Institutional factors and the postgraduate student experience

Purpose – Few studies have evaluated the satisfaction of mature-aged postgraduate students. The purpose of this paper is to determine postgraduate coursework students' service expectations in regard to academic course quality, university services and industry links. Design/methodology/approach...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jancey, Jonine, Burns, Sharyn
Format: Journal Article
Published: MCB University Press 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18708
_version_ 1848749822629117952
author Jancey, Jonine
Burns, Sharyn
author_facet Jancey, Jonine
Burns, Sharyn
author_sort Jancey, Jonine
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Purpose – Few studies have evaluated the satisfaction of mature-aged postgraduate students. The purpose of this paper is to determine postgraduate coursework students' service expectations in regard to academic course quality, university services and industry links. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of 51 taught postgraduate students enrolled in the School of Public Health nested postgraduate courses was conducted. Students completed an online self-complete survey (response rate of 58 per cent). Descriptive statistics and unilabiate analysis (chi-square) were used to explore associations between variables. Findings – Postgraduate taught students come from a variety of career backgrounds. They place a great deal of importance on their educational experience, especially in regard to academic factors: reputable degree; skilled engaging teachers; access to online resources; ready contact with academics; and supportive enrolment processes. Practical implications – A greater awareness of student expectations equips universities to provide a more meaningful pedagogical experience and to better address the unique needs of postgraduate students. This is likely to enhance lifelong learning and support retention and progression rates. Originality/value – This research provides a case study of a specific group of postgraduate students and helps understand some of the unique requirements of this postgraduate group, which is largely older, female, domestic students.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T07:27:03Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-18708
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T07:27:03Z
publishDate 2013
publisher MCB University Press
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-187082017-09-13T13:46:03Z Institutional factors and the postgraduate student experience Jancey, Jonine Burns, Sharyn Purpose – Few studies have evaluated the satisfaction of mature-aged postgraduate students. The purpose of this paper is to determine postgraduate coursework students' service expectations in regard to academic course quality, university services and industry links. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of 51 taught postgraduate students enrolled in the School of Public Health nested postgraduate courses was conducted. Students completed an online self-complete survey (response rate of 58 per cent). Descriptive statistics and unilabiate analysis (chi-square) were used to explore associations between variables. Findings – Postgraduate taught students come from a variety of career backgrounds. They place a great deal of importance on their educational experience, especially in regard to academic factors: reputable degree; skilled engaging teachers; access to online resources; ready contact with academics; and supportive enrolment processes. Practical implications – A greater awareness of student expectations equips universities to provide a more meaningful pedagogical experience and to better address the unique needs of postgraduate students. This is likely to enhance lifelong learning and support retention and progression rates. Originality/value – This research provides a case study of a specific group of postgraduate students and helps understand some of the unique requirements of this postgraduate group, which is largely older, female, domestic students. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18708 10.1108/QAE-Nov-2011-0069 MCB University Press fulltext
spellingShingle Jancey, Jonine
Burns, Sharyn
Institutional factors and the postgraduate student experience
title Institutional factors and the postgraduate student experience
title_full Institutional factors and the postgraduate student experience
title_fullStr Institutional factors and the postgraduate student experience
title_full_unstemmed Institutional factors and the postgraduate student experience
title_short Institutional factors and the postgraduate student experience
title_sort institutional factors and the postgraduate student experience
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/18708