DETERMINANTS OF STUDENT SATISFACTION AND ACADEMIC LOYALTY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

• Abubakir Abidin

  L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University

  Author

  https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1771-1375

• Duisenova Sofia Malkaidarkyzy

  Caspian University of Technology and Engineering named after Sh. Yessenov

  Author

  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2006-7443

This article examines the determinants of student satisfaction in the quality of higher education and their role in shaping academic loyalty. As competition among universities intensifies, student loyalty has become a key indicator of educational effectiveness, reflecting both students’ intentions to continue their studies at a given institution and their willingness to recommend it to others. However, the role of the specific characteristics of the educational process that contribute to the satisfaction of the students’ as a foundation for loyalty remains insufficiently explored.

Drawing on survey data from university students, this study analyses perception of teaching quality, academic autonomy, and the educational environment, alongside the indicators of student satisfaction and academic loyalty. Satisfaction is operationalized through assessments of instructional quality and the organization of educational process, while loyalty is measured by students’ willingness to re-choose their university and recommend it to prospective students. Scale reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and factor analysis, and the proposed hypotheses were tested through correlation and regression analysis. The results indicated that teaching quality, including the clarity of instructions, the provision of the feedback, and interaction with students, has the strongest impact on student satisfaction. Opportunities for academic choice and features of the educational environment also have significant positive effects. Moreover, student satisfaction emerges as a key indicator of academic loyalty, mediating the relationship between educational process characteristics and students’ intentions to recommend and re-select a university.

Overall, these results confirm that academic loyalty is shaped primarily by the quality of pedagogical interaction and the organization of the educational process, and not merely by formal indicators of university performance.

1. Abubakir Abidin, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University

   Article

2. Duisenova Sofia Malkaidarkyzy, Caspian University of Technology and Engineering named after Sh. Yessenov

   Article

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