Student Satisfaction, Needs, and Learning Outcomes

• Main Authors: Richard Herdlein, Emily Zurner
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2015-04-01
• Series: SAGE Open
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015580373

A study of student satisfaction, needs, and learning outcomes was commissioned by a comprehensive university in Western Europe to provide a professional evaluation of student services and the co-curricular activities of students. Such a study had not been completed in the past and was needed to align student services with the mission, long-range goals, and strategic planning of the university. The research involved both qualitative and quantitative methodologies conducted through volunteers divided into five focus groups of 33 national and international students and a survey involving 104 national students, of whom 86 provided complete data. The results were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (Version 22) and the constant comparison method. The study demonstrated that students view interactions outside the classroom as important opportunities to develop and hone a myriad of personal knowledge and skill sets important to becoming global citizens and internationally competent professionals.