A study of factors affecting student satisfaction at public colleges Ho Chi Minh city

Abstract

Public colleges in Ho Chi Minh City like other businesses operate in a competitive environment. Knowing how to satisfy their students who are their primary customers is important because it can lead to future business. The relationship between service quality and student satisfaction is important because if it understood properly it can enable the right decisions to be made about service quality that lead to increase in student satisfaction. The study was carried out to find out whether there is a relationship between service quality and student satisfaction of public colleges students in Ho Chi Minh City. More than 600 students were interviewed through a survey that was based on higher education service quality model HEDPERF. It was found that service quality is positively related to student satisfaction and that some of the most important aspects of an institution that students likes most were the perceived tuition fee, understanding, and reputation. This means that colleges have to improve their service quality while at the same time improving on their tuition fee policy, counseling service and health care, and their reputation in order to attract more students. Keywords: public colleges, student satisfaction, service quality, HEDPERF