education quality and university image algirdas miskinis birute galiniene albinas marcinskas greta...

Education Quality and University Image

Algirdas MISKINIS

Birute GALINIENE

Albinas MARCINSKAS

Greta DRUTEIKIENE

Vilnius University

Faculty of Economics

EAIR Coppenhagen August 26, 2008


University’s activities cannot be restrained just to: research achievements variety of study programmes Study processesNew requirements for modern universities: to research the needs of society and its separate groups,

search for the ways to satisfy diverse needs of the society and students

to search for ways to reach and please a large variety of internal and external influence groups in order to meet their needs and thus create among these groups a good image, reputation and eventually prestige


The main factors affecting university image: • geographical location • university type (state or private) • complexity of entry requirements and average

grades of applicants • faculties research achievements • the quality of studies • offered study programmes • libraries • university budget • tuition fees etc


Image elements (Palacio et al., 2002) :• Cognitive image (facilities, courses,

atmosphere, admission, tuition fees, teachers, education quality, student preparation, practical/theoretical variation, requirements, student orientation, student-teacher communication distance, distances between university and society, university and business, the number of students, popularity of university, traditional university, innovative university, age of university, etc

• Emotional image (pleasant - unpleasant, boring - stimulating, stressful - relaxed, gloomy - lively)

• General image (positive – negative)


• University image is not self-oriented matter, it should support the formation of favourable attitudes towards particular university and determine decisions of individuals in selecting university as a place to study or work, to sponsor or cooperate

• People frequently lack information needed for an objective perception of university image therefore here is a gap in perception of university image by university itself and by society

• It is important to acknowledge the university image in the society and to reach out for more correct and favourable image


Image and study quality• University image and quality of studies must be

assessed together

The quality of studies is generally affiliated with such characteristics as

theoretical knowledge practical skills relevancy of the subjects taught professional teaching communication skills content of the study programmes proper facilities and inventory


However, diverse influence groups in the organization and

outside (teachers, students, administration, graduates, employers, governmental institutions, parents etc.) link the quality of studies to different characteristics

the perception of the quality of university studies is often very subjective and diverse

study quality dimensions are important for students, whereas potential employers are mostly interested in study results (skills) and do not care for university research achievements


Vilnius University• founded in 1579 • the largest university in Lithuania • number of teachers and research fellows 2 881• number of students 22 865 • Faculty of Economics is the largest at the

university – 6000 students, 3 undergraduate programmes, 18 postgraduate programmes and 2 PhD programmes


Studies of internal image at Vilnius University:• Winter 2005, bachelor and master students at all

faculties (total 1499), 80 questions• Spring 2005, bachelor and master students at all

faculties (total 1358), 117 questions • Autumn 2005, first year bachelor students and

their parents (1169 students and 665 parents) Surveys identified 4 problematic areas: information and communication the study quality image and identification of Vilnius University study satisfaction


Information and communication

• the promotional materials are not valuated very positively

• lack of information on University’s activities, developments

• lack of common events and celebrations on University level


The quality of studies • the dialogue between faculty administration and students

was evaluated quite positively• students prefer younger teachers having professional

experience but not older ones• although teachers were evaluated positively students

hold that academic title (prof. etc) does not presume a higher teaching quality

• professional knowledge and experience transferring skills of teaching staff were evaluated positively

• criticism is mostly directed towards the ability of each individual student to officially express his opinion regarding the quality of teaching

• first year bachelor and second year master students think very similarly


Image and identification• University’s external image is much better than internal

image• most favourably students evaluated the possibility to act

on their own initiative, most negatively – a joint implementation of University goals.

• students identify themselves more with the faculty than university

• teaching staff qualification and professional experience is an important factor to the University image and selection for studies over other universities. 1/3 of first year students and 1/5 of their parents would appreciate more information about faculty teachers’ competencies


Gradual decrease in satisfaction with year of studies • after first semester at University a tendency of

decreasing satisfaction becomes noticeable

Reasons for dissatisfaction: • the organization of the teaching process (lack of books,

heavy load, irregular schedules of classes) • teaching, communication with teachers and

administration • grading • personal stresses (fear, stress before assignments and

exams, lack of time and fatigue, heavy load, tension, sleepless nights, health problems due to tension)

Hence, it is important to identify how student needs are changing with years of studies.


Fourth research – to identify factors, which affect university image and discover a correlation between university (faculty) image and the quality of studies (Spring 2007, 160 bachelor and 55 master students plus 29 teachers).

Students: the quality of studies has the greatest impact on the

image of the university

Teachers: the main factor of image is personnel All: the least important is information in the media


Bachelor Students about Faculty Image Factors

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Personnel

Students

Study programmes

Quality of studies

Information in the mediaQuite unimportant

Unimportant

Important

Very important


Master Students about Faculty Image Factors

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Personnel

Students

Study programmes

Quality of studies

Information in the media

Quite unimportant

Unimportant

Important

Very important


Teachers about Faculty Image Factors

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Personnel

Students

Study programmes

Quality of studies

Information in the media

Quite unimportant

Unimportant

Important

Very important


What is understood by good quality of studies? By students: professional teachers teaching methods (innovativeness, fair grading) modern infrastructure study programmes obtained practical stills good relations between teachers and students By teachers: good study programmes strong theoretical foundations and high qualification of teachers


In this research faculty image was also evaluated applying semantic differential using four factors: “cognition”, “evaluation”, “activeness” and “strength”.

“Cognition” factor encompasses direct associations related to the research object, “evaluation” includes “good – bad” aspects, “strength” reflects spatial characteristics, “activeness” shows time characteristics. Each factor is represented by the pairs of notions.

An attempt was to determine how would “ideal” university look like using association concept.


Bachelor students’ comparison of Faculty and ideal university

0

1

2

3

4

5Reliable

Warm

Friendly

Liberal

Reputable

AttractiveProgressive

Active

Young

Modern

Open "Ideal" University


Education Quality and University ImageMaster students’ comparison of Faculty and ideal university

0

1

2

3

4

5Reliable

Warm

Friendly

Liberal

Reputable


Active

Young

Modern




Teachers’ comparison of Faculty and ideal university

0

1

2

3

4

5Reliable

Warm

Friendly

Liberal

Reputable


Active

Young

Modern




Students views at the Faculty of Communications

information in the media is quite important “ideal” university is reliable (4,7 out of 5), progressive

(4,5), modern (4,5) and active (4,5) Vilnius University is reputable (4,2), active (3,4) and

attractive (3,9)

The attitudes of the students from different faculties are based on different qualities


Conclusions it is advisable to evaluate the dynamics of University

image on annual basis it is important to involve members of University

community – teachers, students and other personnel - into University’s popularization process

to increase the amount of information about teachers’ achievements and professional experience

researches aimed at identification of University identity are significant to discover main characteristics which University would like to be associated with

constant assessment of student expectations and determining the tendencies of their changing needs caused by internationalization of studies and economic globalization processes is significant for the improvement of the studies’ quality


Thank You !!!

education quality and university image algirdas miskinis birute galiniene albinas marcinskas greta...

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