STUDENT SATISFACTION IN PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN GWALIOR

International Journal of Human Resource Management and Research (IJHRMR) ISSN 2249-6874 Vol. 3, Issue 2, Jun 2013, 71-76 TJPRC Pvt. Ltd. STUDENT SATISFACTION IN PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN GWALIOR DIVYA BHATNAGAR 1 & NAVITA NATHANI 2 1 Department of CSE, Sir Padampat Singhania University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India 2 Department of Management, Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India ABSTRACT This paper focuses on student satisfaction in Professional Education in Gwalior Region. In this contribution, the conceptualization of satisfaction is outlined, several new instruments are presented and empirical findings about the characteristics of these scales are examined. All instruments are based on the respondents' view of their principal standpoint. A questionnaire is developed to check the student satisfaction in Indian context. The study also revealed the important factors while checking for student satisfaction. KEYWORDS: Student Satisfaction, Professional Education INTRODUCTION Gwalior, one of the historical cities of Madhya Pradesh in India, has slowly grown into an education hub of the region. Specially, a lot of professional courses in various disciplines are run by several big and small education groups and many more are getting approved by the competent authorities every coming year. Even then, the students seem to be disinterested towards the professional education offered by the professional colleges of Gwalior. The enrollment in some of the professional courses during last few years has become a matter of great concern even to the reputed institutes and education groups. With the rapid expansion of Colleges, Education Cost, and factors affecting the professional education, the Colleges will have to think over to make efforts in the direction of Student Satisfaction for their survival. This study focuses on the student satisfaction and recommends professional colleges by analyzing a number of factors that are assumed to affect these areas with special reference to Gwalior region. Studies are done to relate student satisfaction with various services provided by the colleges. Studies also considered differences in ratings for pairs of groups: student and faculty perceptions, undergraduate and graduate student perceptions, etc. In this study the students are categorized based on the factors like, type of courses like UG and PG, accommodation, and gender. Services and facilities are categorized as Course Organization and Assessment, Workload, Teaching accommodation, Teaching and Learning, Pastoral support, Library and Computing. The study is being conducted with the aim to develop & standardize questionnaire to measure Student Satisfaction, to identify the underlying factors of Student Satisfaction, to compare the Student Satisfaction of male & female, to compare the Student Satisfaction of students staying in hostels, in private accommodations and with parents and to compare the Student Satisfaction of UG & PG students. LITERATURE REVIEW A study was conducted on Satisfaction and importance from the perspective of students and faculty[1]. Student enrollments was a major concern to universities in both the United States and internationally. The purpose of this investigation was to study student and faculty perceptions of the importance of services to students and their satisfaction with those services at the University of Idaho. As well, the study considered differences in ratings for pairs of groups:

72 Divya Bhatnagar & Navita Nathani student and faculty perceptions, undergraduate and graduate student perceptions, and United States and International student perceptions. The study found consistency of perspective among students and faculty members, with positive reference to some particular services. From the perspective of dissatisfaction the most dissatisfied were undergraduate students, followed by US Students. An empirical investigation on Business Student Satisfaction, Intentions and Retentions in Higher Education[2] focused on the relationship between Business Student Satisfaction and their Intentions to stay in the College or University. The results of this study indicated that the students College experience is positively related to their satisfaction and intentions to stay at College or University. One of the implications of this study is that those educational institutes that understand the customer-oriented principles may have a better chance of satisfying the wants and needs of their students more effectively. An empirical study on student satisfaction index in higher education[3] studied the effects of students activities on their satisfactions. The study established the college student satisfaction model of strong applicability. The research showed that the student activity had important influence to the student perception to the education quality and the perception value. RESERACH METHODLOGY The study was exploratory in nature. Survey method was used to collect the data. The total population consisted of male and female undergraduates and Post Graduates living with parents, in Hostel or in Private accommodations. The sample Size was 120. The students undergoing professional courses in Gwalior Region were the Sampling elements. The Quota sampling technique was used. The data was primary in nature. A self made questionnaire (based on the questionnaire of BATH SPA University College available on the website for online response by students) was used to collect the responses of the respondent students on Likert-type scale of 1 to 5 to evaluate the Student Satisfaction and importance. Reliability of the questionnaire was tested through Cronbach Alpha Method. Factor analysis was applied using SPSS 16.0 software to identify the underlying factor: Satisfaction. ANOVA test was used to determine the correlation between the satisfaction of females and males, Undergraduates and post graduates, and those living with parents, in hostels and in private accommodations. For each question in the questionnaire we gave one point for every answer (1), two points for every answer (2), three points for every answer (3), four points for every answer (4), and five point for every answer (5) and added the scores of all the items. Higher the score, higher the satisfaction. RESULTS Reliability test was carried out using SPSS 16.0 software and the reliability of the items was measured. The results are as follows: Reliability Analysis Table 1 : Case Processing Summary Cases N % Valid 107 89 Excluded a 13 11 Total 120 100 Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Table 2 : Reliability Statistics Cronbach s Alpha N of Items 0.969 59

Student Satisfaction in Professional Education in Gwalior 73 It is being considered that reliability value should be more than 0.7, and as it is seen that the reliability value is quite higher than the standard value, so all the items are highly reliable. Factor Analysis Factor Analysis using Principal component Varimax rotation Kiser normalization was applied on the raw scores of 118 items to find out the factors that contribute towards satisfaction. After Factor Analysis for Satisfaction 14 factors that were identified as:- Teaching, Learning & Assessment Teaching Accomodation Learning Skills Pastoral Support Access to information & A/V Aids Access to Library & Staff Library Facilities Books & Journals Course Organization Computing Facility College Facilities Workload Consistency & Reliability Learning Material Table 3 Factor No. 1. Teaching, Learning & Assessment 2. Teaching Accommodation Total Variance Eigen Value % of Variance 4.617 7.929 3.594 6.172 3. Learning Skills 3.625 6.225 Variance of Convergence 10. USEFULNESS_OF_TUTOR_FEEDBACK 8. CLARITY_OF_ASSESSMENT_CTRITERIA 27. RELIABILTY_OF_TEACHING_STAFF 16. COURSE_HAS_DEVELOPED_SUBJECT _KNOWLEDGE 18. SUFFIECIENT_OPPORTUNITIES_TO_LEARN 17. CONFIDENCE_TO_LEARN_HAS_ENHANCED 11. PROMPTNESS_OF_FEEDBACK 26. RANGE_OF_TEACHING_MODES 7. INFO_ABOUT_ASSIGNMENT_DATES 31. DISABLED_ACCESS 32. APPEARANCE_OF_ACCOMODATION 3. PRIOR_NOTIFICATION_OF_COURSE _ARRANGEMENTS 30. SUITABILITY_OF_ROOMS 25. LEVEL_OF_CHALLENGE 23. DEVELOPMENT_OF_PRACTICAL_SKILLS 22. DEVELOPMENT_OF_COMM_SKILLS 21.DEVELOPMENT_OF_INTERPERSONAL_SKILLS 20. DEVELOPMENT_OF_PROBLEM_SOLVING _SKILLS 24. DEVELOPMENT_OF_ANALYTICAL_ABILITY Loading.872.680.597.515.536.484.458.449.471.741.558.540.495.500.881.714.517.517.504

74 Divya Bhatnagar & Navita Nathani 4. Pastoral Support 3.269 5.615 5. Access to Information & A/V Aids 6. Access to Library & Staff 3.520 6.045 3.208 5.510 7. Library Facilities 3.419 5.873 8. Books & Journals 3.136 5.385 9. Course Organization 2.716 4.665 10. Computing Facility 11. College Facilities 2.825 2.825 2.792 4.795 12. Workload 2.317 3.980 13. Consistency & Reliability 14. Learning Material 1.724 2.961 1.581 2.715 Table 3 Contd., 36. TREATMENT_AS_MATURE_INDIVIDUALS 35. IF_PROBLEM_STAFF_IS_AVAILABLE 37. SYMPATHETIC_AND_SUPPORTIVE_STAFF 34.OPPORTUNITY_FOR_INFORMAL_DISCUSSION_WITH_S TAFF 54. ACCESS_TO_INTERNET 53. MAINTENANCE_OF_COMPUTERS 33. AVAILABILITY_OF_AV_AIDS 48. LIBRARY_OPENING_HOURS 47. LIBRARY_CATALOGUE 29. STAFF_RECEPTIVE_TO_STUDENT _APPROACH 49. LIBRARY_ENVIRONMENT 44. STUDY_FACILITY 59. AVAILABILITY_OF_PRINTERS 45. PROVISION_OF_COMPUTERS_IN_LIBRARY 43. PRINTING_IN_LIBRARY 50. COMPETENCE_OF_LIBRARY_STAFF 46. HELPFULNESS_OF_LIBRARY_STAFF 58. SPECIALIST_SOFTWARE_AVAILABILITY 42. RANGE_OF_BOOKS 40. AVAILABILITY_OF_COURSE_BOOKS_TEXTS 39. RANGE_OF_JOURNALS 2. KNOWLEDGE_EXPECTED_OF_YOU 1. CLARITY_OF_COURSE_DOCUMENTATION 56. TRAINING_IN_COMPUTERS 19. COURSE_PREPARES_YOU_FOR_EMPLOYMENT 12. APPEARANCE_OF_CAMPUS 51. AVAILABILITY_OF_COMPUTERS 52. OPENING_HOURS_COMPUTER_ROOMS 57. HELPFULNESS_OF_TECHNICIANS 28. EXTENT_OF_STUDENT_PARTICIPATION 14. RANGE_OF_CLUBS 15. SPORTS_GYM_FACILITIES 13. SECURITY_AT_CAMPUS 4. WAY_TIMETABLE_IS_SPREAD_OVER_A_WEEK 38. PERSONAL_TUTORS_ARE_APPROACHABLE 6. TIMETABLING_OF_ASSIGNMENTS 9.CONSISTENCY_OF_MARKING_OF_ASSESSMENT 55.RELIABILTY_OF_NETWORK 5. RANGE_OF_TOPICS_COVERED_IN_SYLLABUS 41.PHOTOCOPY_IN_LIBRARY.783.713.584.468.734.598.62.689.664.470.403.758.534.502.523.495.448.414.807.710.608.634.532.532.483.383.608.657.485.354.999.906.399.932.471.375.544.486.592 Results of ANOVA Test Hypotheses Null Hypothesis (H 01 ) There is no significant difference in satisfaction between male (M) and female (F). The null hypothesis is not rejected. The gender has no significant effect on satisfaction as p>.05. Therefore, the satisfaction of both the genders is same. Null Hypothesis (H 02 ) There is no significant difference in satisfaction between undergraduates (UG) and post graduates (PG). The hypothesis is not rejected. Since p>.05, we conclude that the education level has no significant effect on satisfaction. The satisfaction is same in undergraduates and post graduates. Null Hypothesis (H 03 ) There is no significant difference in satisfaction among students living with parents (T), in private (P) accommodation and in hostel (H). The null hypothesis is rejected as p<.05. We conclude that there is a significant difference in satisfaction between the students living with parents, in private accommodation and in hostel. Therefore, the type of accommodation has significant effect on student satisfaction.

Student Satisfaction in Professional Education in Gwalior 75 Tests of Between-Subjects Effects Table 4 : Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Source Type III Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig. Corrected Model 72301.711 a 11 6572.883 6.645 0 Intercept 1246414.183 1 1246414.183 1.26E+03 0 M_F 999.313 1 999.313 1.01 0.317 UG_PG 678.367 1 678.367 0.686 0.409 TPH 7828.603 2 3914.301 3.957 0.022 M_F * UG_PG 87.645 1 87.645 0.089 0.767 M_F * TPH 3360.462 2 1680.231 1.699 0.188 UG_PG * TPH 10761.608 2 5380.804 5.44 0.006 M_F * UG_PG * TPH 576.457 2 288.228 0.291 0.748 Error 106822.656 108 989.099 Total 4033358 120 Corrected Total 179124.367 119 a. R Squared =.404 (Adjusted R Squared =.343) The above table shows that, the education level and the type of accommodation combined have significant effect on satisfaction with p<.05. It also shows that neither gender and education level combined nor gender and accommodation type combined have significant effect on satisfaction of the student with p>.05. The gender, education level and type of accommodation combined together have no effect on student satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS While student satisfaction have been studied intensely and a large number of studies are available, far less research exists regarding students satisfaction from professional courses and importance in Gwalior region. It is assumed that the satisfaction level given to various factors by students studying in various professional courses in Gwalior region differ considerably ranging from absolutely dissatisfied to absolutely satisfied. However, there is no convincing evidence that this presumed dimension is a general trait Furthermore, basically no established measurement tools exist. In this contribution, the conceptualization of satisfaction is outlined, several new instruments presented and empirical findings about the characteristics of these scales examined. All instruments are based on the respondents' view of their principal standpoint. The study concluded with the development of a questionnaire to check the student satisfaction in Indian context. The study also revealed the important factors while checking for student satisfaction. The factors that came out of the study for satisfaction are:- Teaching, Learning & Assessment, Teaching Accommodation, Learning Skills, Pastoral Support, Access to information & A/V Aids, Access to Library & Staff, Library Facilities, Books & Journals, Course Organization, Computing Facility, College Facilities, Workload, Consistency & Reliability, and Learning Material. Out of these Teaching, Learning & assessment factor has come out as the key factor as far as student satisfaction in professional education is concerned. The results so far indicate that there is no difference in satisfaction level between male and female students and between UG and PG students. But satisfaction level differs with the type of accommodation the student is having. The combined effect of Male/Female and accommodation type also indicates significant difference in satisfaction. The expected contributions from the study are as follows: Universities will learn about the importance of various factors from students viewpoint. Students will be aware of factors involved in higher education and their right to get them. The academicians will learn what students want and what can be incorporated in teaching.

76 Divya Bhatnagar & Navita Nathani The researchers can make use of the results for further studies. The inferences drawn from the study can be used as a guideline to devise future education policies by Colleges, Universities, Higher Education Bodies and Technical Councils. The scope of the study is limited to the professional courses in Gwalior region only. The results cannot be generalized because it is limited to a particular region. Further, the scope can be widened by increasing the sample size of the study. In future, the study can be replicated changing the respondents from Professional to Non-professional Courses. The study can be further enhanced by comparing the Student Satisfaction in Madhya Pradesh and the other States in India. The comparison can also be done between regular and part-time courses and Government, Autonomous and Private Colleges. REFERENCES 1. Ho, Jeng-Lon. (2005). University and student services: Satisfaction and importance from the perspective of students and faculty at the University of Idaho. 2. Ali Kara, Oscar W. DeSchields, Jr. 2004. Business Student Satisfaction, Intentions and Retentions in Higher Education: An empirical Investigation, MEQ 3. 3. Linying Zhang, Zhijun Han, Qun Gao. 2008. Empirical study on student satisfaction index in higher education, International Journal of Business and Management 3(9). 4. S. L. Gupta & Hitesh Gupta. (2011). SPSS 17.0 For Researchers. International Book House. 5. Bath Spa University Survey 209-10. Retrieved bathspauniversity weblink in 2010.