What matters more? An investigation of factors influencing student satisfaction in transnational higher education

ABSTRACTGiven the growth and evolution in transnational higher education models, the present study investigates students’ perceptions of service quality in dual-degree programmes. It also compares how different programme components and student demographic characteristics influence their overall satisfaction with their programmes. A survey was administered to 117 recent graduates from dual-degree programmes in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Jordan. Survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics, a principal components analysis, and a linear regression model. The findings indicate that students perceived their learning experiences and available resources to be of quality and were satisfied with their programmes. Regression results showed that higher ratings for local partner university professors, perceived learning and development, technology and resources, and plans to be internationally mobile upon graduation significantly predicted student satisfaction. These findings have implications for the study of transnational higher education and the importance of considering programme models and for universities with transnational higher education programmes.KEYWORDS: Service qualitystudent satisfactiontransnational higher educationdual-degrees AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. They would also like to acknowledge Dr. Jenny J Lee and Xiaojie Li, who supported instrument development and data collection for this study.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThe participants of this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly, so due to the nature of the research supporting data is not available.