The impact of quality assurance measures on student services at the Japanese and Thai private universities

Abstract

PurposeThe 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/approachResearch 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.FindingsFindings 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.ImplicationsFindings 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/valueThese 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.

Factors Influencing Foreign Students’ Satisfaction toward International Program in Thai Universities

“…Another study supported that effective institution counseling support service was bound to be one important factor in helping student academic success [8]. This study also demonstrated that this is the third most important factor that influences student satisfaction.…”

“…It can be determined by looking at the financial assistance given to the students; the expenses needed during the time of study, the tuition fee payment plan, the scholarship offered, extra income from part-time job, and so on. The finding of [8] indicated that the financial assistance and tuition fees were the second most important factor that influenced the students' satisfaction.…”

“…Furthermore, results from [8] indicated that the quality of the programs was one of the most important factors that affected students' satisfaction. The subject contents of the curriculum need to focus on preparing for the workplaces because the students rated "Knowledge and skills gained in my courses will provide good jobs" as the most satisfactory aspect.…”

“…Gamage, Suwanabroma, Ueyama, Hada, and Sekikawa [8] from University of Newcastle, Australia, explored students' perception on quality of services provided by private universities in Thailand and Japan, and how these perceptions affect their decision in selecting a university. It was a comparative study aiming at focusing on how cultural and financial factors would affect their decision.…”

“…The number of foreign students had increased by 0.74% from the 2010. The top three sending countries are China (8,444), Myanmar (1,481), and Laos (1,344) respectively. Region-wise, the largest body of international students was from Asia (17,287).…”