Predictive Drivers Of Students’ Satisfaction In Open Distance Learning In Sri Lanka
Volume 1 - Issue 4, October 2017 Edition
[Download Full Paper]
Author(s)
MJR Perera, Nalin Abeysekera, S.R.S.N. Sudasinghe, Isuri Roche Dharmaratne
Keywords
Distance Education, Open Distance Learning, Satisfaction, Service Quality
Abstract
The predictive drivers of students’ satisfaction in Open Distance Learning (ODL) has become an important and competitive criterion in service quality perspectives in higher education (HE). The customer service quality act as an antecedent of customer satisfaction, and their relationship has beenempirically proved by many of the researchers following literature based onmarketing.Distance Education (DE) is introduced as a supplementary method in the higher education system for the disadvantaged, and for those who have missed entering the traditional university system of higher education due to restrictions on the number of students allowed for university admission. The DE system removed the barriers of minimum qualifications for the courses giving moreopportunity to the public to obtain higher educational qualifications from recognised universities operating under the Open Distance Learning (ODL) concept. The ODL system developed rapidly with the increase in number of students, but does not reflect the number of students passing out as graduates. Just as in, ‘consumer behavior’ in marketing literature, most of the researchers have addressed the relationships between students’ perceived service quality, satisfaction, students’ persistence and attrition. The development of information technology influences ODL in a positive way by giving more interaction with web based on-line and e-learning systems. The problem of student dropouts or students’ attrition encountered not in the early DE environment days,even in the on-line courses have been observed as high. Many research studies have disclosed the reasons for this situation and recommendations made to increase and assess the quality of the programmes. This studywill examine the relationships between the independent variables of Reliability, Cost &Time and Website Content and dependent variable of Students’ Satisfaction. This study was conducted in the six main regional centers of the OUSL spread across the island. The sample size used was 760 undergraduate students who have more than,or equaled at least one year’s exposure with the ODL system. The statistical analysis revealed all the independent variables were significantly related with the Students’ Satisfaction.
References
[1] E. Susanti, E. T. Sule and H. Sutisna, "The Impact of Internal and External Service Quality (A Case Study among Lecturers and Students)," Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 6, no. 5 S5, pp. 77-83, October 2015.
[2] F. A. Kutluk and M. Gulmez, "A Research about Distance Education Students' Satisfaction with education quality at an accounting program," Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences , vol. 46 , p. 2733 – 2737 , 2012 .
[3] H. Higher Education for the Twenty First Century (HETC) Project Ministry of Higher Education and Research Sri Lanka & University Grants Commission, "Manual for Institutional Review of Sri Lankan Universities and Higher Education Institutions," © University Grants Commission (UGC) 2015, April 2015.
[4] J. Butcher and J. Rose-Adams, "Part-time learners in open and distance learning: revisiting the critical importance of choice, flexibility and employability," Open Learning, vol. 30, no. 2, p. 127–137, 2015.
[5] J. Khan and M. J. Iqbal, "Relationship between Student satisfaction and Academic Achievement in Distance Education: a Case Study of AIOU Islamabad," FWU Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 137-145, Winter 2016.
[6] O. Simpson, "Does distance education do more harm than good?," 2010.
[7] O. Simpson, "E-Learning and the Future of Distance Education," 2013.
[8] O. Simpson, "Student Support Service for Success in Open and Distance Learning," A report in the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA)'EdTech Notes', Feb 17, 2016.
[9] V. Tinto, "Dropout from Higher Education: A Theoretical Synthesis of Recent Research.," Review of Educational Research, 4 5 (1), 89-125, 1975.
[10] R. A. Croxton, "The Role of Interactivity in Student Satisfaction and Persistence in Online Learning," MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 314-325, June 2014.
[11] Y. Lee and J. Choi, "A review of online course dropout Research : implications for practice and future research.," Educational Technology Research and Development, 59(5), 593-618., 2011.
[12] A. Parker, "A study of variables that predict dropout from distance education," International Journal of Educational Technology, 1(2), 1–12., 1999.
[13] J.-H. Park and H. J. Choi, "Factors Influencing Adult Learners' Decision to Drop Out or Persist in Online Learning," Educational Technology & Society, vol. 12, no. 4, p. 207–217, 2009.
[14] J. O. Inegbedion and J. K. Adeyemi, "Cost indices in open and distance education in Nigerian universities," International Journal of Educational Administration and Policy Studies , vol. 5, no. 9, pp. 170-176, December 2013.
[15] S. L. Peterson, P. Kovelâ€Jarboe and S. A. Schwartz, "Quality Improvement in Higher Education: implications for student retention," Quality in Higher Education, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 131-141, 1997.
[16] G. Lekamge, "Quality Improvement of the Teaching Practice Component of the PGDE Programme," OUSL Journal, vol. 6, pp. 3- 21, 2010.
[17] M. E. Malik, R. Q. Danish and A. Usman, "The Impact of Service Quality on Students’ Satisfaction in Higher Education Institutes of Punjab," Journal of Management Research , vol. 2, no. 2: E10, pp. 1-11, 2010.
[18] S. Mansori, A. Vaz and Z. M. M. Ismail, "Service Quality, Satisfaction and Student Loyalty in Malaysian Private Education," Asian Social Science, vol. 10, no. 7, pp. 57-66, March 2014.
[19] S. Pohyae, A. R. Romle, M. Darus, N. H. Saleh, S. S. Saleh and S. K. B. Mohamood, "The Relationship Between Service Quality and Student Satisfaction: The Case of International Students in Public University," World Applied Sciences Journal , vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 491-498, 2016.
[20] M. Stodnick and P. Rogers, "Using SERVQUAL to Measure the Quality of the Classroom Experience," Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, vol. 6, no. 1, January 2008.
[21] M. G. Sembiring, "Student Satisfaction and Persistence: Imperative Features for Retention in Open and Distance Learning," Asian Association of Open Universities Journal, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1 - 11, 2015.
[22] C. C. Wei and S. S. Ramalu, "Students Satisfaction towards the University: Does Service Quality Matters?," International Journal of Education, vol. 3, no. 2 : E15, pp. 1-15, 2011.
[23] M. Montinaro and P. Chirico, "Customer Satisfaction Measurement Procedures:One-Dimensional and Multi-Dimensional Approach," Statistica Applicata, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 277-296, 2006 .
[24] A. Parasuraman, V. A. Zeithaml and L. L. Berry, "A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research," The Journal of Marketing, vol. 49, no. 4 ,Autumn, pp. 41-50, 1985.
[25] J. J. J. Cronin and S. A. Taylor, "Measuring Service Quality: A Reexamination and Extension," Journal of Marketing, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 55-68, july 1992.
[26] M. N. M. Noor, M. S. Masuod, A.-M. A. Said, I. F. Kamaruzaman and M. A. Mustafa, "Understanding Consumers and Green Product Purchase Decision in Malaysia: A Structural Equation Modeling - Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) Approach," Asian Social Science, vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 51-64, 2016 .
[27] S. A. Khattab and F. Fraij, "Assessing Students’ Satisfaction with Quality of Service of Students Information System," pp. 111-125, 2011.
[28] A. Horvat, M. Krsmanovic and M. Djuric, "Differences in Students` Satisfaction with Distance Learning Studies," International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 1412-1415, 2012.
[29] T. Liyanagunawardena, A. Adams, N. Rassool and S. Williams, "Blended learning in distance education: Sri Lankan perspective," International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT) , vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 55-69, 2014.
[30] B. N. M. Yusuf, M. Q. M. Ghazali and M. F. S. Abdullah, "Factors Influencing Local and International Students Decision in Choosing Public Higher Learning Institutions in Northern Region of Malaysia," International Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 29-41, 15 February 2017.
[31] The Open Unviersity of Sri Lanka Corporate Plan 2011-2016 for Achieving Excellence, Efficiency and Equity in Open Distance Learning, 2011.
[32] A. Ariyaratne, D. M. W. Munasinghe, P. Seneviratne, P. L. N. R. Rajapaksha and D. D. I. Dediwala, "A study on non-completing students of the Certificate in Pre-school Education programme at the Open University of Sri Lanka," in 28th Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU 2014) 28–31 October 2014, 2014.
[33] J. Liyanagama, "Factors affecting the drop-out rate on the Engineering degree programme at the Open University of Sri Lanka," in 28th Annual Conference Asian Association of Open Universities 28–31 October 2014, Hong Kong SAR, China, 2014.
[34] M. K. M. D. Ana Horvat, "World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology," International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering Vol:6, No:6,, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 1412-1415, 2012.
[35] H. F. A. Hasan, A. Ilias, R. A. Rahman and M. Z. A. Razak, "Service Quality and Student Satisfaction: A Case Study at Private Higher Education Institutions," International Business Research, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 163-175, July 2008.
[36] T. Gruber, S. Fuß, R. Voss and M. Glaeser-Zikuda, "Examining Student Satisfaction with Higher Education Services Using a New Measurement Tool," International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 105 - 123, 2010.
[37] A. Parasuraman, V. A. Zeithaml and L. L. Berry., "SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality," Journal of Retailing, vol. 64(1) Spring , pp. 12-40, 1988.
[38] D. M. N. Mantovani, "Distance Education on the Stakeholders Perspectives :Student's ,Instructor's and Administrator's Perspectives(Doctoral dissertation)," 2012.
[39] F. Shah, "Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in Higher Education in Pakistan," Journal of Quality and Technology Management, vol. 9, no. 2, p. 73–89, December 2013.
[40] M. Joseph and B. Joseph, ""Service quality in education: a student perspective",," Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 15 - 21, 1997.
[41] M. Z. A. Rashid and H. Harun, "Service Quality in the Open and Distance Learning – The Perspective of Learners in Malaysia," 2004.
[42] J. K. M. Sia, "University Choice: Implications for Marketing and Positioning," Education , vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 7-14, 2013.
[43] G. J. Udo, K. K. Bagchi and P. J. Kirs, "Using SERVQUAL to assess the quality of e-learning experience," Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh, pp. 1272-1283, 2011.
[44] G. J. Udo, K. K. Bagchi and P. J. Kirs, "Assessing Web Service Quality Dimensions: The E- Servperf Approach," Issues in Information Systems, vol. IX, no. 2, pp. 313-322, 2008.
[45] K. Gye-Soo, "Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM): An application in Customer Satisfaction Research," International Journal of u- and e- Service, Science and Technology , vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 61-68, 2016.
[46] J. F. Hair, G. T. M. Hult, C. M. Ringle and M. Sarstedt, A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) (second Edition ), 2017.
[47] K. K.-K. Wong, "Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Techniques Using SmartPLS," Marketing Bulletin, vol. 24, no. Technical Note 1 , pp. 1-32, 2013.
[48] S. Akter, J. D'Ambra and P. Ray, "An evaluation of PLS based complex models: the roles of power analysis, predictive relevance and GoF index," in Proceedings of the 17th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS2011) , Detroit, USA, 2011.
[49] V. E. Vinzi, W. W. Chin, J. Henseler and H. Wang, Eds., Handbook of Partial Least Squares Concepts, Methods and Applications, 2010.
[50] D. M. N. M. Ribeiro and M. A. Gouvêa, "Services quality in technology supported education Brazilian case," in 24th Annual POM conference Denver, Colorado.USA: integrating practice in POM research and teaching, 2013.
[51] W. M. Al-Rahmi, M. S. Othman and L. M. Yusuf, "Exploring the Factors that Affect Student Satisfaction through Using E-Learning in Malaysian Higher Education Institutions," Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 6 , no. 4 S1 , pp. 299-310, July 2015.
[52] W. S. Chow and S. Shi, "Investigating Students’ Satisfaction And Continuance Intention Toward E-Learning: An Extension Of The Expectation–Confirmation Model," Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences , vol. 141, p. 1145 – 1149, 2014 .
[53] M. Z. Ibrahim, M. N. A. Rahman and R. M. Yasin, "Determining Factors of Students’ Satisfaction with Malaysian Skills Training Institutes," International Education Studies, vol. 7, no. 6, 2014.
[54] M. K. Shahijan, S. Rezaei and M. Amin, "International students’ course satisfaction and continuance behavioral intention in higher education setting: an empirical assessment in Malaysia," Asia Pacific Educ. Rev, pp. 1-22, 2015.
[55] F. Ali, M. Amin and C. Cobanoglu, "An Integrated Model of Service Experience, Emotions, Satisfaction, and Price Acceptance: An Empirical Analysis in the Chinese Hospitality Industry," Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, p. 1–27, 2015.
[56] E. E. Izogo, "Structural equation test of relationship quality : Repurchase intention – willingness to recommend framework in retail banking," International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 374 - 394, 2016.
[57] C. M. Ringle, M. Sarstedt and L. Zimmermann, "Customer Satisfaction with Commercial Airlines: The Role of Perceived Safety and Purpose of Travel," Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 459-472, 2011.
[58] T. Aghamolaei and S. Zare, "Quality gap of educational services in viewpoints of students in Hormozgan University of medical sciences," BMC Medical Education , pp. 1-6, 18 June 2008.
[59] A. Ali and I. Ahmad, "Key Factors for Determining Students’ Satisfaction in Distance Learning Courses: A Study of Allama Iqbal Open University," Contemporary Educational Technology, vol. 2(2), pp. 118-134, 2011.
[60] M. Rahim-Khanli, H. Daneshmandi and A. Choobineh, "The students' viewpoint on the quality gap in educational services," J. Adv Med&Prof., vol. 2(3), pp. 114-119, 2014.
[61] M. Cao, Q. Zhang and J. Seydel, "B2C e-commerce web site quality: an empirical examination," Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 105 , no. 5 , pp. 645 - 661, 2005.
[62] Y.-S. Wang, H.-Y. Wang and D. Y. Shee, "Measuring e-learning systems success in an organizational context: Scale development and validation," Computers in Human Behavior, p. 1792–1808, 2007.
[63] X. Zhang, V. Prybutok and A. Huang, "An empirical study of factors affecting e-service satisfaction," Human Systems Management , vol. 25, p. 279–291, 2006.
[64] Z. Yang and R. T. Peterson, "Psychology & Marketing," vol. 21, no. 10, p. 799–822, October 2004.
[65] A. Field, Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (and sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll) Third Edition, SAGE, 2011, p. 856.
[66] J. F. Hair, W. C. Black, B. J. Babin, R. E. Anderson and R. L. Tatham, Multivariate Data Analysis, vol. Fifth , India: Dorling Kindersley(India ) Pvt Ltd., 2011.
[67] H. C. P. Devi, "Consumer attitude towards service failure and recovery in higher education," Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 67 - 85 , 2015.
[68] J. Henseler, G. Hubona and P. A. Ray, "Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: updated guidelines," Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 116, no. 1, pp. 2-20, 2016.
[69] Y. G. D. Garson, Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM), 2016 by G. David Garson and Statistical Associates Publishing, 2016, p. 262.
[70] L. Hu and P. M. Bentler, "Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives," Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-55, 1999.
[71] J. Henseler, T. K. Dijkstra, M. Sarstedt, C. M. Ringle, A. Diamantopoulos, D. W. Straub, D. J. K. Jr., J. F. Hair, G. T. M. Hult and R. J. Calantone, "Common Beliefs and Reality About PLS: Comments on Ro¨nkko¨ and Evermann (2013)," Organizational Research Methods, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 182-209, 2014.
[72] R. Mason and M. Weller, "Factors affecting students’ satisfaction on a web course," Australian Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 173-200, 2000.
[73] T. Ramayah, "Course Website Usage: Does Prior Experience Matter?," Wseas Trans on Information Science & Applications, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 299-306, February 2006.
[74] Y. M. Lim, C. S. Yap and T. H. Lee, "Destination choice, service quality, satisfaction, and consumerism: International students in Malaysian institutions of higher education," African Journal of Business Management, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 1691-1702, 4 March 2011.
[75] O. M. Zain, M. T. Jan and A. B. Ibrahim, "Factors Influencing Students' Decisions in Choosing Private Institutions of Higher Education in Malaysia: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Asian Academy of Management Journal, vol. 18, no. 1, p. 75–90, 2013.
[76] J. O. Inegbedion and F. I. Adu, "Student Assessment of Quality of Access at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)," Open Praxis, vol. 8, no. 4, p. 313–323, October–December 2016.
