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1 – 10 of over 12000Carlos Bazan, Hannah Gaultois, Arifusalam Shaikh, Katie Gillespie, Sean Frederick, Ali Amjad, Simon Yap, Chantel Finn, James Rayner and Nafisa Belal
The study aims to test the applicability of a variant of the model proposed by Hockerts (2017) for assessing the social entrepreneurial intention (SEI) of male and female students…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to test the applicability of a variant of the model proposed by Hockerts (2017) for assessing the social entrepreneurial intention (SEI) of male and female students. It extends the model by incorporating the university's environment and support system (ESS) as an additional more distal construct. The university's ESS, coupled with the experience with social, cultural and environmental issues can affect SEI by influencing the more proximal precursors of empathy towards others, perceived self-efficacy, perceived community support and social, cultural and environmental responsibility.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured non-disguised questionnaire was administered to students at a Canadian university. A sample of 485 usable responses was analysed by means of second-order structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results provide confirmation that the proposed model is a multi-group invariant and appropriate for analysing the SEI of male and female students. They also show that the university's ESS helps predict SEI indirectly through the complete mediation of the more proximal antecedents.
Research limitations/implications
The questionnaire is limited to universities with social innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives.
Practical implications
Outcomes of the study can help universities assess the efficacy of their social innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives for instilling a social entrepreneurial mind-set in students. Consequently, universities will be better equipped to raise the perceptions of venture feasibility and desirability, thus increasing students' perceptions of opportunity.
Originality/value
The study advances the social entrepreneurial knowledge of the university's effect on the precursors of SEI.
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Momoko Fujita, Paul Harrigan and Geoffrey Norman Soutar
The purpose of this paper is to understand the lived experiences of the international students using their university’s social media, through a lens of customer engagement (CE) in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the lived experiences of the international students using their university’s social media, through a lens of customer engagement (CE) in the services marketing literature.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was conducted in an Australian university. Three semi-structured focus groups with ten international students, along with a preliminary netnographic analysis of the university’s social media account, provided a rich description of the phenomenon in the real-world context.
Findings
The results suggest that these students are likely to engage in their university’s social media as part of their acculturation and social identity construction strategy. Their engagement was cognitive and emotional, being influenced by the instrumental value of the social media page, engagement with campus rituals and artefacts, social identity and bonds with other students and perceptions of the page administrator. Furthermore, these students’ engagement influenced their identification with the university and its student community, manifested in a sense of belonging and pride.
Research limitations/implications
The paper contributes to the higher education literature by offering relationship implications of social media CE. Limitations include small sample size and the single institutional context.
Practical implications
The paper informs student communication practice, especially the design of university-initiated social media content and policy.
Originality/value
Universities and faculties today use social media to engage with students outside classrooms. However, little has been known about how international student sojourners view and respond to such initiatives. The paper addresses this gap by offering insight into how they engage with their university on social media and its relationship implications.
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Lexis Alexander Tetteh, Redeemer Krah, Timothy Azaa Ayamga, Leticia Apieleg Ayarna-Gagakuma, Kwasi Offei-Kwafo and Vivian Aku Gbade
The study investigates the experiences of undergraduate students in using online learning platforms to study Accounting-related courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates the experiences of undergraduate students in using online learning platforms to study Accounting-related courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses qualitative research approach and 89 undergraduate Accounting students from University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) were purposively interviewed using semi-structured interview guide, observation and documentary evidence to achieve triangulation of data and results.
Findings
The study discovers that due to the Covid pandemic, the online Accounting learning system has a relative advantage over the physical classroom learning as the online pedagogy ensures that the students are safe and do not contract the virus. The findings further indicate that the university's engagement framework includes three units: engaging students with content on the university's Learning Management System (LMS), engaging students with their peers via group course WhatsApp platform and Zoom/Google Meet lectures, and engaging students with their instructors via the LMS, Zoom/Google Meet, and Group WhatsApp. Each unit is based on research-based best practices and strategies for online education such as the use of media (videos) to augment written course content and to improve student-to-content engagement, positive cognitive, collaborative, behavioural and emotional engagement of students. The university's strategies also encourage student-to-student involvement, as well as assessment and feedback. Regarding behavioural and emotional engagements, the study discovered that some lecturers' attitudes toward students coupled with insufficient administrative support influenced students to develop negative reactions to the use of online learning platforms for Accounting education.
Practical implications
This paper has the potential to inform and improve implementation of online Accounting education in developing countries where the digital divide is staggering and digital inclusion and infrastructure for online education are at a precarious stage that cannot be remedied overnight.
Social implications
The new context of Accounting education enables an increase in student enrolment because it does not require students to travel to or stay in a hostel for an extended period of time in order to earn an Accounting degree.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the Accounting education literature on emerging economies by providing new evidence of perception differences between higher education institutions and students. Education providers in emerging economies frequently adopt Western modes of online education without making structural adjustments. By empirically exploring students' opinions, this study challenges these managerial perceptions, and the findings will assist regulators and policymakers in making appropriate changes.
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Chenicheri Sid Nair, Nicolene Murdoch and Patricie Mertova
The purpose of this paper is to look at the role of the student experience questionnaire in collecting students' perceptions of their experiences in studying at an offshore campus…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to look at the role of the student experience questionnaire in collecting students' perceptions of their experiences in studying at an offshore campus of an Australian University, compared with the experiences of the University's students in Australia. In particular, it seeks to highlight the difference in perceptions of students resulting, for example, from the size of the campus versus the size of other campuses and the whole institution.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study is based on a student learning experience questionnaire utilised by a large research‐intensive Australian tertiary institution (with two overseas campuses). The results of the questionnaire are compared between one overseas campus and the whole institution. The case study looks at the experiences of the overseas campus compared with the Australian experience. Although the case study is situated within one institution, there are aspects and lessons that are applicable to other institutions internationally, in particular when considering collecting student feedback in relation to multi‐campus or multi‐venue programmes.
Findings
Higher satisfaction rates for different aspects of student learning experience were identified at the overseas campus in comparison with the whole institution. This was attributed to the smaller size of the overseas campus and thus better engagement of and personal attention to students at this campus. This finding may be particularly relevant to other international institutions in relation to the role of an institution's size and collection of student feedback.
Practical implications
The case study outlines a number of strategies adopted to enhance student engagement and subsequently to improve the aspects which they have indicated as being less satisfactory. The institution was chosen as an example of how particular strategies may be adopted in other institutions.
Originality/value
Enhancement of student experience is pre‐conditioned by good survey response rates among students for an institution to base its actions on opinions of a sufficiently high number of students. This paper describes a successful strategy of engaging students adopted by a large research‐intensive Australian university, and thus increasing survey response rates.
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David T. Gamage, Jaratdao Suwanabroma, Takeyuki Ueyama, Sekio Hada and Etsuo Sekikawa
The purpose of the paper is to ascertain students' perceptions on quality of services provided by private universities in Thailand and Japan and how these affected decisions…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to ascertain students' perceptions on quality of services provided by private universities in Thailand and Japan and how these affected decisions selecting a university. A comparative study aims to focus on how cultural and economic factors affected their decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
Research design sought students' perceptions through empirical surveys on the type of factors which influenced their decisions in selecting a university. As the students needed to form their views on personal experience on services categorized into ten factors, the research sample included students with one‐four years of campus experience. The research instrument was a well validated questionnaire developed on a review of literature and a pilot study. For the main study, 1,900 Thai students from nine private universities and 703 Japanese students from two private colleges were invited to participate.
Findings
Findings suggest that in selecting a university campus the university's reputation, academic staff, quality of the programs and job‐placement were the most important factors that influenced student decisions. The comparative analyses reveal many similarities and some differences between the two groups while Thai students had a higher degree of satisfaction than Japanese counterparts which may perhaps be attributed to economic disparities.
Implications
Findings may not be generally applicable as the sample was limited and cultural contexts were somewhat similar. Yet, there were generic factors applicable to most universities.
Originality/value
These findings are valuable to university administrators and academics to improve the quality of services which are most important in influencing student perceptions in selecting a university.
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Competitive pressure and declining incomes in higher education have propelled many universities to increase the number of students admitted as a means of increasing their income…
Abstract
Purpose
Competitive pressure and declining incomes in higher education have propelled many universities to increase the number of students admitted as a means of increasing their income, while the admitted students are regarded as “customers.” The purpose of this paper is to examine students’ beliefs regarding outcomes of the adoption of the student-as-customer concept and the interaction effects of these outcomes and the social influence on students’ attitudes toward acceptance of the student-as-customer concept and their intentions to study at universities adopting this concept.
Design/methodology/approach
The conceptual model was developed to investigate the interaction effects of the five outcomes of the student-as-customer concept's adoption – the universities’ aim toward student satisfaction, the instructors’ neglect of teaching, the impairment of instructor-student relationship, the ease of course achievement, and the improvement of universities’ service quality and social influence on the students’ attitudes toward acceptance of the student-as-customer concept, and their intentions to study at universities adopting this concept. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data from students studying at a large private university inclining to adopt the student-as-customer concept. The structural equation modeling technique was utilized for testing the proposed model.
Findings
The results indicate that students believe that the universities’ adoption of the student-as-customer concept will lead to improvement of the universities’ service quality and the degradation of educational quality in terms of the instructors’ neglect of teaching, the impairment of instructor-student relationship, and the ease of course achievement. The improvement of service quality has a positive effect on the students’ attitudes toward acceptance of the student-as-customer concept and their intentions to study at universities adopting this concept. The students’ beliefs toward the degradation of educational quality, on the other hand, have indirect and negative effects on the students’ intentions to study at universities adopting the concept. Interestingly, the effect of social influence on students’ intentions to study at universities adopting the concept is greater than the effects of students’ beliefs toward outcomes of the concept.
Originality/value
This study is among the first research to empirically investigate the factors affecting students’ attitudes toward acceptance of the student-as-customer concept and their intentions to study at universities adopting this concept. The paper fills the gap in the higher education literature and provides guidance for universities to consider and prepare for the consequences of the concept's adoption associated with the number of students who intend to study at their universities.
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Ahamd A. Alhusban, Safa A. Alhusban and Yamen N. Al-Betawi
The purposes of this study is to explore and describe the main campus urban design principles, to investigate and examine the degree of Hashemite University’s (HU’s) student…
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this study is to explore and describe the main campus urban design principles, to investigate and examine the degree of Hashemite University’s (HU’s) student satisfaction with the urban design of their campus, to examine the relationships between the degree of HU student satisfaction and age, gender, educational pursuits and academic year, to define and assess student needs through HU’s campus design and to examine and investigate the relationships/interrelationships between all the campus urban design principles.
Design/methodology/approach
This research used a variety of methods: A face-to-face questionnaire (n = 1,443), HU students’ community board design for urban spaces, HU master plan analysis and focus group discussions (three researchers and 30 architectural students). This research used the descriptive statistics and the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (Pearson r) to analyze the data.
Findings
This research found that the majority of HU students were dissatisfied with the design of their outside spaces with regard to the effectiveness of space, availability of services, viability and vitality, public realm design, the density of activities, design character, walkability, diversity of existing services, richness, continuity and enclosure design. In contrast, they were satisfied with the accessibility and connectivity between spaces, availability of safe and welcoming spaces, mental map elements design and urban structure. Statistically, this research found that there were no significant relationships between the students’ satisfaction level and their age, gender, educational pursuits, education specialty and education level. Moreover, the correlation results revealed that the relationships/interrelationships between all the campus urban design principles have strong/very strong positive linear associations and significant relationships (r > 89).
Practical implications
This research recommended that the urban designer and architects should adopt the bottom-up approach when they are designing and planning the campus. They should apply all the above urban design principles to achieve the flexible and dynamic campus urban design and the students’ needs. Well-designed campus creates multi-functional places for students’ activities, encourages them for socialization and enhances their academic performance and experience, increases their feeling of belonging, enhances the sense of well-being and supports outside learning activities and experiences. The objectives for the campus urban design should promote high standards and qualities of open spaces, create a sense of places, serve students’ needs, provide effective design for socialization, provide maximum flexible design to allow for future campus growth and create a safe and healthy environment to express the quality of university’s life. Finally, the students should participate actively in the developing design of their campus activity.
Originality/value
To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, this research is essential for future HU campus design. In addition to defining and describing all the campus urban design principles, this research provides HU decision-makers with an informed, holistic view of their students’ satisfaction levels, needs and requirements within their urban campus design to develop the HU campus design. Moreover, this research provides a new vision for the future in the form of data and guidelines for a new campus design. The findings are intended to provide useful information to university managers, leaders, policymakers and urban designers who implement strategies to improve the quality of campus urban design. This research opens the door for new research by duplicating the same research contents and methodologies on another campus design within different regions and cultures to fully develop a universal guideline for campus urban design.
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Deborah Phillips, Ian Law and Laura Turney
At first glance, it might seem from the statistics that 18- to 20-year-old members of minority ethnic groups are doing relatively well in terms of higher education. They are in…
Abstract
At first glance, it might seem from the statistics that 18- to 20-year-old members of minority ethnic groups are doing relatively well in terms of higher education. They are in fact better represented in UK colleges and universities than young whites. However, this is far from the whole story. Certain black groups, such as African–Caribbean males and Bangladeshi females, are significantly underrepresented in higher education in general and certain programmes in particular. For example, there has been difficulty recruiting Black and ethnic minority students into teacher training programmes (DfEE, 1998). The experience of participating in higher education is also often different for black and white students. Black and minority ethnic students are more likely to be concentrated in the new universities. In the mid-1990s, only 0.5 percent of the students at the older established universities came from a Black or minority ethnic background, compared with 14.4 percent in the new universities (DfEE, 1998). This inequality helps to perpetuate a system of white privilege, one that is entrenched in other areas of public life in the UK. Black and minority ethnic students are also more likely to study part-time than white students, are more likely to drop out of courses, and more frequently opt for lower-level qualifications (i.e., a diploma rather than a degree).
Masoomeh Charousaei, Mohsen Faizi and Mehdi Khakzand
Visual aesthetics are a vital aspect of environmental quality. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the implementation of visibility analysis and visual quality standards…
Abstract
Purpose
Visual aesthetics are a vital aspect of environmental quality. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the implementation of visibility analysis and visual quality standards on a campus to enhance productivity and effectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
This study has identified the most crucial and valuable metrics for evaluating the visual quality of open spaces through an analysis of theoretical foundations and relevant background information. To achieve research goal, a multi-method approach was employed, incorporating a survey, user satisfaction ratings and ISOVIST simulation techniques. Specifically, this study focused on assessing the quality of open spaces in three open areas located on the campus of the Iran University of Science and Technology.
Findings
Based on the study’s findings, the most significant factors that students considered when evaluating the visual quality of open spaces on the Iran University of Science and Technology campus were green areas, gathering spaces and architectural elements such as furniture, color and texture. Among the three open areas examined, “Open Space One” was identified as the most satisfactory location for students. According to the study, “sensory richness,” “complexity” and “mystery” were significant indicators of students' satisfaction in this area. This area also had the widest radius and field of view feasible, which gave it a feeling of openness and spaciousness.
Originality/value
This study explores the influence of students' experiences, behavioral patterns and visual analyses on their use of open spaces on university campuses, with a focus on the Iran University of Science and Technology. By assessing students' satisfaction levels with these spaces, this research provides valuable insights that can guide the initial analysis stage before the design process and facilitate design optimization during the development stages. The results highlight the importance of considering user experiences and visual analysis when planning and creating open spaces on university campuses.
Highlights
Conducting an initial analysis before developing a design plan can be very helpful in understanding how users think and behave.
The three criteria of visual quality that have the strongest correlation with students' satisfaction with “open space” are “mystery,” “sensory richness” and “complexity.”
Two factors, namely the “radius of vision” and the “area” index, significantly influence students' satisfaction with open spaces.
Outdoor designers should incorporate “green space” and “gathering spaces” into their designs since the presence of these is effective in attracting and satisfying students.
The number of people using an open space has little to do with how satisfied students are with it.
Half of the students use open areas between 11:00 and 14:00, so the provision of “canopy” and “shelter” in these spaces is essential.
Conducting an initial analysis before developing a design plan can be very helpful in understanding how users think and behave.
The three criteria of visual quality that have the strongest correlation with students' satisfaction with “open space” are “mystery,” “sensory richness” and “complexity.”
Two factors, namely the “radius of vision” and the “area” index, significantly influence students' satisfaction with open spaces.
Outdoor designers should incorporate “green space” and “gathering spaces” into their designs since the presence of these is effective in attracting and satisfying students.
The number of people using an open space has little to do with how satisfied students are with it.
Half of the students use open areas between 11:00 and 14:00, so the provision of “canopy” and “shelter” in these spaces is essential.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse student satisfaction as identified in the UK National Student Survey (NSS) at an institutional level in one post-1992 UK university, to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse student satisfaction as identified in the UK National Student Survey (NSS) at an institutional level in one post-1992 UK university, to discuss the perceived factors behind changes in NSS results and to identify the possible impact of institutional-level quality enhancement interventions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews some of the literature available on the NSS, teaching evaluation and on learning and teaching leadership in higher education and demonstrates by comparison with practice how different approaches to change management were experienced.
Findings
Over a period of eight years within one HEI, it was possible to identify four distinct phases of NSS scores and to identify strong trends in both quantitative and qualitative results.
Research limitations/implications
It is postulated that evidence-informed institutional-level interventions in learning and teaching practice can have an impact on the external evaluation of student satisfaction when they are part of a coherent strategy. However, although some aspects of the work are generalisable to other contexts, it is also recognised that individual environments and experiences will impact on outcomes.
Social implications
This paper argues, first, that the NSS could be as much an indicator of organisational culture as a measure of student satisfaction with courses; second, that areas that students highlight as being important tend to be consistent and third, that regardless of the foci or type of interventions, senior staff level engagement is a critical factor in achieving high NSS scores and enhancing student satisfaction.
Originality/value
The paper will be valuable to those using the NSS for quality enhancement at a strategic level.
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