann Arbor, Mich: Project Choice, School of Education, University of Michigan Chapman R (1984) Toward a theory of college choice: a model of college search and choice behaviour Canada: University of Alberta Press Chen, C H., & Zimitat, C (2006) Understanding Taiwanese students' decision-making factors regarding Australian international higher education International Journal of Educational Management, 20(2), 91–100 Creswell, J.W (2003) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches Thousand Oak CA: Sage DeCoster, J., & Claypool, H M (2004) Data Analysis in SPSS Retrieved from http://www.stat-help.com/notes.html Fisher, J.L (1993, Spring) TQM: A Warning for higher education Educational Record, pp 15-19 Hanson KH and Litten LH (1989) Mapping the road to academe: a review of research on women, men, and the college-selection process In: Perun PJ, editor th Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., BaBin, B.J & Anderson, R.E (2010) Multivariate data analysis (7 ed.) London: Pearson Prentice-Hall Hossler, D and Gallagher, K (1987) Studying college choice: A three-phase model and implications for policy makers College and University, Vol 207-21 Hossler D, Schmit J and Vesper N (1999) Going to college: how social, economic, and educational factors influence the decisions students make Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Jackson GA (1982) Public efficiency and private choice in higher education Educ Eval Policy Anal Joseph, M., & Joseph, B (1998) Identifying need of potential students in tertiary education for strategy development Quality Assurance in Education, 6(2), 90–96 Joseph, M., & Joseph, B (2000) Indonesian students' perceptions of choice criteria in the selection of a tertiary institution: strategic implications The International Journal of Educational Management, 14(1), 40–44 Kandiko, C B & Mawer, M (2013) Student Expectations and Perceptions of Higher E ducation London: King‟s Learning Institute Kirk, J., & Miller, M (1986) Reliability and validity in qualitative research London: Sage Krejcie and Morgan (1970) Determining sample size for research activities, Journal Article, Educational and Psychological Measurement Kothari, S P., A Leone, and C Wasley (2005) Performance matched discretionary accrual measures Journal of Accounting and Economics List of colleges in Ho Chi Minh City (2014) Retrieved http://www.thongtintuyensinh.vn/Cac-truong-Cao-dang-khu-vuc-TP-Ho-ChiMinh_C67_D1708.htm#.U2phovl_uSo from List of universities and institutes in Ho Chi Minh City (2014) Retrieved from http://www.thongtintuyensinh.vn/Cac-truong-Dai-hoc-Hoc-vien-khu-vuc-TPHCM_C51_D1702.htm#.U2pcw_l_uSo Lovelock, C & Wirtz, J (2004) Services Marketing: People, Technology, and Strategy (5th Ed.), Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall Malhotra, N K., Hall, J., Shaw, M &Oppenheim, P.P (2004) Essentials of marketing research: An applied orientation Prentice Hall: French Forest, NSW Manski C and Wise D (1983) College choice in America Cambridge: Harvard University Press Maringe, F (2006) University and course choice: Implication for positioning, recruitment, and marketing International Journal of Educational Management, 20 (6), pp 466-479 Marvin J Burns (2006) Factors influencing the college choice of african-american students admitted to the college of agriculture, food and natural resources Master thesis University of Missouri-Columbia Meyers, L.S., Gamst, Glen, & Guarino A.J (2006) Applied multivariate research: Design and interpretation California: Saga Publication Inc Ministry of Education and Training (2013) Education Statistic in 2013 [Thong ke giao duc nam 2013] Retrieved from http://www.moet.gov.vn/?page=11.10&view=5251 My, T (2005) More Than 64 Percents of Job Seekers Did Not Identify Career Objectives [Tren 64% nguoi tim viec khong xac dinh muc tieu nghe nghiep] Nguoi lao dong Newspaper Retrieved from http://nld.com.vn/viec-lam/tren-64-nguoi-tim-viec-khongxac-dinh-muc-tieu-nghe-nghiep-124865.htm Duy Anh (2013) Students Still Confused after Choosing Career [Sinh vien chon nghe xong van ban khoan] An ninh thu Newspaper Retrieved http://www.anninhthudo.vn/xa-hoi/sinh-vien-chon-nghe-xong-van-bankhoan/493894.antd from Neville, C (2007) Introduction to Research and Research Methods Retrieved from University of Bradford, School of Management, http://www.brad.ac.uk/management/media/management/els/Introduction-to-Researchand-Research-Methods.pdf Nunnaly, J (1978) Psychometric theory New York: McGraw-Hill Pimpa, N (2004) The relationship between Thai students' choices of international education and their families International Education Journal, 5(3), 352–359 Sekaran, U and Bougie, R (2011) Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach, 5th Ed., J Wiley & Sons Sia, Joseph Kee Ming (2010) A model of higher education institutions choice in Malaysia - A conceptual approach In: The Third International Conference on International Studies (ICIS 2010), 1st-2nd December 2010, Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia pp 1-21 ISBN 9789832078456 Retrieved from http://www.ipedr.com/vol1/31-B10008.pdf Taylor, S.A and Baker, T.L (1994) An assessment of the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in the information of consumers„ purchase intentions Journal of Retailing, 70(2), 163-78 Unesco (1998) World Declaration on Higher Education For The Twenty-First Century: Vision and Mission Paper presented at World conference on higher education Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/wche/declaration_eng.htm Vrontis D., Thrassou A and Melanthiou Y (2007) A contemporary higher education studentchoice model for developed countries Journal of Business Research 60 (2007) 979 – 989 Wagner, K., & Fard, P Y (2009) Factors influencing Malaysian students' intention to study at a higher educational institution Chinese American Scholars Association, New York Retrieved from http://eprints.oum.edu.my/365/1/Wagner-Fard.pdf Wilson, G (1995), Community Care: Asking the users London: Chapman and Hall Yu, C H (2001) An introduction to computing and interpreting Cronbach Coefficient Alpha in SAS Proceedings of 26th SAS User Group International Conference Yusof, M B., Ahmad, S N., Tajudin, M B., & Ravindran, R (2008) A study of factors influencing the selectoin of a higher education institution UNITAR e-Journal, 4(2), 27– 40 APPRENDIX APPRENDIX 1: INTERVIEW QUESTION Part 1: Personal information In this part, students were asked to provide their personal information such as: name, age, universities, the program they are studying Part 2: Factors effect to satisfaction from students’ choice in higher education universities What factors effect to satisfaction from your choice in higher education universities? Among each factors mentioned above, which factor you think is the most important? Why? APPRENDIX 2: SURVEY Dear respondents, I am Phan Thi Kim Thoa, currently a student of the program “Master of Business” of International School of Business – University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City I am working on my research to explore “Factors affecting satisfaction from students’ choice in higher education” Please help to answer these below questions Your valuable answer will contribute to my research There is no right or wrong to any questions I only focus on your personal opinions Your answers will be treated in strictly private and confidence and these will only be used for research purpose If you have any comments, feedbacks to the research or the research results, please contact via my email: ptkimthoa88@gmail.com Part I: Choice in higher education Question 1: Do you satisfy with your choice in higher education universities? (Circle your choice) Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied Very unsatisfied Question 2: Does your university match your expectation? (Circle your choice) Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied Very unsatisfied Part II: Factors effect to satisfaction of students’ choice in higher education 60 Question 5: Whether did these factors affect to satisfaction of your choice in higher The suitability between student‟s ability with the university‟s characteristics The suitability interest with between the student‟s university‟s characteristics The family financial statement Students‟ performance in high school The influences of significant persons The advise from teachers The advise from parents The advise from older brothers/ other sisters The advise from friends The advise from high school admission officers Career opportunities after graduation 10 The occupational structure 11 The probability to have good job 12 The probability to have high income Disagree Strongly disagree Students’ characteristics Neutral Factors Rating scales Agree No agree Strongly education universities or not? (Tick in suitable choice) 13 The probability to reach high position in society Higher education universities’ characteristics 14 Tution fee 15 Scholarship 16 Location 17 The universities‟ reputation 18 The student support services 19 Dormitory 20 The enrolling requirement 21 The enrolling probability Higher education universities’ efforts to communicate with prospect students 22 Advertisement via newspapers, magazines 23 Advertisement via media 24 Advertisement at the high school 25 Advertisement via social network 26 Campus tour 27 Recruiment activities Part III: Personal information Question 6: Please provide some information What kind is your university? a Natural b Social c Economical d Technological e Others 62 Gender (Circle your choice) Male Female Do you have any more information? (Please provide) …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your kindly support! Hope that you will be successful in your both study and your personal life APPRENDIX 3: BẢNG CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT Xin chào bạn, Tôi tên Phan Thị Kim Thoa – học viên cao học chương trình thạc sĩ Viện Đào Tạo Quốc Tế (ISB) – Trường Đại Học Kinh Tế Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Hiện nay, thực nghiên cứu vấn đề “ Những nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến hài lòng định lựa chọn trường đại học” Rất mong bạn dành thời gian thực khảo sát bên Các ý kiến thẳng thắn bạn giúp tơi có thơng tin q báu để hồn thành nghiên cứu Các câu hỏi khơng nhằm mục đích đánh giá bạn trả lời “đúng” hay “sai”, mà nhằm tham khảo ý kiến bạn, tơi đề nghị bạn trả lời thật nghĩ Đồng thời cam kết thông tin bạn cung cấp giữ bí mật phục vụ cho mục đích nghiên cứu Nếu có đóng góp, ý kiến quan tâm đến kết khảo sát, bạn vui lịng thơng tin qua địa email ptkimthoa88@gmail.com Phần I: Sự hài lòng với định chọn trường Đại học: Câu 1: Bạn có hài lịng với định chọn trường khơng? (Khoanh trịn lựa chọn) Rất hài lòng Hài lòng Khơng ý kiến Khơng hài lịng Rất khơng hài lịng Câu 2: Ngơi trường bạn học có đáp ứng mong đợi bạn không? (Khoanh tròn lựa chọn) Rất đáp ứng Đáp ứng Không ý kiến Không đáp ứng Rất không đáp ứng Phần II: Các yếu tố tác động đến hài lòng định chọn trường Đại học Câu 5: Bạn cho biết yếu tố sau có tác động đến hài lịng định chọn trường ĐH khơng? (Tích vào thích hợp nhất) Do khả phù hợp với trường Do sở thích phù hợp với trường Do tình hình tài gia đình Do kết học tập từ giai đoạn THPT Ảnh hưởng cá nhân Do thầy cô Do cha mẹ Do anh/chị gia đình Do bạn bè Do giáo viên học vụ Cơ hội nghề nghiệp sau tốt nghiệp 10 Cơ cấu nghề nghiệp thị trường lao động 11 Khả có việc tốt 12 Khả có thu nhập cao 13 Khả có vị trí, địa vị cao xã hội Không đồng ý đồng ýkhông Đặc điểm thân Không ý kiến Lý chọn trường Đồng ý STT đồng ý Rất Mức độ đồng ý Đặc điểm trường đại học 14 Học phí 15 Học bổng 16 Vị trí thuận tiện 17 Trường có danh tiếng 18 Bộ phận hỗ trợ sinh viên 19 Ký túc xá 20 Yêu cầu đầu vào thấp 21 Khả trúng tuyển cao Những nổ lực truyền thông cho học sinh THPT 22 Do quảng cáo báo, tạp chí 23 Do quảng cáo phương tiện truyền thông tivi, radio 24 Do quảng cáo trường THPT 25 Do quảng cáo thông qua mạng xã hội 26 Các chuyến tham quan trực tiếp trường 27 Những hoạt động tuyển sinh Phần III: Thông tin đối tượng khảo sát Câu 6: Các em vui lòng điền số thông tin cá nhân Học trường ĐH (Khoanh tròn lựa chọn) a Tự nhiên b Nhân văn c Kinh tế d Kỹ thuật e Khác Giới tính (Khoanh trịn lựa chọn) Nam Nữ Các bạn có ý kiến thêm khơng? (nếu có xin ghi rõ) …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… … Xin chân thành cảm ơn! Chúc bạn tiếp tục thành công học tập sống ... the higher education universities in Ho Chi Minh City an answer to the question: What factors affect satisfaction from students? ?? choice in higher education? This will find out the effect of students? ??... can be seen in many aspects, such as: the increase in higher education organizations, the increase in students? ?? enrollment, the increase in the government‟s efforts and the increase in the output... democratization in the higher education sector introduced by the government, there are more and more higher education universities operating in Vietnam According the statistic results from Ministry of Education