2011 Awards for Excellence

Education + Training

ISSN: 0040-0912

Article publication date: 10 February 2012

338

Keywords

Citation

(2012), "2011 Awards for Excellence", Education + Training, Vol. 54 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2012.00454aaa.002

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


2011 Awards for Excellence

2011 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2011 Awards for Excellence From: Education + Training, Volume 54, Issue 1.

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Education + Training

“Are students their universities’ customers? An exploratory study”

Treena Gillespie FinneyMitchell College of Business, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, USA

R. Zachary FinneyMitchell College of Business, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, USA

Purpose – In this study, the aim is to empirically examine the relationship between students’ perceptions of themselves as customers of their university and their educational attitudes and behaviors. It also seeks to investigate the extent to which students’ characteristics predict their involvement with education.

Design/methodology/approach – The authors obtained data by surveying 1,025 students from a medium-sized university in the southern United States.

Findings – Consistent with exchange theory, students who perceived themselves as customers were more likely to feel entitled and to view complaining as beneficial. Satisfaction with their university, but not their perceptions of themselves as university customers, predicted educational involvement. Not surprisingly, students who were more involved in their education tended to be older, have higher grade point averages, and attend class more often. However, these students also felt more entitled to outcomes, although they did not differ in their perceptions of whether or not they were customers of the university.

Practical implications – Students who view themselves as customers are likely to hold attitudes and to engage in behaviors that are not conducive to success. However, if the aim is to increase student involvement, how the student's role is defined is less important than efforts to build student satisfaction with the university.

Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to examine empirically the prevalence and effects of student-as-customer perceptions. In addition, this study serves as a basis for better understanding the drivers of student involvement.

Keywords: Attitudes, Customer satisfaction, Individual perception, Students, United States of America, Universities

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/00400911011050954

This article originally appeared in Volume 52 Number 4, 2010, pp. 276-91 Education + Training

The following articles were selected for this year's Highly Commended Award

“Effects of business internships on job marketability: the employers’ perspective”

Jack Gault, Evan Leach and Marc Duey

This article originally appeared in Volume 52 Number 1, 2010, Education + Training

“Perceived learning outcomes in entrepreneurship education: the impact of student motivation and team behaviour”

Ulla Hytti, Pekka Stenholm, Jarna Heinonen and Jaana Seikkula-Leino

This article originally appeared in Volume 52 Numbers 8/9, 2010, Education + Training

“Theory and practice: the experience of marketing graduates”

Simon Stephens, Camelia Gabriela Balan and Shaun Callaghan

This article originally appeared in Volume 52 Numbers 6/7, 2010, Education + Training

Outstanding Reviewers

Ms Linda RiebeEdith Cowan University, Australia

Dr Margaret HarrisUniversity of Aberdeen, UK

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