Dimensions driving business student satisfaction in higher education

The educational environment is not only extremely dynamic, it is also challenging. Competition is intensifying in the Higher Education (HE) sector, in both public and private provision, while public comparisons between institutions in the form of various ranking tables are more widely available than ever before. Identifying the factors that influence student satisfaction is therefore critical for educational institutions (Alves and Raposo, 2009). However, there is a lack of consensus in the existing literature as to how this can be achieved and previous studies utilise models that vary in terms of the number of dimensions considered and the methodologies used to examine the strengths and significance of the relationships (e.g. Douglas et al., 2006; Elliot and Shin, 2002; Guolla, 1999; Gruber et al., 2010; Petruzellis et al., 2006; and Smith, 2004). In Malaysia, education is a leading industry and plays a vital role in national development. This research seeks to identify the dimensions of business student satisfaction in the Malaysian Private Higher Education (PHE) environment. More specifically, we identify the underlying dimensions of the various satisfaction drivers and evaluate the influence demographic factors have on results. Over 800 undergraduate business students at four PHE institutions in Malaysia participated in our survey and the subsequent factor analysis resulted in the adoption of a 12-factor solution from an original set of 53 satisfaction drivers. The results also indicated the influence of demographic factors on the level of student satisfaction. Understanding these factors can help Malaysian PHEs in developing strategies to deliver high levels of student satisfaction and also contribute to addressing the knowledge gaps identified above with the potential for more widespread applicability.