Student satisfaction in ODeL examined

The University of South Africa (Unisa) has been conducting student satisfaction surveys for several years and has developed a specific notion of student satisfaction, which is part of its student success model.  On 28 June 2023, the Department of Leadership and Transformation hosted a webinar under the theme “The notion of student satisfaction”.

The purpose of the webinar was to assess the prevailing conceptualisation and understanding of the notion of student satisfaction within the context of the higher-education sector, and specifically in an open, distance and e-Learning (ODeL) institution. The webinar gave the university an opportunity to reflect on what has been learned from these surveys and on the notion of student satisfaction developed thus far.

The university could ask itself whether the notion of satisfaction has enhanced students’ experiences or not. It could also assess whether there has been a deterioration or improvement in both satisfaction and the experience of students over the years. Crucially, it was imperative to determine whether the emerging issues that today’s youth are experiencing are reflected now, such as the impact of the digital divide and unemployment after their studies.

From left, Herman Visser, Senior Specialist: Institutional Statistics and Analysis, Department of Institutional Intelligence, Dr WP Wahl, Director: Student Life, University of the Free State, Tokollo Mmamaro, National Student Representative Council: Sports and Cultural Officer, Unisa, Dr Themba Mzangwa, Unisa’s Regional Manager: Eastern Cape, and Console Tleane, Director: Systems and Policies Change, Department of Leadership and Transformation, Unisa

Keynote speaker, Herman Visser, Senior Specialist: Institutional Statistics and Analysis, Department of Institutional Intelligence, outlined the background and history of the Unisa student satisfaction model. The Unisa student satisfaction model was designed to serve as a strategic management tool to improve student services and experiences within the ODeL context.

Visser further explained that the Unisa student satisfaction model is grounded in the Unisa student success model, which was approved by Senate. The student satisfaction model was developed to measure the satisfaction of students with different aspects of their studies, namely general satisfaction, and the three waves of (1) satisfaction with the initial application and registration process, (2) satisfaction with teaching, learning and academic support, and (3) satisfaction with the final processes, graduation, and entry into the job market.  He further outlined that the conceptual framework is applied to the instrument using relevant research constructs that support the elements of the framework.

Wave one research is aimed at determining the student’s satisfaction with Unisa as a place to study and the college and qualification the student is enrolled for, the efficiency of the application and registration process, the student’s integration into Unisa’s study environments, and the study facilities. Wave two is then aimed at determining the student’s satisfaction with aspects of teaching and learning, academic student support and the administrative support services.  The last wave is about student satisfaction with the conclusion of their studies, with qualification audits and graduations.

Dr WP Wahl, Director: Student Life, University of the Free State, presented on the relationship between the notion of student satisfaction and student-centredness, based on a research study conducted on behalf of Universities South Africa (USAf), titled Reshaping universities to create a student-centred higher education system in South Africa. To establish a deep understanding of the phenomenon of student-centredness in the context of South African higher education, a phenomenological study from an interpretive perspective was required.

Wahl presented the four core principles that define student-centredness. The first principle is the formation of the personhood of the student. The second principle is that the formation is the result of continuous reciprocal interaction between individual students and the multi-dimensional higher-education context. Seven contexts were identified in this regard, namely the intra-personal, inter-personal, institutional, sectoral, societal, global, and virtual contexts, and there are specific student-centred approaches within each of these contexts. The third principle is that there are three value clusters closely associated with social justice and human capabilities perspectives. These clusters underpin the structural and operational aspects of a student-centred higher-education system, namely:  inter-connectedness, human dignity and equitable access. The fourth principle is that student formation is not a static process but rather a complex, multi-dimensional process. Wahl concluded by mentioning that the data enabled the research team to create a framework for a student-centred higher-education system in South Africa.

Tokollo Mmamaro, National Student Representative Council: Sports and Cultural Officer, Unisa, was the respondent to the keynote speakers. She pointed out that students’ challenges are not the same as those experienced by students four years ago, pre-COVID-19, because the modes of teaching and learning transitioned fully to online.

Mmamaro emphasised that it is the responsibility of the university to ensure that students receive adequate academic and technological support. She indicated that one of the reasons for the decline in student satisfaction is the lack of academic and administrative support and basic online learning materials such as laptops, unless you are a NSFAS student, but acknowledged that Unisa does provide data to all students.

Dr Themba Mzangwa, Unisa’s Regional Manager: Eastern Cape, who was the second respondent, emphasised that the student satisfaction survey is vital – both for the success of the university and that of the individual student. Student-centred learning gives students an opportunity to be involved in the material they learn and how they go about their learning, which is a personalised form of learning. Students are engaged as active participants and take part in the decision-making in their learning. Mzangwa stressed that the university is serious about student satisfaction and takes the students’ concerns seriously and that it is transparent by sharing the outcomes of the surveys with all departments concerned and acts by then coming up with improvement plans to address the issues raised in the surveys. The Registrar’s portfolio is determined to implement improvement plans and other measures to address the students’ concerns.

Console Tleane, Director: Systems and Policies Change, Department of Leadership and Transformation, Unisa, responded to the two speakers with a presentation on the notion of student centredness and the responsiveness of universities. Tleane mentioned that universities borrow from the corporate lexicon, that is, the idea of student-centredness has been borrowed from the corporate concept of customer satisfaction. And this presents institutions with the dilemma that they are not able to bring certain elements of customer satisfaction into the higher-education system. Therefore, institutions must be aware of the limitations of using corporate concepts. The customer satisfaction concept is a measurement to determine if a company has the right product and how customers respond to the product, and then the company can determine how to best improve or change its product. Higher education institutions should not focus on producing the “right product”, but rather focus on whether the institution is responsive to the needs of the students, the value of the institution, the quality of teaching and learning and the quality of interaction with the students, said Tleane.

* By Gugu Masinga, Communication and Marketing Specialist, Department of Leadership and Transformation