Students’ satisfaction on the service quality provided by colleges of thai nguyen university: A proposed formation program

PROVAL SHEET THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam SOUTHERN LUZON STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines ii In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management this research study entitled “Students’ Satisfaction on the Service Quality Provided by Colleges of Thai Nguyen University: A Proposed Formation Program” has been submited by Nguyen Tat Thang - Victor, and is hereby recommended for oral examination. PROF. Dr. WALBERTO A. MACARAAN Research Adviser Approved by the Oral Examination Committee, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management offered by Southern Luzon State University, Republic of the Philippines in collaboration with Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam. (NAME OF PROFESSOR) (NAME OF PROFESSOR) Member Member (NAME OF PROFESSOR) (NAME OF PROFESSOR) Member Member (NAME OF PROFESSOR) Chairman Accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management offered by Southern Luzon State University, Republic of the Philippines in collaboration with Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam. APOLONIA AESPINOSA, Ph.D. WALBERTO A. MACARAAN, Ed .D Dean, Graduate School Vice President, Academic Affairs Date___________________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii Sincerest and profound gratitude and appreciation are extended to all the persons who in their own special ways have made this dissertation a reality. The author is most grateful to: Hon. Dr. Cecilia Gascon, President of Southern Luzon State University (SLSU), Republic of the Philippines, for her invaluable contribution in establishment of the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management program in Thai Nguyen University (TNU); Prof. Dr. Dang Kim Vui, President of Thai Nguyen University, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for his incomparable contribution and support to the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management program in Cooperation with the Southern Luzon State University, the Socialist Republic of the Philippines; Dr. Walberto A. Macaraan, Vice president, Academic Affairs for his support to the tie – up program between SLSU and TNU; Dr. Apolonia A. Espinosa, Dean, Graduate school for his support to the tie – up program between SLSU and TNU; Prof. Dr. Tran Van Dien, Rector of Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry for his invaluable assistance in the establishment of the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management program in cooperation with the Southern Luzon State University, Philippines; Dr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, Former Director of the International Training Center, Thai Nguyen University for his precious and wholehearted assistance and encouragements in the establishment of the Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management program in cooperation with the Southern Luzon State University, Philippines; Dr. Nguyen The Hung, Director of the International Training Center, Thai Nguyen University for his precious, invaluable assistance and his sincere encouragement and support to the students of this institution. The Panel of Examiners, Dr. .. iv Prof. .. for their invaluable comments, suggestions and recommendations to enhance the thesis manuscript of the author of this study; Dr. Ricaryl Catherine P. Cruz for her adviser, dedication, enduring patience and concern, guidance, sincere hopes and encouragement for the researcher to finish the manuscript; Dr. Teresita V. De La Cruz and Dr. Apolonia.A.Espinosa professors of method of research and advanced statistics for their patience and support; The visiting Professors including Dr.Arivalan, Dr. Balakrishnan, Dr. Walberto A. Macaraan, Dr. Lee Kar Ling, Dr. W.Johnson and other professors for their lectures; The Learning Resource Center of Thai Nguyen University, for the valuable sources of books and references; The authors and researchers of books and unpublished graduate theses and dissertations that served as reliable source of data and information; The college members of Thai Nguyen University, for the approval of the researcher’s request to conduct the study; The student respondents of the study, for their active involvement, without their cooperation, the result of this dissertation could not have been possible; His loving classmates and colleagues, for the endless support and friendship which inspire the researcher to put his best in finishing the study; His wife, daughter, son, parents and siblings, for their encouragement, financial, moral and spiritual supports for continuously believing that he can finish the task to the best of his abilities. To you all, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! NGUYEN TAT THANG (VICTOR) v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE .......................................................................................................... APPROVAL SHEET .............................................................................................. ACKNOWLEDGMENT ........................................................................................ TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ LIST OF APPENDICES ........................................................................................ ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ Chapter I. INTRODUCTION Background of the Study ............................................................................... Objectives of the Study ................................................................................ Null Hypothesis ............................................................................................ Significance of the Study .............................................................................. Scope and Limitations of the Study .............................................................. Definition of Terms ...................................................................................... Chapter II. LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH PARADIGM Service Quality Measurement ...................................................................... Service Quality in Higher Education ........................................................... Student Satisfaction ..................................................................................... The Relationship of the Service Quality and Student Satisfaction .............. Research Paradigm ....................................................................................... Chapter III. METHODOLOGY Time and Locale of the Study ...................................................................... Research Design ........................................................................................... Population and Sampling .............................................................................. Instrumentation ............................................................................................. Validation of the Instrument ........................................................................ Data Gathering Procedures ........................................................................... Statistical Treatment ..................................................................................... Chapter IV. RESULTS AND DISSCUSSIONS ................................................... Chapter V. SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary ....................................................................................................... Findings ........................................................................................................ Conclusions .................................................................................................. Recommendations ........................................................................................ BIBLIOGRAPHY.................... APPENDICES.................. RESEARCHER’S PROFILE ............................................................................... page i ii iii v vi vii xii viii 1 4 7 8 9 10 11 14 14 17 22 27 28 29 29 30 31 34 35 35 36 38 75 75 78 79 79 81 95 106 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 2 3 4 5 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 7 Distribution of the Sample Size According to Population ......................... Distribution of the Respondent by colleges ............................................... Percent distribution of the respondents about Gender, Age, Origin, Family income ............................................................................................ Factor Analysis of Perceived Service Quality ............................................ Result for the EDUSERVQUAL Items for the Students’ .......................... Correlation of the Responses on Intructional Service with Profile of Respondents ............................................................................................... Correlation of the Responses on Auxiliary Service with Profile of Respondents ............................................................................................... Correlation of the Responses on Ancillary Service with Profile of Respondents ............................................................................................... Correlation of the Responses on Learning Support Facilities with Profile of Respondents .......................................................................................... Correlation of the Responses on Tangible with Profile of Respondents ... Correlation of the Responses on Responsiveness with Profile of Respondents ............................................................................................... Correlation of the Responses on Reliability with Profile of Respondents.. Correlation of the Responses on Assurance with Profile of Respondents.. Correlation of the Responses on Empathy with Profile of Respondents.... The Proposed Formation Program ............................................................. 32 33 39 40 46 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 65 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 2 Research Paradigm ........... Location of Respondents College in Thai Nguyen Province .... 28 30 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page A B C D Communication letters.... Evaluation of the questionnaire for content validation .............................. Questionnaire on students’ satisfaction on the service quality provided by colleges of Thai nguyen University ...................................................... Researcher’s Profile ................................................................................... 95 96 97 106 viii Title : STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION ON THE SERVICE QUALITY PROVIDED BY COLLEGES OF THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY: A PROPOSED FORMATION PROGRAM Researcher: : NGUYEN TAT THANG – (VICTOR) Degree : Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management Name/ Address of the Institution Southern Luzon State University Graduate School Lucban, Quezon Date Completed : March, 2014 Adviser : DR. WALBERTO A. MACARAAN ABSTRACT This study examines the level of students’ satisfaction on the service quality provided by colleges of Thai Nguyen University. The exploration and comparison of possible differences in terms of level of students’ satisfaction across gender, origin, monthly family income and the college inrolled. Data were collected based on EDUSERVQUAL tool that has been modified from SERVQUAL instrument. The EDUSERVQUAL tool consists of nine dimensions namely: Instructional services, auxiliary services, ancillary services, learning support facilities, tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, and empathy. The finding of this study reveals that service quality is a vital factor that determines the level of student satisfaction and showed that the following dimensions: instructional service, followed by empathy, reliability, auxiliary service, ancillary service, and learning support facilities were the 6 most important dimensions and had significant positive relationship with students’ satisfaction level. Furthermore, the study also find the following factors: “the wifi network and the internet service quality”; followed by the item “soft skills are equiped for students”; “the college’s audio visual/media center functions well”; “when you have a problem, college shows sincere interest in solving it”; “college gives you individual attention”; “food services ix are available and guaranteed by food safety standards”; “book store and market are available”; “when college promises to do something by a certain time, it does so” had significant positive relationship with students’ satisfaction level. In terms of respondent profile (gender, origin, monthly family income and collge inrolled), 15 out of the 43 items (factors) in EDUSERVQUAL tool is significant correlated with college inrolled, and 12 out of the 43 items (factors) is significant correlated with monthly family income. The finding of this study showed that the college enrolled seems the strongest and had significant positive relationship with EDUSERVQUAL dimensions, followed by monthly family income. Gender and origin were less importance with the former significantly predicting. Finally, to propose some suggestions program that could further enhance students’ satisfaction on the service quality. They may adapt the formation program proposed by the researcher. 1 Chapter I INTRODUCTION For a long time, higher education (HE) institutions have preferred to focus on their internal academic needs rather than to view students as their main clients. This viewpoint has served them well as long as the demand was greater than the supply. In modern competitive environments, service quality is more importance in the competitive formula of both organizations and countries. Education sector is becoming services for people in which global and local levels combine, thus a standardized offer is modified by local specificities. Service quality has been put forward as a critical determinant of competitiveness (Lewis, 1989). Currently, people often hear about poor client service experience than good client service one, and negative word - of - mouth can have a devastating effect on an organization’s efforts to attract new clients. Clients who have experienced poor service will often reveal their experience to other people, therefore this may lead to a reduction in potential and permanent clients. Thus, a good service quality will be more likely to attract new clients as well as to maintain regular clients. In colleges, students are considered as the “short-duration clients” and they are the clients of education service. They play an active role in helping the college identify the providers and improve the service quality. Hence, identifying the determinants of service quality from the perception of students being considered as the primary clients is important, and one of a primary goal of HE should be done is to develop the satisfaction of clients (students). Besides, during the last over two decades, measuring service quality in HE has become increasingly important for attracting and retaining tuition-based returns (Angell et al., 2008). Therefore, it is vital for HE institutions to actively monitor the service quality and safeguard the interests of stakeholders through the fulfilment of their real needs and wants. (Zeshan, 2010; Al-alak, 2009). In order to attract students, serve their needs and retain them, 2 service providers and researchers are actively involved in understanding students’ expectations and perceptions of service quality. In the current economic climate, education field is expanding rapidly all over the world. HE is being driven toward commercial competition by the development of global education markets. Many HE institutions are giving serious thought to the issue of service and performing some identifications of the service quality of education that provided to students, as well as the assessment of students’ satisfaction. This has come about two reasons, the first is the expansion phase in HE has ended and there will be a real competition for students. As a result, the service quality experience in HE becomes an important factor in client’s decision making, the buyer. The word - of - mouth recommendation plays a big role in students’ choices of HE. The second reason is the university/college’s quality assurance systems place emphasis on the student experience as one of the assessment criteria. Because of this importance, to examine which factors/dimensions determine students’ satisfaction are necessary. Besides that, universities/colleges are increasingly involved in ranking criteria or a world class institution, and external ranking instruments include some measure of students’ satisfaction as well as student’s attributes. University/College rankings are increasingly disseminated with great detail about the different components of the overall score, and the issues that frequently accompany the presentation of the overall position of an institution often refer to the general climate on campus and to the level of students’ satisfaction. In the context of Vietnam, Vietnam HE institutions cover undergraduate and postgraduate studies (Vietnamese Education Law, 2012). Undergraduate studies can lead to diploma or bachelor degrees while postgraduate studies can lead to master and doctorate degrees. The system of Vietnam HE institution includes: Colleges, Universities and Research institutions. 3 Thai Nguyen university (TNU), one of the leading regional university systems in Vietnam, is strategically located in Thai Nguyen City. The university system was established in 1994, basically a conglomeration of colleges reflecting the long tradition of existence as HE institutions which are situated in Thai Nguyen province. They are the College of Engineering and Technology was founded in 1965; the College of Education was founded in 1966; the College of Medicine and Pharmacy was founded in 1968; the College of Agriculture and Forestry was founded in 1970; the College of Economics and Techniques was founded in 1974. For over 20 years of development, TNU has been experiencing growth in qualitative and quantitative aspects in instruction, research and technology transfer, production, and management, among others. Hence, as it continues its journey towards the future, it displays with dynamism its commitment toward the pursuit of excellence in this noble undertaking. With this, TNU system has been recognized as one of the leading national universities in Vietnam. In its development, TNU has established five other college and faculty members. They are the College of Information and Communication Technology founded in 2001; the College of Economic and Business Administration founded in 2004; the College of Sciences and Humanity founded in 2008; the Faculty of Foreign Languages founded in 2008 and the International School founded in 2011. TNU is mandated to to pursue the following: Training high quality human resource, conducting researches on scientific technologies and management, verifying and proposing solutions and sustainable development policies, and contributing to the socio-economic development of the region towards industrialization and modernization. To become a world class university within Vietnam and the Southeast Asia in providing HE in the fields of agriculture and forestry, teacher education, technology, economics, business administration, medicine and pharmacy, information and communication technology, foreign languages, among others. 4 Presently, TNU has over 3,800 full time faculty and professional researchers. The total enrolment is 49,517 full time students on colleges, of which 44,420 at undergraduate level, 5,097 at master and doctoral level, and over 250 international students. (source: TNU statistics, 2012). This study focused only on the 3rd students who are studying at 109 different disciplines of different colleges of TNU, which totally has 11,383 undergraduate students (source: TNU statistics, 2012). The paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter one is devoted to the study’s introduction, while chapter two is literature review and research paradigm. Chapter three presents the research methodology, followed by chapter four where results and discussion are outlined. The fifth chapter draws summary, findings, conclusions and recommendations of the study. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY The important role of service industries is increasing in line with the development of the economy in many countries (Pham Ngoc Thuy & Le Nguyen Hau, 2010). Service sector attracts more and more attentions of real business world and research fields. There is a variety of studies focused on the important role of service quality measurement and mornitoring in educational institutions (Angell et al., 2008; Ham, 2003; Yeo, 2008; Al-alak and Bekhet, 2011). An outcome of this has demanded that all service encounters offered by institutions of HE should be managed to enhance consumer perceive quality (Brochedo, 2009). In the last two decades, Vietnam has been trying to integrate into the world. The only way to develop and prosper for Vietnam is to be open to the world, and education is no exception. Consequently, more and more universities have been established to answer the demand for HE. The shift in the HE market from a suppliers’ market (where the supply is less than the demand and the supplier dictate quality) to a customers’ market (where the demand 5 is higher than the supply and the customers dictate quality) has intensified the competition amongst HE institutions. Beside that, the competition for enrolled students has become more and more challenging. In light of the varied alternatives, the students are become more and more assertive and critical, and therefore the HE institutions have to address the increasing dissatisfaction with the performance of HE systems by improving them (Mizikaci, 2006). Both the students and their parents are looking for added value for their money and the HE have to deliver quality that is compatible with the students’ expectations and needs (Smith et al., 2007). In order to improve the service quality, HE in many countries around the world have created surveys to obtain students’ satisfaction. Through these surveys, they can receive students’ information about their feedback, the teaching effectiveness, teaching facilities, relevance of coursework, curriculum and the general learning environment of the universities/colleges which are used to benchmark themselves against others and can be valuable information for decision-makers about how to improve the quality of the institutions and training programs. However, in Vietnam there still are many barriers on the education development: The lack of financial resources. The level of government funding for HE is small, only 0.41% of GDP in 2002 out of a total of 4.22% of GDP for all levels of education. In terms of expenditure on higher education, Vietnam compares poorly to the rest of the region and the rest of the world (average is 1.22%). (World Bank, 2007a). Furthermore, management is characterized by a very high level of centralization. Ministries wield significant power over HE and determine matters as varied and as detailed as the curriculum, student enrolment, academic assessment, awarding of degrees, staff appointments, budget decisions, infrastructure and facility maintenance (MOET, 2005:42; Hayden, 2005a; Ngo, 2006). 6 Meanwhile, enrolment is concentrated in a few academic disciplines due to limited provision and the student/teacher ratio (30:1) is too high by international standards, etc. TNU is not standing apart from this context of the country, there are still challenges facing TNU. Currently, TNU has 10 colleges and faculties. In the process of formation and development, TNU has recognized the importance of training missions in order to meet the needs of society. However, during the process of implementation, the following contents should be considered as an innovation to improve the quality, meet the satisfaction of students. There are many factors that can affect the quality of education, such as a passive teaching method, a shortage of teaching staff, poor teaching materials, inadequate college infrastructure, and lack of experience in education management. Large scale of students and larger class sizes also create challenges for teachers as well as for the management to update and innovate modern methods of teaching, counseling, skills training and teamwork,... Lab, library, and playground are not appropriately invested. The soft skills training as well as practice activities have not been given due attention. The curriculum is not really suitable for professional demanding practice. These limitations can be a major influence on student satisfaction of services and the quality of training as well as the college's reputation. As mention above, associate with the growth of the colleges in quality and quantity, the improvement of service quality at colleges will satisfy the requirements of their students. As a result, the assessment about students’ satisfaction on the service quality in HE can provide an important contribution which may be useful for management, faculty and staff members of TNU and other colleges in the region to continue improving the quality of education as imposed and required by quality standards. In addition, the current study will provide a better understanding of the students’ needs and expectation and will help implement new programs so that purpose and missions and vision of colleges of TNU can be served. The study of students’ satisfaction on the servive quality provided by colleges of TNU will help provide valuable information to present and future students can assist students and 7 administrators in determining where to study and how to improve the service quality in their colleges. The lack of student feedback survey yearly suggests that the colleges are less concerned with responding to student needs. At colleges of TNU, an annual overall statistical analysis of student performance and satisfaction is seldom done, and no tool was developed to determine what student perceptions were a range of service quality provided. The main factors can affect the level of students’ satisfaction are students’ expectation and needs on learning and teaching, support facilities for teaching and learning such as (libraries, computer and lab facilities), learning environment (rooms of lectures, laboratories, social space), support facilities (health facilities, refectories, student accommodation, student services) and external aspects of being a student (such as finance, transportation). It has become necessary to invest in a tool that will be able to measure the total of students’ learning experience in order to measure and maintain the service quality provision in the colleges, to attract and sustain good students and to enhance the commitment and reputation of the colleges. Base on the mentioned current situation, the researcher conducted a study entitled “Students’ satisfaction on the service quality provided by colleges of Thai Nguyen University: A proposed formation program”. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This study seeks to find out the students’ satisfaction on the service quality provided by different colleges of Thai Nguyen University. Specifically, it is aimed to: 1. Identify the profile of the respondents in terms of the following: 1.1. Gender; 1.2. Age; 1.3. Origin; 1.4. Monthy Family Income; and 8 1.5. College Enrolled. 2. Determine the level of students satisfaction as the services quality of the Colleges in terms of: 2.1. Instructional Services; 2.2. Auxiliary Services; 2.3. Ancillary Services; and 2.4. Learning Support Facilities. 3. Determine the level of students satisfaction on the service quality in colleges in terms of the following dimensions: 3.1. Tangibles; 3.2. Responsiveness; 3.3. Reliability; 3.4. Assurance; and 3.5. Empathy. 4. Find out if there is significant difference on the perception of students profile of different colleges of TNU as to the service quality. 5. Ascertain which of the service quality dimensions predict students’ satisfaction in different colleges of TNU. 6. Propose a formation program to improve the service quality. NULL HYPOTHESIS H1. There is no significant difference between students’ expectations and perception in respondent on the service quality provided by different colleges of TNU. H2. Students’ demographic profile does not make significant difference as to the service quality. 9 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study attempting to know the influence o...ersities are the students, and therefore HE is increasingly recognizing that it is a service industry and is placing greater emphasis on meeting the expectations and needs of students. In the same vein, Elliott and Shin (2002) show that, focusing on student satisfaction not only enables universities to re- engineer their organizations to adapt to student needs or expectations, but also allows them to develop a system for continuous monitoring of how effectively they meet student needs. Therefore, focusing on enhancing the customer satisfaction at universities is crucial in developing customer value. In the context of HE, service performance has become a central construct in marketing research, especially in combination with service quality. Service performance which includes implicit quality is especially influenced by two factors: professors and course content. In the 24 service context, quality is a subjective measurement and depends on tangible and intangible attributes (Mont and Plepys 2003; Pariseau and Daniel 1997). The intangible nature of HE makes it difficult for students to effectively evaluate factors such as the quality of teaching and learning, as well as the quality of student servicing. The tangible elements associated with the “education”- service include educational technology and computers, classrooms, and library facilities. In other study of Mamun and Das (1999), they pointed out some factors that would attract students. These included library facilities, laboratory facilities and internship assistance as some of the key factors for student satisfaction. HE institutions can attract students designing world class libraries, classrooms, computer laboratories, and other facilities. Students spend a considerable amount of their time using these university facilities, thus they can provide potential opportunities to influence student satisfaction. In the same vein, Devinder and Datta (2003) argued that “institutions which want to deliver quality programs and services to students must be concerned with every aspect of the students’ experience on campus. In other words, education quality is not only limited to the lectures and notes received in class or advice and guidance given by lecturers during the consultation hours, but it also includes students’ experience while interacting with the various non-academic personnel and components in the university, the physical infrastructure provided by the university etc”. Superiority of the service quality is strongly dependent on customer satisfaction which can be measured from customer expectations and perceptions (Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Christou & Sigala, 2002; Ekinci, 2004). Students are the short-duration customers in an educational institutions and their satisfaction will lead towards loyalty, retention and positive word of mouth (Arambewela & John Hall, 2009; Mavondo et al., 2004; Helgesen & Nesset, 2007). 25 Palacio, Meneses and Perez (2002) said that the expectation may go as far as before the students even enter the HE, suggesting that it is important to the researchers to determine first what the students expect before entering the university, and they believed that satisfaction actually covers issues of students’ perception and experiences during the college years. In contrary, Home (2002), believe that most student satisfaction studied focus on the perspective of customer. According to Marzo-Navarro et al., and Richardson (2005), student satisfaction is still a complex phenomenon and it has different dimensions. Navarro et al,. (2005) mentioned that students evaluate the quality of organization on the basis of tangibility (teachers), reliability and responsiveness (methods of teaching) and management of the institution and these factors have direct influence on the level of students’ satisfaction. Petruzzellis, D’Uggento, Romanazzi (2006) also regarded students as customers of universities and made the conclusion that universities need to adopt a customer central approach. They analyzed common factors such as: lecture halls, laboratories, equipment, library, dining hall, dormitories, leisure activities, language courses, scholarships, internet access, exam booking, contacts with teachers, administrative services, tutoring, counseling, internship, international relationship and placement. According to Corneliu et al,. (2010), student satisfaction was evaluative summary of direct educational experience, based on the prior expectation and the perceived performance. Angeelova and Zekiri (2011) believed that satisfaction represents the outcome felt by customers and matched by their expectations. A study done by Haque et al. (2011) identified independent factors that can affect student satisfaction based on services offered by universities. These include quality of teaching, student research facilities, library book collections and services, campus infrastructure, canteen facilities, space for group discussions, sport programs, etc. 26 Another study made by Wiers-Jenssen, Stensaker and Grogaard (2002) that asserts the quality of university support facilities is very important in achieving students satisfaction. They see student satisfaction as students’ assessments of the services provided by universities and colleges. They broke the concept down into several sub-categories, such as: quality of teaching (academic and pedagogic); quality of supervision and feedback from academic staff; content and relevance of curriculum; balance between different forms of teaching activities; quality of support facilities; quality of physical infrastructure; quality and access to leisure activities and social climate. Student’ satisfaction with university has individual, institutional and social benefits. From an institutional point of view, satisfied students are more likely to continue in their studies and succeed academically, and this is likely to enhance the financial position and reputation of the institution. Successful universities realize that it is very important to retain enrolled students rather than concentrate on attracting new ones. One reason for this is because a competitive advantage can be gained through student satisfaction (Elliott and Shin 2002) and they can be marketed in the university’s marketing tools. Highly satisfied students “engage in favorable word-of- mouth publicity”. Word-of-mouth from satisfied students lowers the cost of attracting new customers for the university and enhances the university’s overall reputation, while that of dissatisfied students has the opposite effect (Fornell 1992). As mentioned above, the literature on students’ satisfaction and perception of academic experience is very complex. Two threads of perspectives are apparent: the academic and the social. The researchers support one or the other perspective mention the factors that can affect students’ satisfaction with their university. Many reseachers underline the importance of the same factors (for example Harvey (1995) and Hill (1995), such as library services, accommodation services, course content, teaching quality, catering service, academic workload and so on. 27 2.4. The Relationship of the Services Quality and Student Satisfaction Service quality and customer satisfaction has become an important topic of discussion among the academicians and researchers for the last two decades and this trend can have been seen in higher education, too (Avdjieva & Wilson, 2002, Barnes, 2006). The relationship between service quality and client satisfaction have received great deal of attention from scholars and practitioners (Eshghi et al., 2008 as sited in Chigang & Lukong, 2010). Many scholars investigated that service quality has a significant impact on customer satisfaction (Gronroo, 1984). However, the others argued that customer satisfaction is as an antecedent to service quality (AI-alak, 2006, as cited in Basherr & Ahmad, 2012). The terms “service quality” and “satisfaction” are often used in an interchangeable manner (Palmer, 2011), the difficulty is that we attempt to distinguish between the two theoretical concepts. Like service quality, client satisfaction is an abstract and ambiguous concept (Munteanu et al., 2010) and many researchers have attempted to develop a consensus definition for this construct (Giese and Cote, 2000). Satisfaction has been defined as the perception of pleasurable fulfilment of a service (Oliver, 1999). In contrast, Athiyaman (1997) argued that satisfaction was the result of the evaluation of a specific transaction or consumption experience. Despite this, measuring customer satisfaction provides organisations with one way to ascertain the success of a product following its introduction to its market (Munteanu et al., 2010). On the other hand, service quality is interpreted as an enduring global attitude, encompassing a view of the organisation in its entirety, while satisfaction is related to a specific transaction or consumption experience (Rowley, 1997). Carman (1990) argued that “it is uncommon for researchers to refer to quality as an attitude”. Despite the controversy, a clear distinction can be made between the two constructs; quality is based on current perceptions whereas satisfaction is based on past, present and anticipated experiences or outcomes (Anderson et al., 1994). It was established that satisfaction and service quality were 28 strongly correlated; however, the authors concluded that they were indeed two separate constructs. Finally, Zeithaml et al. (2009) saw satisfaction as a broader concept than service quality, suggesting that service quality was a component of satisfaction. In total we can see that the following factors are frequently mentioned in the literature that has been used in this research: Instructional services; auxiliary services; ancillary services; learning support facilities reliability; responsiveness; assurance; empathy and tangibles. Therefore, the researcher will try to find out whether they are the main factors that can affect student’ satisfaction with colleges of TNU. RESEARCH PARADIGM Independent Variables Dependent Variable Figure 1. The Schematic Presentation of the Independent and Dependent Variables of the Study. Students’ satisfaction at colleges of TNU I. Profile II. EDUSERVQUAL dimensions 1. Instructional services 2. Auxiliary services 3. Ancillary services 4. Learning support facilities 5. Reliability 6. Responsiveness 7. Assurance 8. Empathy 9. Tangibles A PROPOSED FORMATION PROGRAM 29 Chapter III METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the design and methodology of the study. It includes the locale of study, research design, determination of sample size, subject of the study, and the respondents of the study, sample and sampling instrument, data gathering procedures and statistical treatment. This study is in nature and the results will be based on assessment of the respondents. For this purpose, a questionnaire will be designed using modified SERVQUAL model to measure the service quality provided by different colleges of TNU and how the service quality will be helpful to gain students’ satisfaction. Base on aforementioned analysis about the current situation in colleges of TNU and the existence of the service quality and students’ satisfaction. This analysis anabled the addition of dimentions and/or items which more suitably represeted service quality at colleges of TNU. The five dimentions of SERVQUAL (tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, and empathy) emerged together with four new dimentions as follows: Instructional services, auxiliry services, ancillary services and learning support facilities. The dependent variable in this study is the overall students’ satisfaction in TNU. TIME AND LOCALE OF THE STUDY Time: From Fabruary, 2013 to August, 2013 This study conducted to nine (9) colleges of TNU. The respondents in this study were the students coming from the different colleges namely: The college of Engineering and Technology; the college of Education; the college of Medicine and Pharmacy; the college of Agriculture and Forestry; the college of Economics and Techniques; the college of Information and Communication Technology; the college of 30 Economic and Business Administration; the college of Sciences and Humanity; and the Faculty of Foreign Languages. Figure 2. Location of Respondents of Colleges at TNU, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province, Viet Nam RESEARCH DESIGN This study used the descriptive correlation design in analyzing the investigated variables. According to Sevilla, et al. (2004), it is designed to help determine the extent to which different variables are related to each other in the population of interest. They quoted Fox (2004) stating that the critical distinguishing characteristics are the effort to estimate a relationship, as distinguished from simple description. 31 In lieu of the design, Calmorin (1994) suggested the use of descriptive design to present the service quality implemented by students in different colleges of TNU. It also provided valuable information base on the data analysis results that obtained from the investigation, apply the evaluated research methods to make conclusions or recommendations related to research problems. POPULATION AND SAMPLING The collection of samples will be conducted from 11,383 of the 3 rd year students in 9 different colleges of TNU . The aim of this study is finding out if there is significant difference on the perception of students profile of different colleges as to the services quality. Hence, respondents for this study include the 3 rd students in different colleges of TNU. To get sample size, the researcher had to determine the sample size by using the Slovin's formula hereunder. n = N / (1 + Ne 2 ) where n = Number of samples (sample size), N = Total population (population size), and e = Error tolerance. With N = 11,383, e = 5%, we determined amount of student to be chosen is 386. Including 78 students in College of Engineering and Technology, 70 students in College of Education, 18 students in College of Medicine and Pharmacy, 61 students in College of Agriculture and Forestry, 40 students in College of Economics and Techniques, 17 students in College of Information and Communication Technology, 43 students in College of Economic and Business Administration, 40 students in College of Sciences and Humanity, and 19 students in Faculty of Foreign Languages. The respondents were divided equally according to each discipline in each college and randomly selected using the fish bowl technique. Of 100 percent students requested to answer 32 the questionnaire, only 99 percent students returned the questionnaires thus reducing the total number of respondents to 1.0 percent (did not return questionnaire). There were no restrictions as to who were qualified to answer the questionnaire such as sex, age, civil status, educational background among others. There was no difficulty encountered in selecting the respondents. Table 1 Distribution of the Sample size According to Population Colleges Population (the 3 rd year students) Sample size 1. The College of Engineering and Technology 2,284 78 2. The College of Education 2,043 70 3. The College of Medicine and Pharmacy 605 18 4. The College of Agriculture and Forestry 1,777 61 5. The College of Economics and Techniques 1,170 40 6.The College of Information and Communication Technology 518 17 7.College of Economic and Business Administration 1,259 43 8. College of Sciences and Humanity 1,169 40 9. Faculty of Foreign Languages 558 19 TOTAL 11,383 386 Table 1 shows the distribution of sample size in each colleges of TNU 33 Table 2 Distribution of the Respondents by Colleges Colleges Location Sample Percents Total Respondents The College of Engineering and Technology Phu Xa Ward, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province 78 75 96% The College of Education Quang Trung Ward, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province 70 70 100% The College of Medicine and Pharmacy Quang Trung Ward, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province 18 18 100% The College of Agriculture and Forestry Quyet Thang Commune, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province 61 60 98% The College of Economics and Techniques Tan Thinh Ward, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province 40 40 100% The College of Information and Communication Technology Quyet Thang commune, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province 17 17 100% College of Economic and Business Administration Quyet Thang commune, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province 43 43 100% College of Sciences and Humanity Quyet Thang commune, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province 40 40 100% Faculty of Foreign Languages Quyet Thang commune, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province 19 19 100% TOTAL 386 382 99% 34 Table 2 shows the ditribution of student respondents from each college. Originally 99 percent of the total number of students in all the colleges was requested to answer the questionnaire so as to get a similar proportion for all the colleges but some of those requested did not return questionnaire. 96% respondents of the College of Engineering and Technology; 100% respondents of the College of Education; 100% respondents of the College of Medicine and Pharmacy; 98% respondents of College of Agriculture and Forestry; 100% respondents of the College of Economics and Techniques, 100% respondents of the College of Information and Communication Technology, 100% respondents of the College of Economic and Business Administration, 100% respondents of the College of Sciences and Humanity, and 100% respondents of the Faculty of Foreign Languages. INSTRUMENTATION This study used questionnaire as medium of obtains the needed data. All questions were phrased positively. EDUSERVQUAL was the name given to the research tool designed to measure students’ perception of service quality in 9 different colleges of TNU. The design of EDUSERVQUAL survey was built on the SERVQUAL model as well as the focus group discussion to develop indicators of service quality from the students’ perspective. The scale consisted of nine dimentions namely: Instructional services, auxiliary services, ancillary services, learning support facilities, tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, and empathy. The questions measured the expectation and the perceptions of respondents according to nine dimentions. The EDUSERVQUAL measurement resulted in 43 items (factors), that presented various facets at college services of TNU. All the items were measured on a four – point likert scale, which was labelled as 4 – strongly agree, 3 – agree, 2 – disagree and 1– strongly disagree. The seven-point likert scale used in the SERVQUAL was 35 replaced by a four-point scale for the EDUSERVQUAL. The EDUSERVQUAL questionnaire also captured the students’ demographic profile which asked students for information about gender, age, origin (city, town, village, or mountainous area), their monthly family income and their college enrolled. The students experience of service quality using a four - point likert scale ranging from “4 – highly evidence” to “1– poorly evidence”. VALIDATION OF THE INSTRUMENT A validation of the questionnaire was done using the inter-consistency judgment criteria. A pilot survey was carried out with twenty students in a particular college. revisions were made to questions which were not clear to remove ambiguities. The researcher seek the assistance of five (5) experts to validate the content of the questionnaire in terms of correctness of language, appropriateness of the statements and relevance of the items to the problem using the codes: 3 for “acceptable”, 2 for “needs revisions”, and 1 for “not acceptable.” After correcting and adding some new content of the questionnaire, it was tried out in a college not included in the population to determine the suitability of the language and to determine the length of time of each administration before it is submitted to the researcher’s adviser for final approval. DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE There are basically three way of administering a questionnaire: The face-to-face interview, the telephone interview and the self-administered questionnaire (Cobetta, 2003:142). In this study the last option was adopted. The questionnaire was administered to groups of students during their lecture times. All staff members in the Student Affair Department of the college assisted in administering the questionnaires to different groups of students. Instructions were given to the students to ensure that the questionnaires were filled in correctly. Questionnaires were collected 36 immediately after completion. Group administration of the questionnaire also helped to save data collection costs. There was no need for the student to include a name on the survey. STATISTICAL TREATMENT To answer the problems posed in this study, the following statistical tools were applied on the data collected. 1. The data collected was prepared or processed for analysis and then later actually analyzed; the collected data was edited, categorized or coded and entered into computer using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 16) (Nie, Bent & Hull, 1970) for generation of summary frequency tables. Collected data using qualitative questions was processed manually. Descriptive analysis was calculated and a paired mean t-test was used to test the significant mean difference between the students’ perceptions and expectations of the service quality provided by the colleges of TNU. 2. Profiles of the respondents: The demographics information based on frequency distributions and percentages. 3. Weighted mean was utilized to describe the perception of student respondents on the service quality. The formula is: W fw M n   Where: WM = weighted mean fw = sum of the product of the frequency and weight n = total number 4. Chi – square test, for determining the significant correlation of the responses on each service quality dimension variables and profile of respondents or not. The formula is: 37 2 2 ( )O EX E   Where: X 2 = chi - square value O = observed frequencies E = expected frequencies Descriptive Interpretation of the Scale The following legends of interpretation were used to rate the service quality variables that post great influence on student satisfaction. For perception of the quality of service variables: Scale Choice description Range Interval Verbal Interpretation 4 Strongly Agree 3.25 – 4.00 Highly Evidence (HE) 3 Agree 2.50 – 3.24 Moderately Evidence (ME) 2 Disagree 1.75 – 2.49 Fairly Evidence (FE) 1 Strongly Disagree 1.00 – 1.74 Poorly Evidence (PE) 38 Chapter IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS This chapter presents the data on tables with their corresponding analysis and interpretation. The presentation followed the sequence of the specific problem. Demographic profile of respondents Table 3 shows the demographic profiles of the respondents, including age, gender, origin, family income and colleges inrolled in colleges of TNU. The results of the discriptive analysis for demographic information indicated that among the analysed samples (n = 386), 41% of the respondents were male and 59% of the respondents were female. In terms of age, 66% of the respondents was 21 years old, followed by 23.5% of the respondents was 22 years old, 6.0% of the respondents was 23, 3.0% of the respondents was 24 and 1.5% of the respondents was 25 years old. In terms of origin, 15.2% of the respondents live in city, followed by 12.8% of the respondents live in town, 47.9% of the respondents live in village and 24.1% of the respondents live in mountainous area. In terms of monthly family in come, 43.5% of the family have monthly family income from 2,000,000 VND and below, 26.4% of the family have monthly family income from 2,000,001 VND to 4,000,000 VND, 11.3% of the family have monthly family income from 4,000,001 VND to 6,000,000 VND, 9.5% of the family have monthly family income from 6,000,001 VND to 8,000,000VND and 9.7% of the family have monthly family income from 8,000,001 VND and above. 39 Table 3 Percent distribution of the respondents about Gender, Age, Origin, Family income Item Number Percentage (%) 1. Gender Male 225 59% Female 157 41% Total 382 100% 2. Age 21 253 66.0% 22 87 23.5% 23 24 6.0% 24 12 3.0% 25 6 1.5% Total 382 100% 3. Origin City 58 15% Town 49 13% Village 183 48% Mountainous 92 24% Total 382 100% 4. Monthly Family income 2.000.000 VND and below 166 44% 2.000.001 VND to 4.000.000 VND 101 26% 4.000.001 VND to 6.000.000 VND 43 11% 6.000.001 VND to 8.000.000 VND 35 9% 8.000.000 VND and above 37 10% Total 382 100% 40 Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficients for Each Measurement Scale Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients for internal consistency reliability test were calculated for all the service determinants to test the reliability of the scale used in the study. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient normally ranges between 0 to 1. George and Mallery (2003) provided the following rules of thumb: >= .9 (Excellent), >= .8 (Good), >= .7 (Acceptable), >= .6 (Questionable), >= .5 (Poor), < .5 (Unacceptable). The exploratory factors analysis results in table 4 indicated that the scores of the Cronbach’s alpha for all scales satisfied the requirement for reliability. Cronbach’s Alpha for all constructs exceeded the threshold of 0.60 indicating that the measurement scales of the constructs were stable and consistent. Table 4 Factor analysis of perceived service quality Factors Cronbach’s Alpha Instructional services (IN 1 to IN 5) Cronbach’s Alpha = .724 IN1 Library provides up to date learning sources (e.g. quality and relevance of books, magazines, journals, etc.). .697 IN2 Laboratory/practical place offers adequate materials for experiment and practicum. .671 IN3 The wifi network and internet service function well. .665 IN4 Audio visual/media center functions well .637 IN5 Open – air areas for students’ group discussion are available and comfortable. .709 Auxiliary services (AU 1 to AU 6) Cronbach’s Alpha = .792 AU1 Medical services are available. .773 AU2 Classrooms are sufficient and comfortable. .759 AU3 Entertainments (sport, club, performance,..) are sufficient and comfortable. .759 41 AU4 The college’s public areas are comfortable. .762 AU5 The dorms/hostels are comfortable (electricity, water supply,...) .752 AU6 Security guards are available. .754 Ancillary services (AN 1 to AN 4) Cronbach’s Alpha = .619 AN1 Parking is available. .603 AN2 Food services are available and guaranteed by food safety standards. .549 AN3 Book store and market are available. .510 AN4 Photocopy service is available. .523 Learning support facilities (LE 1 to LE 6) Cronbach’s Alpha = .807 LE1 Classroom arrangements are well organised. .771 LE2 The up to date equipments are supported to learning process. .773 LE3 There are enough signs at the college for locating different sites. .796 LE4 Clean and safe environment (classroom, toilet, canteen, etc.). .774 LE5 The college provides consultation time for students. .766 LE6 Soft skills are equiped for students. .782 Tangibles (TA 1 to TA 4) Cronbach’s Alpha = .712 TA1 The college has modern-looking equipment. .631 TA2 College's physical facilities are visually appealing. .609 TA3 College's Lecturers and staffs are neat-appearing. .697 TA4 Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) are visually appealling at the college. .654 Responsiveness (RE 1 to RE 4) Cronbach’s Alpha = .766 RE1 Lecturers and staffs at college tell you exactly when services will be performed. .696 RE2 Lecturers and staffs at college give you prompt service. .676 RE3 Lecturers and staffs at college are willing to help you. .700 RE4 My belongings are safe and secure at the college. .766 Reliability (R1 to R 5) Cronbach’s Alpha = .807 R1 When college promises to do something by a certain time, it does so. .771 R2 When you have a problem, college shows sincere interest in solving it. .755 42 R3 I got enough supportive feedback from the lectures. .749 R4 Group work sessions helped my learning. .791 R5 I got the assessment results within a reasonable period of time. .782 Assurance (A 1 to A 4) Cronbach’s Alpha = .809 A1 The behaviour of lecturers and staffs at college instills confidence in you. .751 A2 You feel safe in your transactions with college. .744 A3 Friendly environment and respect each other. .762 A4 Lecturers and staffs at college have the knowledge to answer your questions. .781 Empathy (EM 1 to EM 5) Cronbach’s Alpha = .867 EM1 College gives you individual attention. .836 EM2 College has operating hours convenient to all its students. .861 EM3 College has staffs who give you personal attention. .822 EM4 College has your best interests at heart. .838 EM5 Lecturers and staffs at College understand your specific needs. .836 The EDUSERVQUAL Analysis and Identification of the Areas for Impr...t”, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 23 No 2, pp.124-140. 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C.Unpublished Materials D.Electronic References 95 APPENDICES Appendix “A” COMMUNICATION LETTERS Letter to the School Director Republic of the Philippines Southern Luzon State University GRADUATE SCHOOL Lucban, Quezon Letter to School Principal Republic of the Philippines Southern Luzon State University GRADUATE SCHOOL Lucban, Quezon Letter to National Education Testing and Research Center Republic of the Philippines Southern Luzon State University GRADUATE SCHOOL Lucban, Quezon Letter to FAPE Requesting for Data Republic of the Philippines Southern Luzon State University GRADUATE SCHOOL Lucban, Quezon Letter to Teacher Respondent Republic of the Philippines Southern Luzon State University GRADUATE SCHOOL Lucban, Quezon 96 Appendix “B” EVALUATION OF THE QUESTIONAIRE FOR CONTENT VALIDATION Republic of the Philippines Southern Luzon State University GRADUATE SCHOOL Lucban, Quezon 97 Appendix “C” QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE SURVEY OF STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION ON THE SERVICE QUALITY PROVIDED BY COLLEGES OF THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Southern Luzon State University GRADUATE SCHOOL Lucban, Quezon Greeting the students! I am conducting a research about the students’ satisfaction on the quality of service provided by your college. The purpose of this survey is to examine your views, as a “client” of higher education, about services which make up the student experiment. Please spend your little time to answer the following questions. I would like to notice that there is no right or wrong opinion. All your ideas are valuable and useful for my research. I greatly appreciate with your sincere co-operation. Please give your agreement level about the below statements at your college. Directions: This survey questionnaire consists of two (2) Parts. - Part one is demographic profile; - Part two is divided in two sections: The first section is concerned with your perceptions of the college in general, while the second one is concerned with your college of TNU in particular. - Part three: Open-ended question. Part 1: Personal information Please answer the questionnaire checklist by putting a tick (√) on the best corresponds to your choice. 1.1. Gender: □ 1. Male; □ 2. Female; 98 1.2. Age: □ 1. 21 yrs old; □ 2. 22 yrs old; □ 3. 23 yrs old; □ 4. 24 yrs old; □ 5. 25 and above. 1.3. Origin: □ 1. City; □ 2. Town; □ 3. Village; □ 4. Mountainous areas. 1.4. Monthy family income: □ 1. 2,000,000 VNĐ and below; □ 2. From 2,000,001 to 4,000,000 VNĐ; □ 3. From 4,000,001 to 6,000,000 VNĐ; □ 4. From 6,000,001 to 8,000,000 VNĐ; □ 5. From 8,000,001 VNĐ and above. 1.5. College enrolled (please specify): ......................................................... .. Part 2: The level of students satisfaction as the services of the college in terms of instructional services, auxiliary services, ancillary services and learning support facilities, and of the following dimensions tangibles, ressponsiveness, reliability, assurance, and sympathy. Scale Choice Description 4 Strongly agree 3 Agree 2 Disagree 1 Stronglydisagree 99 Section 1: College in general (expectations) Please show the extent to which you think that colleges should possess the features discribed by each statment below. Answer the questionnaire checklist by circling on the scale that best corresponds to your choice. All we are interested in are your expectations about college service. Rest assured that any information will be treated with trust and confidentiality. No Statements 4 3 2 1 2.1. Instructional services 1 Library should be provided up to date learning sources (e.g. quality and relevance of books, magazines, journals, etc.). 4 3 2 1 2 Laboratory/practical place should be offered adequate materials for experiment and practicum. 4 3 2 1 3 The wifi network and internet service should be functioned well. 4 3 2 1 4 Audio visual/media center should be functioned well 4 3 2 1 5 Open – air areas for students’ group discussion should be available and comfortable. 4 3 2 1 2.2. Auxiliary services 1 Medical services should be available. 4 3 2 1 2 Classrooms should be sufficient and comfortable. 4 3 2 1 3 Entertainments (sport, club, performance,..) should be sufficient and comfortable. 4 3 2 1 4 The college’s public areas should be comfortable. 4 3 2 1 5 The dorms/hostels should be comfortable (electricity, water supply,...) 4 3 2 1 6 Security guards should be available. 4 3 2 1 100 2.3. Ancillary services 1 Parking should be available. 4 3 2 1 2 Food services should be available and guaranteed by food safety standards. 4 3 2 1 3 Book store and market should be available. 4 3 2 1 4 Photocopy service should be available. 4 3 2 1 2.4. Learning support facilities 1 Classroom arrangements should be well organised. 4 3 2 1 2 The up to date equipments should be supported to learning process. 4 3 2 1 3 There should be enough signs at the college for locating different sites. 4 3 2 1 4 Environment (classroom, toilet, canteen, etc.) should be clean and safe. 4 3 2 1 5 The college should provide consultation time for students. 4 3 2 1 6 Soft skills should be equiped for students. 4 3 2 1 No Statements 4 3 2 1 3.1. Tangibles 1 The college should have modern-looking equipment. 4 3 2 1 2 College's physical facilities should be visually appealing. 4 3 2 1 3 College's Lecturers and staff should be neat-appearing. 4 3 2 1 4 Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) should be visually appealling at the college. 4 3 2 1 3.2. Responsiveness 1 Lecturers and staff at college should tell you exactly when services 4 3 2 1 101 would be performed. 2 Lecturers and staff at college should give you prompt service. 4 3 2 1 3 Lecturers and staff at college should be willing to help you. 4 3 2 1 4 My belongings should be safe and secure at the college. 4 3 2 1 3.3. Reliability 1 When college promises to do something by a certain time, it should do so. 4 3 2 1 2 When you have a problem, college should show sincere interest in solving it. 4 3 2 1 3 I should had got enough supportive feedback from the lectures. 4 3 2 1 4 Group work sessions should had helped my learning. 4 3 2 1 5 I should had got the assessment results within a reasonable period of time. 4 3 2 1 3.4. Assurance 1 The behaviour of lecturers and staff at college should be instilled confidence in you. 4 3 2 1 2 You should be felt safe in your transactions with college. 4 3 2 1 3 Environment should be friendly and respect each other. 4 3 2 1 4 Lecturers and staff at college shoud have the knowledge to answer your questions. 4 3 2 1 3.5. Empathy 1 College should give you individual attention. 4 3 2 1 2 College should have operating hours convenient to all its students. 4 3 2 1 3 College should have staff who give you personal attention. 4 3 2 1 4 College should have your best interests at heart. 4 3 2 1 102 5 Lecturers and staff at college should understand your specific needs. 4 3 2 1 Section 2: The colleges of TNU (perception) The following questions relate to your feelings about the college of TNU. Please show the extent to which you think that the college has the features described by each statement below. All we are interested in is a number that best shows your perception of the college. The scoring system is the same as in the previous section. No Statements 4 3 2 1 2.1. Instructional services 1 The college’s library provides up to date learning sources (e.g. quality and relevance of books, magazines, journals, etc.). 4 3 2 1 2 The college’s laboratory/practical place offers adequate materials for experiment and practicum. 4 3 2 1 3 The wifi network and internet service function well. 4 3 2 1 4 The college’s audio visual/media center functions well 4 3 2 1 5 The college’s open – air areas for students’ group discussion are available and comfortable. 4 3 2 1 2.2. Auxiliary services 1 The college’s medical services are available. 4 3 2 1 2 The college’s classrooms are sufficient and comfortable. 4 3 2 1 3 The college’s entertainments (sport, club, performance,..) are sufficient and comfortable. 4 3 2 1 4 The college’s public areas are comfortable. 4 3 2 1 5 The dorms/hostels are comfortable (electricity, water supply,...) 4 3 2 1 103 6 The college’s security guards are available. 4 3 2 1 2.3. Ancillary services 1 Parking is available. 4 3 2 1 2 Food services are available and guaranteed by food safety standards. 4 3 2 1 3 Book store and market are available. 4 3 2 1 4 Photocopy service is available. 4 3 2 1 2.4. Learning support facilities 1 Classroom arrangements are well organised. 4 3 2 1 2 The up to date equipments are supported to learning process. 4 3 2 1 3 There are enough signs at the college for locating different sites. 4 3 2 1 4 Clean and safe environment (classroom, toilet, canteen, etc.). 4 3 2 1 5 The college provides consultation time for students. 4 3 2 1 6 Soft skills are equiped for students. 4 3 2 1 No Statements 4 3 2 1 3.1. Tangibles 1 The college has modern-looking equipment. 4 3 2 1 2 College's physical facilities are visually appealing. 4 3 2 1 3 College's Lecturers and staff are neat-appearing. 4 3 2 1 4 Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) are visually appealling at the college. 4 3 2 1 3.2. Responsiveness 1 Lecturers and staff at college tell you exactly when services will be 4 3 2 1 104 performed. 2 Lecturers and staff at college give you prompt service. 4 3 2 1 3 Lecturers and staff at college are willing to help you. 4 3 2 1 4 My belongings are safe and secure at the college. 4 3 2 1 3.3. Reliability 1 When college promises to do something by a certain time, it does so. 4 3 2 1 2 When you have a problem, college shows sincere interest in solving it. 4 3 2 1 3 I got enough supportive feedback from the lectures. 4 3 2 1 4 Group work sessions helped my learning. 4 3 2 1 5 I got the assessment results within a reasonable period of time. 4 3 2 1 3.4. Assurance 1 The behaviour of lecturers and staffs at college instills confidence in you. 4 3 2 1 2 You feel safe in your transactions with college. 4 3 2 1 3 Friendly environment and respect each other. 4 3 2 1 4 Lecturers and staff at college have the knowledge to answer your questions. 4 3 2 1 3.5. Empathy 1 College gives you individual attention. 4 3 2 1 2 College has operating hours convenient to all its students. 4 3 2 1 3 College has staff who give you personal attention. 4 3 2 1 4 College has your best interests at heart. 4 3 2 1 5 Lecturers and staff at College understand your specific needs. 4 3 2 1 105 Part III: Problems and Issues (please give some recommendations if you do have to further improve the Service Quality): ...................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................... Thank you for completing the questionnaire. Please go back and check that you have answered all the questions. Finally, please hand the completed questionnaire to the administrator who gave it to you. 106 Appendix “D” RESEARCHER’S PROFILLE I. PERSONAL DATA Name: NGUYEN TAT THANG English name: VICTOR Birthday: October, 05 th , 1966 Birth Place: Thai Nguyen Provice Nationality: Vietnamese Sex/ Marriage Status: Male/ Marrage Contact Address: Thai Nguyen University, Tan Thinh Ward, Thai Nguyen City, Thai Nguyen Province. Phone: +84. 912014516 Email Address: Nguyentatthang.tnu@gmail.com II. EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS Institution Year to year Degree(s) or Diploma(s) obtained Thai Nguyen University of Education 1984 - 1988 Bachelor in Mathematics Ha Noi Open University 1991 - 1994 Bachelor in English Thai Nguyen University of Education 1999- 2001 Master in Mathematics 107 III. WORK EXPERIENCES Organisation Year to year Position Viet Bac College of Education 1989 - 1993 Lecturer Thai Nguyen University of Education 1993 - 1996 Lecturer; Secretary of Communist youth Union of Thai Nguyen University of Education Head office of Thai Nguyen University 1997- 2007 Lecturer; Vice Secretary and Secretary of Communist youth Union of Thai Nguyen University. Head office of Thai Nguyen University 2007- now Lecturer; Director of Student Affair Department of TNU