The influence of human factor on student satisfaction in higher education institutions

Abstract

Due to constantly increasing competition in the higher education market, customer or user satisfaction should be made the focal point of all higher education institutions. Creating happier, satisfied customers, whether they are students, their parents, donors, professors or employers, should be the primary objective which will also contribute to the quality of the educational institutions. In line with that, this paper aims to show the extent to which human factor (as a tool of marketing mix) and all elements associated with it, affect student satisfaction in higher education institutions. The survey was conducted on a sample of 703 respondents, i.e. students of four faculties which are part of the University Business Academy in Novi Sad. A questionnaire created specially for research purposes was used as an instrument for data collection. The analysis of collected data included correlation and regression analysis. The obtained results indicate a statistically significant correlation between the human factor and the satisfaction of students in higher education institutions. The paper touches upon the impact of each element on the satisfaction of students. Such analysis provides us with important indicators in terms of specific elements of human factor which should be improved if we want to improve the overall satisfaction of students in higher education institutions. Finally, the paper outlines possible conclusions and recommendations for further research on the basis of the obtained results