SATISFACTION OF STUDENT ON THE SERVICES OF LOCAL COLLEGES IN OLONGAPO CITY AND ZAMBALES JERICA B. BACCAY Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Ramon Magsaysay State University, Iba, Zambales in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Education Major in Educational Administration December 2018 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Background Gordon College (formerly known as Olongapo City Colleges) is a Local Economic Enterprise (LEE) under the City Government of Olongapo established in 1999. The College operates by virtue of City Ordinance No. 36, Series of 2004 and its amendment City Ordinance No. 8, Series of 2010 also known as the College Charter. The college was created in response to the needs and demands of the community or its constituents. Both an educational institution and one of the departments of the Olongapo City government, the college adheres to the requirements and standards set forth by the Commission on Higher Education, Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC), Civil Service Commission (CSC) and its accrediting agency, the Association of Local Colleges and Universities- Commission on Accreditation (ALCUCOA). The efforts of the college to continually keep check with the standards of the above agencies are primarily for the benefit of its valued stakeholders – the students and who, in turn, the determining factor of the quality of education and the reflection of image of the institution. The concept of satisfaction in the context of higher education focuses on the student community. According to literature, engaging to activities to increase the user satisfaction can build public trust or confidence; promote integrity and accountability in local government. Bal, et.al. (2011) cited that people with low levels of trust will be more easily triggered by negative events. Cheema and Popovski (2010) expressed that it would be gradual and troublesome to recover the trust in public policy and institutions. It will negatively affect or influence their credibility and may somehow escalate and view as a hole for public service. According to Anantha et. al, (2012), student satisfaction is not limited to lectures in class or guidance by tutors during the consultation hours but it includes the student experiences while interacting with the non-academic staff, the physical infrastructure and other non-academic aspects. While the institution places a high value to its students as stakeholders and constituents of Olongapo City, there is a need to exert an effort to evaluate the consistency in satisfaction at any levels of service in order to identify the deficiency or failing points in the process of service delivery. The purpose of this study was to determine the satisfaction of student on the services of local colleges in Olongapo City and Zambales. Dimensions used to measure satisfaction of student are Guidance and Counselling, Canteen, Admission, Domiciliary, Instruction Services, Publication, Medical and Dental, Library Services, Sports Services, Research and Extension, Scholarship and Socio-economic and Entrepreneurship. Significance of the Study The results of this study are valuable to the policy-makers and administrators of the College, as it provides the institution facts about students’ experiences relating to services/environment vis-à-vis to the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the institution and to the thrusts of the local government. From the findings, the administrators may then take actions in identifying whether the service it provides even matches with the expectations of the students as it primary stakeholders, and, if unfavourable experiences exists, the institution will initiate changes to ensure that students expectations and quality of service are being provided with. For the faculty and administrative personnel, this study will provide them information about and to assess whether they are aligned to vision, mission, and goals of the College being at the vanguards of academic institution by not just providing the services per se but if also ensures quality during the delivery. Student will learn how to crystalize their thoughts about their expectations and experiences with the services of the college. Finally, this study serves as a“filler” to the dearth of local research on tertiary students’ satisfaction, which can be used as a source of reference by future researchers of other higher education institutions either public or private. If quality programs are market driven ad student oriented, then quality improvement should lead to student satisfaction. Statement of the Problem The study aimed to determine the student’s satisfaction towards the services provided by the Local Colleges in Olongapo City and Zambales. Specifically, this study sought to address the following questions: 1. What was the demographical profile of the respondents in terms of: 1.1. Sex; 1.2.Age; 1.3. Name of Higher Education Institution; 1.4. Curricular Year; 1.5.Curricular Program; and 1.6. Year Level? 2. What was the satisfaction of the respondents with the following services 2.1. Guidance and Counselling; 2.2. Canteen; 2.3.Admission; 2.4.Domiciliary; 2.5.Instruction Services; 2.6.Publication; 2.7.Medical and Dental; 2.8.Library Services; 2.9.Sports Services; 2.10. Research and Extension; 2.11. Scholarship; and 2.1.2. Socio-economic and Entrepreneurship? 3. What service influences most to the satisfaction of the respondents? 4. Is there a significant difference on the satisfaction of the respondents when grouped according to profile? 5. What framework can be proposed for the study? Scope and Limitations This study was intended to determine the satisfaction of the Fourth and Third Year undergraduate students of local colleges in Olongapo City and Zambales composed of Gordon College, Kolehiyo ng Subic and Polytechnic College of Botolan enrolled during 2nd Semester of Academic Year 2018-2019 in terms of Guidance and Counselling, Canteen, Admission, Domiciliary, Instruction Services, Publication, Medical and Dental, Library Services, Sports Services, Research and Extension, Scholarship and Socioeconomic and Entrepreneurship Chapter 2 FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY This chapter reviews related literature and studies which serves as frame of reference for this study. Related literature and studies, both foreign and local, were presented in such that some study’s variables have been tackled. Also, this chapter has presented the theoretical and conceptual framework and hypotheses to fully understand the research to be done and lastly the definition of terms for better comprehension of the study. Review of the Related Literature and Studies Higher education institutions have been urged to evaluate their role in society and identify their stakeholders. Various categories of stakeholders are involved in the higher education system. For quality assurance to be achieved, managing relations with stakeholders is crucial because they are involved in internal and external evaluations of higher education institutions. According to Kasetwar (2008), key stakeholders categories of higher institutions are: students, educationalists, parents, faculties, institutional management, industry, statutory bodies, trainers, education loan providers, researchers and academics, society, politicians and judiciary. For a higher education institution, students are an important category of stakeholders and they need to deliver value to this stakeholder category. Leisyte et al.(2011) state that students as stakeholders need to be involved in quality management and internal quality assurance processes at higher education institutions as equal partners. HEIs need to identify their needs and demands as stakeholders are seen as customer and customer satisfaction is related to service quality. According to BNET business library definition of customer satisfaction, it is the degree to which customer expectation of the product of service are met or exceeded. Parahoo, Harvey and Tamim (2013) claimed that customer service was a universal concept for foreseeing customer behaviour, and the term is also well-known in academic research. Being a service organization, tertiary education institutions think about students as clients or the “leading interested party’ who are engaged in the acquisition of higher education programs and services (Ravindran & Kalpana 2012). The student satisfaction level is a function of the relative experiences and perceived performance of educational services provide by higher education institutions (Mukhtar et al 2015) while (Weerasinghe and Fernando, 2017) said that student satisfaction level relies on educational experiences, services and facilities student encounter during the learning process. In several universities around the word, students’ satisfaction surveys are carried out yearly. The revolving philosophy points to the belief that successful institutions have three basic attributes: they focus on the needs of the students; they continually improve the quality of the educational experience. Student nowadays are knowledgeable of what they expect and require from a university or college that delivers quality education. With the paradigm shift in curriculum where students are empowered and involvement of the students in accreditation process, students have evolved from the complacent ones to those exert effort and do not just wait to see the changes to occur, but would find effective channels to make changes do occur when they are not satisfied or when they unfavourable experience with service. The quality of services provided by higher education institutions must be continuously improved in order keep up with the demands and interests of their stakeholders.Yusoff et al (2015), identified underlying variables that significantly influence students’ satisfaction in Malaysian Higher education. Accordingly, professional comfortable environment, student assessment and learning experiences, classroom environment, lecture and tutorial facilitating goods, textbooks and tuition fee, student support facilities, business procedures, relation with the teaching staff, knowledgeable and responsive faculty, staff helpfulness, feedback, and class sizes make significant impact on students’ satisfaction. Moreover, the study of Karna and Julin (2015) found that core university activities, such as research and teaching facilities, have greater impacts on overall students’ and staff satisfaction than supportive facilities. Further, study found that both academic and students perceive physical facilities are more important than general infrastructures in which library facilities are the explanatory factor of overall satisfaction. Martirosyan (2015) examined the impact of selected variables on students’ satisfaction in Armenia. Light of the study identified reasonable curriculum and faculty services as key determinants of study satisfaction. The study also examined the effects of demographic variables on students’ satisfaction. Out of the several variables associated with student satisfaction, type of institution effect on students’ satisfaction significantly in which students from private institutions reported a significantly higher satisfaction level than their peers at public institutions. In a study conducted by Gines (2014), she found out that the graduates level of satisfaction with the University services, learning environment and facilities were generally of high satisfaction, however, computer laboratories with moderate satisfactory is still much desired especially with rapid advancement of technology needed for learning and connecting with the world. Likewise, Guiab (2014) in her study found out that pre-service teachers’ level of satisfaction on the services and learning climate is moderate and low on facilities. Theoretical Framework According to Maslow, individuals are motivated by unsatisfied needs. As each of these needs is significantly satisfied, it drives and forces the next need to emerge. Maslow grouped the five needs into two categories - Higher-order needs and Lower-order needs. The physiological and the safety needs constituted the lower-order needs. These lowerorder needs are mainly satisfied externally. The social, esteem, and self-actualization needs constituted the higher-order needs. These higher-order needs are generally satisfied internally, i.e., within an individual. Student Integration Theory is derived from the research of Vincent Tinto. Tinto (1975) created a model that sought to describe the factors that cause a student to leave a degree program before graduation. Tinto believed that student persistence/ retention is based upon the student‘s commitment to the goal (graduation and degree completion) and commitment to the institution (one‘s loyalty to the institution) coupled with the student‘s level of integration within social and academic elements that make up the individual student experience. Tinto suggested that goal and institutional commitment was not enough to predict dropout. Social integration is vital, but it is not just restricted to student-peer relationships. It also includes interactions with staff and faculty on campus. Another predictor of student retention, academic integration has ‗varying forms‘ (Tinto 1975) that relate to the level of student academic engagement with faculty and fellow students as reflected in grades, intellectual stimulation, and personal intellectual development. Student Attrition Theory is derived from the work of John P. Bean. Bean (1980, 1982, and 1985) developed his model with more focus on environmental/external factors. These factors include institutional fit which is similar to Rootman‘s ‗person-role fit‘(Bean 1985), finance attitude or the level of financial funding the student gets from the institution or from his/her family (Cabrera et al. 1993), outside encouragement which is the support and encouragement of family and friends of the student to finish the degree program, and, as Bean (1985) calls it, intent to leave. The base theory for this study is service quality and customer satisfaction integrated with salient constructs within student retention theory (Tinto, 1975, 1982, 1988, 1997; Bean, 1983, 1985). The importance of expectations in the customer‘s/student‘s evaluation of services has been acknowledged in past service quality literature (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985, 1988; Cronin and Taylor 1992, 1994). Zeithaml et al. (1990) had made great progress in identifying and understanding determinants of service quality, satisfaction, and, subsequent, customer retention. Conceptual Framework The students are the primary reason why universities and colleges exist. The students grow and gain experiences from the activities and services provided with the educational institution. In Olongapo City alone, there are nine (9) higher education institutions both in private and public. Satisfaction survey is a management information system that continuously captures the voice of the students through the assessment of performance from the student’s point of view (Mehdipour 2013). Moreover, Mancao (2013) reaffirms that through survey of students’ satisfaction, institutions are able to pinpoint their institutional strength as well as areas in need of improvement. One cannot be productive and excel when the university has poor services. Thus, the university strives to clear away any impediment to a student’s ability to function. In this study, the researcher will use the Input-Process-Output (IPO) Model to determine the level of satisfaction of the respondents as presented in Figure 1. The Input includes the demographic profile of the respondents as to their age, gender, curricular year, curricular program, and the dimensions of satisfaction. The Process includes the analysis of the variables and the statistical treatment of data while the Output is a Quality Assurance Framework. Figure 1 INPUT PROCESS I. Demographic Profile Survey Questionnaire II. Dimensions of Satisfaction a. Guidance and Counselling b. Canteen c. Admission d. Domiciliary e. Instruction Services f. Publication g. Medical and Dental h. Library Services i. Sports Services j. Research and Extension Statistical Treatment - Frequency - Percentage - Mean - Anova OUTPUT Proposed Quality Assurance Framework The students grow and gain experiences from the activities and services provided with the educational institution. Several theories have been proposed in an effort to better psycho-social dynamics of student satisfaction. The “happy-productive” student theory (Cotton, Dollard& de Jonge, 2002) suggests that student satisfaction is mediated by psycho-social factors as coping, stress and well-being. Hypothesis In this study, the researcher has proposed four (4) hypotheses: HO1: There was no significant relationship between the demographic profile and satisfaction of the respondents. HO2: The guidance and counselling, canteen, admission, domiciliary, instruction services, publication, medical and dental, library services, sports services, research and extension, scholarship and socio-economic and entrepreneurship has no significant effect to the satisfaction of the respondents. HO3: There was no significant difference between the twelve (12) services to the satisfaction as perceived by the students. HO4: There was no significant difference between the satisfaction of the students when grouped according to profile. Definition of Terms The following terms were defined conceptually and operationally: Gender. This refers to the biological sexual category of the respondents as male and female. Satisfaction. A fulfillment of need or desire, the pleasure obtained by such fulfillment. Satisfaction is the feeling of pleasure or disappointment attained from comparing a product’s perceived performance (outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. Services. These refer to the services of the College which students have experience with relating to guidance and counselling, canteen, admission, domiciliary, instruction services, publication, medical and dental, library services, sports services, research and extension, scholarship and socio-economic and entrepreneurship. Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY In this chapter, the methods and techniques of the study, the population and samples, the data gathering procedure, and also the statistical treatment of the data were presented. Research Design As primary customer of Colleges and Universities, this study was aimed to determine the satisfaction of the students with the services of local colleges in Olongapo City and Zambales according to Guidance and Counselling, Canteen, Admission, Domiciliary, Instruction Services, Publication, Medical and Dental, Library Services, Sports Services, Research and Extension, Scholarship and Socio-economic and Entrepreneurship. Respondents and Location The respondents were composed of Third Year and Fourth Year undergraduate students of local colleges in Olongapo City and Zambales enrolled during the 2nd Second Semester of Academic Year 2018-2019 from across all program offerings of the institution. Instrument In this study, a self-administered questionnaire (Appendix A) was used to gather information from the respondents. The questionnaire was developed using the survey instrument of Association and Local Colleges –Commission on Accreditation (ALCUCOA). For suitability purposes, some items in the survey questionnaire were modified according to the current operations of local colleges. The first part of the instrument contains the demographic profile the respondents. The second part requires the respondents to rate their satisfaction by putting a check on box with the corresponding sixty (60) statements categorize into 12 namely: guidance and counselling, canteen, admission, domiciliary, instruction services, publication, medical and dental, library services, sports services, research and extension, scholarship and socio-economic and entrepreneurship. The respondents have rated each item using a scale of 1-4 wherein 4 as highly satisfied, 3- satisfied, 2-less satisfied and 1-strongly dissatisfied. Data Collection The primary source of data were the third year and fourth year undergraduate students enrolled during the 2nd Semester of Academic Year 2018-2019. The number of enrolees were obtained from the Office of the Registrar with the approval of the Office of the President. The questionnaire was administered for five (5) days to third year and fourth year undergraduate students using the Slovins stratified sampling formula. Those who were able to answer and return the questionnaire were considered as the official respondents of this study. Data Analysis The data gathered were subjected to statistical tool using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Frequency, percentage and mean were used to analyse the data on the satisfaction and Anova to determine the significant difference of satisfaction across profiles. Bibliography Anantha, R. A. A., & Abdul Ghani, A. (2012). Service Quality and Students’ satisfaction at Higher Learning Institutions. A case study of Malaysian University Competitiveness. International journal of Management and Strategy. 3(5), 1 – 16 Bean, J. P. (1983). The Aplication of a Model of Turnover in Work Organizations to he Student Attrition Process,‘ Review of Higher Education, 6, pp. 129-148. Bean, J. P. (1985). Interaction Effects Based on Class Level in an Exploratory Model of College Student Dropout Syndrome. American Educational Research Journal, 22(1), pp. 35-64. Bean, J. P., & Bradley, R. K. (1986). Untangling the Satisfaction-Performance Relationship for College Students. Journal of Higher Education, 57(4), pp. 393 412. Gines, Adelaida C. (2014). Tracer Study of PNU Graduates. American International and Journal of Contemporary Research. Vol. 4. Number 3. Guiab, Marissa R. (2014). Perception of Pre-Service Teachers on Services and Academic Programs of Philippine of Philippine Normal University-North Luzon. Research Journal of Educational Sciences. Vol.2 (7) Karna, S. & Julin, P., (2015). A framework for measuring students and staff satisfaction with university campus facilities. Quality Assurance in Education, pp.47-61. Kasetwar, R. B. (2008): Quality in Higher Education, University News, 46 (20), pp. 6-12 Leisyte, L., Westerheijden, D. F., Epping, E., Faber, M., de Weert, E. (2011): Stakeholders and Quality Assurance in Higher Education, Center for Higher Education Policy Studies, Lausanne. 17. Mancao, Maria Carmela T. (2005). Student Satisfaction Survey. Philippine Normal University Research Series. No. 79, July 2005 Martirosyan, N. (2015). An examination of factors contributing to student satisfaction in American higher education. International Journal of Educational Management, -29 (2), pp.177-191 Olongapo City Ordinance No. 07, Series of 2018. An Ordinance Revising the Charter of Gordon College Subject to All Legal and Existing Rules and Regulations. Parahoo, S. K., Harvey, H. L., & Tamim, R. M. (2013). Factors influencing student satisfaction in universities in the Gulf region: Does gender of student matter? Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 22(2), 1-20 Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1985). A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research. Journal of Marketing, 49, pp. 41-50. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. & Berry, L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multi-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64 (3), pp. 12-41. Tinto, V. (1982). Limits of Theory and Practice in Student attrition. The Journal of Higher Education, 53(6), pp. 687-700. Tinto, V. (1988). Stages of Student Departure: Reflections on the Longitudinal character of Student Leaving. The Journal of Higher Education, 59(4), pp. 438-455. Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition (2nd Ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago. Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as Communities: Exploring the Educational Character of Student Persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 68(6), pp. 599-623. Yusoff, M., McLeay, F. & Woodruffe-Burto, H., (2015). Dimensions driving business student satisfaction in higher education. Quality Assurance in Education, pp. 86-104 https://www.managementstudyguide.com/maslows-hierarchy-needs-theory.htm Appendix A Republic of the Philippines President Ramon Magsaysay State University (Formerly Ramon Magsaysay Technological University) Iba, Zambales SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE INSTRUMENT Dear Respondent, This questionnaire is a part of the approved thesis proposal of the researcher entitled “Satisfaction of Student on the Services of Local Colleges in Olongapo City and Zambales.” There is no right or wrong answer in this survey since this is mostly about the perceptions of the respondents on the services they received from their institution. Anent this, the researcher seeks your cooperation by providing the information that applies to you. Rest assured that all gathered information will be treated with utmost confidentiality and will be used for continuous improvement. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer this survey. JERICA B. BACCAY Researcher I. Profile of the Respondent Direction: Kindly put a check (√) mark and/or supply the information that applies to you. A. Name (Optional) :___________________________________________ B. Sex: Male Female C. Age: _________ D. Name of Higher Education Institution Gordon College Botolan Community College Kolehiyo ng Subic E. Curricular Program : ________________________________________ F. Year Level : II. 4th 3rd Student Services Direction: Kindly rate the services delivered by your institution, based on the criteria specified below by putting a check (√) mark on the box corresponding to your answer. 4-Highly Satisfied Dissatisfied 3-Satisfied 2-Less Satisfied Indicators 1. Guidance and Counseling 1.1 Orientation program conducted regularly at the start of the school year 1.2 Guidance and counseling activities/programs for the students 1.3 Confidentiality of the student’s individual records in the Guidance Office 1.4 Institution’s systematic and continuing testing program 1.5 Available counseling room for the students with special cases 2. Canteen 4 1- Strongly 3 2 1 2.1 Available area/place for serving meals 2.2 Available meals/food 2.3 Price scheme of food items 2.4 Sanitation and supervision of kitchen 2.5 Sufficient department and health-certified competent staff who manages the canteen operation 3. Admission 3.1 Established system of student recruitment, selection and admission 3.2 Implementation and dissemination of policies and procedures continuation…. on the selection and admission of students 3.3 Conformity of the institution’s selection and admission criteria/requirements with those prescribed by CHED 3.4 System of filing of student’s records 3.5 Regular review and monitoring of institution’s selection and admission policies for students and students with special needs 4. Domiciliary 4.1 Housing services facility for the students 4.2 Established policies in the operation of housing services, dormitory rules and regulations 4.3 Management of services by committed, competent and full –time staff 4.4 Periodic monitoring and evaluation of dormitories and present boarding houses 4.5 School’s coordination with private boarding houses’ operators and owners for students’ housing needs and to safeguard the student boarders’ welfare 5. Instruction Services 5.1 Quality and delivery of instruction provided by the institution 5.2 Implementation of a system of assessment of student’s academic performance and intervention program for slow learners 5.3 Feedback to students by the faculty on grades and on class requirements, exams/tests, projects 5.4 Class requirements stipulated in the course syllabus 5.5 Availability of faculty for consultation and treatment towards the students 6. Publication 6.1 Policies and guidelines governing student publications 6.2 Student publication manages by an editorial board assisted by a competent adviser 6.3 Publication of school paper per semester 6.4 Publication office provided with the necessary facilities, equipment, supplies and materials 6.5 Content of the publication reflecting students’ ideas, opinions and concerns 7. Medical and Dental 7.1 Heath programs and services for the students provided by professionally trained personnel 7.2 Medical/dental unit provided with supplies and equipment 7.3 Available health programs and services to students including up-to-date information to parents or guardians whenever students have serious health problems 7.4 System of filing of medical and dental records 7.5 Continuing medical/dental program designed for the whole academic year 8. Library Services 8.1 Approach of library staffs to students/faculty/other library users 8.2 Library materials and books that help student accomplishes work 8.3 Available library space for the present number of users 8.4 Available references in the library 8.5 Policy on the use of library holdings 9. Sports Services 9.1 Implementation of policies and procedures in the selection of athletes 9.2 Budget allocation for the implementation of sports development program 9.3 Available financial support and/or scholarship to deserving athletes 9.4 Available sports unit provided with the necessary facilities, equipment, supplies and materials 9.5 Regular monitoring and evaluation of sports activities 10. Research and Extension 10.1 Institution’s research activities in line with its vision, mission, goals and objectives 10.2 Research activities being undertaken aligned with the program/course of the learners 10.3 Conduct of research conference for the students and faculty 10.4 Policy/guidelines on institutional support for research presentation in local/international research conferences 10.5 Dissemination of community programs to different stakeholders such as parents and students and adopted community 11. Scholarship 11.1 Implementation of functional and continuing Scholarship Program 11.2 Implementation of policies and guidelines in the selection and retention of academic scholars 11.3 Implementation of policies and guidelines in the selection and retention of grantees such as dependent children of faculty and staff, dependent children of barangay officials, indigenous group, handicapped persons and others 11.4 Implementation of policies and guidelines in the selection and retention of grantees for cultural group members 11.5 Implementation of policies and guidelines for athletes/varsity players 12. Socio-economic and Entrepreneurship 12.1 Grant of financial assistance to students for academic scholarship, educational loans and student assistantship 12.2 Financial assistance to students who attend workshops, seminars and other training opportunities; 12.3 Privileges for varsity players’ and athletes 12.4 Implementation of entrepreneurial activities/events related to the program/course being undertaken by the learners 12.5 Integration of entrepreneurship courses in the program across discipline What is your over-all rating on the services provided by your institution? Suggestions/Comments