Abstract
Positive student experiences attract postgraduate students to public higher education institutions. However, it is important to investigate how student experience contributes to student retention, especially in a developing country where student retention and successful completion of qualifications are often not the norm. The objective was to investigate how student engagement and student satisfaction influence postgraduate student experience for student retention at public higher education institutions. The purpose was to find ways for these institutions to use student-focused marketing approaches towards postgraduate students, to successfully retain these students until completion of their qualifications. A positivistic, quantitative study utilised convenience sampling to distribute a web-based survey to postgraduate students registered at South African public higher education institutions. The data from 435 usable questionnaires was analysed quantitatively to test the relationships of the hypothesised model, and descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted. The main results show that both student engagement as well as student satisfaction significantly influence student experience. Student experience also significantly influences student retention. In addition, groups of students showed practically significant differences in their views on student experience and student retention. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing strategies and recommendations to public higher education institutions on how to enhance student engagement and increase student satisfaction toward positive student experience for student retention in a developing country. A student-focused marketing approach leading to higher levels of student experience, and thus student retention, could aid institutions with their competitiveness and growth as well as improve success rates.
Presenters
Chantal RootmanProfessor in Business Management, Business Management, Nelson Mandela University, Eastern Cape, South Africa Carly Smith
University of South Africa Janine Krüger
Full professor, Business Management, Nelson Mandela University, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Educational Organization and Leadership
KEYWORDS
POSTGRADUATE, STUDENT EXPERIENCE, STUDENT RETENTION, STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, STUDENT SATISFACTION
