Priority satisfaction survey : a tool in developing effective retention strategies

• Main Author: Latifah Abdol Latif
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
• Online Access: http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/339/1/PS_2004_paper_HK%5B1%5D._21.4.05_7.pdf; http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/339/
• Institution: Open University Malaysia

One of the ongoing efforts of the Centre for Student Affairs, Open University Malaysia (OUM), is to coordinate retention initiatives across all departments of the university. For these initiatives to be effective, they must incorporate feedback from students. Students come to the university with a certain set of goals and expectations. When these goals and expectations are met, the student retention rate is likely to be high. OUM must not only identify these goals and expectations, but more importantly, it must ensure that they are adequately met. One of the tools to achieve this is the Priority-Satisfaction Survey where students are asked to rank the support services provided by OUM in terms of their importance and level of satisfaction. The paper reports the results of the Priority-Satisfaction Survey conducted on all cohorts of OUM student in its 27 learning centres throughout the country. This two-dimensional survey gathers information on six different types of services using the 7-point Likert Scale. A performance gap analysis is carried out to identify areas that need improvements. In addition, a Priority-Satisfaction Matrix is constructed to determine OUM’s strengths and weaknesses. The results of the current survey are compared with those of a similar survey done in the previous year to ensure continuous evaluation of the quality of the services provided. Based on the above analysis, recommendations on retention initiatives are presented to OUM’s management. (Authors' abstract)