Expectations and satisfaction among undergraduate students : a consumer behavior approach

With the increasing popularity of the "students as customers" concept in the delivery of higher education services, colleges and universities must examine their level of customer service. Using the Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI), this study assessed the differences in expectations, as examined by the importance scores on the SSI, satisfaction levels, and the performance gap scores of undergraduate students who have declared a major (merchandising/clothing and textiles/design), and those who have not declared a major. The difference between the importance (expectations) score and the satisfaction score is known as the performance gap score. A total of 316 students from four universities in a southern state completed the SSL Results indicated that there were significant differences in the means of the respondents' performance gap scores on the four selected scales of the SSI (i.e. academic advising, campus climate, instructional effectiveness, and recruitment and financial aid) for major, employment status, and institutional choice. However, the analysis of variance tests revealed that the variables major and employment status were only significant when interacting with another factor. There were significant interactions between the major and method of payment variables, and the employment status and the method of payment variables. Implications for higher education are discussed.