An integrated approach to identify engineering student requirements

Abstract

Rapid increase in the number of universities in Turkey resulted in competition among higher education institutes to recruit the best students. Student requirements are important information for universities because if universities have a better understanding of students’ requirements, they would be in a better position to recruit them and manage the educational service quality. The purpose of this study is to determine the most important requirements of engineering students in a Turkish university. The proposed methodology integrates Service Quality (SERVQUAL), Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) methods. Results show that (1) engineering students value contemporary education system more than traditional education system (2) they are demanding partnership from their instructors based on trust, respect and guidance (3) curriculum should be designed with courses that are industry oriented, interactive and case study based with practical information provided to participate in real-life engineering projects. In addition, institutions should recognize the importance of investing in academic faculty when they are trying to improve the quality of their programs and recruit the best students.