Assessing postgraduate students' satisfaction with quality of services at a Turkish university using alternate ordered response models

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine postgraduate students' general satisfaction with the quality of academic services. For this purpose, a written-questionnaire was conducted to 400 graduate students at Atatürk University, Turkey. The dependent variable of the study was the satisfaction level of graduate students which has a natural order. Hence, four different ordered logit models were performed to determine factors that may influence satisfaction levels of graduate students with the quality of academic services. Along with standard ordered logit model, other alternative ordered response models were also performed including generalized ordered logit model, partial constrained generalized ordered logit model, and heterogeneous choice model. Results reveal that a variety of factors are associated with quality of higher education services including age group, tuition fee, undergraduate education, monthly individual income, monthly household income, type of graduate school, current status of postgraduate education, advisor's academic degree, and time elapsed for postgraduate education. The outcome of this study may give a valuable information for decision-makers of higher education institutions and may provide a benchmarking option in terms of past, present and future higher education policies.