Relationship among students’ perceptions, satisfaction and future behavioral intentions at universities in Cartagena, Colombia

Abstract

The paper proposes a theoretical model to assess the factors affecting students’ satisfaction of their university and their future behavioral intentions. The proposed model was validated by empirical or case research, applied at three Colombian universities (public and private) in Cartagena. A 19-item questionnaire was given to a random sample of 400 students, and was solved by the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results showed that the students’ perceptions of the universities analyzed affected their satisfaction level and this, in turn, affected their future intentions. Perceived value pricing did not have a significant effect on satisfaction. The model was validated using the most common fit indices. The results presented a statistically valid model, whose main result is the identification of a significant causal effect among the students’ perceptions, satisfaction and future behavioral intentions in the universities analyzed. There was not a significant difference in results between the public and private universities.