PhD student, International Black Sea University Measuring Student Satisfaction Perceptions in Public and Private Universities. Case of Georgia, Tbilisi Tinatin Gabrichidze PhD student, International Black Sea University tik_gabrichidze@yahoo.com

Research Question The research paper seeks to determine the quality of different educational services within private and public universities in Georgia, using student satisfaction level as a measure of quality and to examine the difference between them. Student satisfaction is linked to student attraction, retention, their future success and graduation. The survival on the education market and the reputation of the universities depend much on the student satisfaction.

Background The expansion of universities, together with demographic shifts in the student population and marketplace dynamics, are forcing higher education institutions re-think the role of student satisfaction for their survival (Kotler & Fox, 1995). Seymour (1992) : keeping customers satisfied, be they students, students' parents, or company and government employers, should be a primary goal of higher education. Measuring student satisfaction is critical for maintaining and increasing enrolment, managing retention problems and making the informed decisions in student affairs (Machado, Brites, Magalhães, & Sá, 2017). Whithin services, a defect manifests through poor customer satisfaction ratings (Biolos, 2002) The rising enrollments are increasing higher education’s per-student and together with diminished public resources to finance higher education institutions, leads to higher education austerity, with both decreased quality and diminished equity (Johnstone B. D., 2004).

Theory Meeting students needs and expectations may be easier for private universities in Georgia. Georgian funding system of higher education does not provide direct funding for universities. The successful students on national examinations get the funding from the government and “take it” to the university – whether public or private. At the same time, tuition fees at public universities are “capped” to the amount of the voucher a student receives – 2250 GEL. Private universities can and usually are, setting higher tuition fees.

Theory Even though public universities do not get the direct funding, their budget is kept in the national treasury and the spending is restrained – they strictly follow the budgeting plan approved a year before. The facilities of public universities and the number of administrative staff (which means direct costs of salaries) are higher in public universities. With the need to cut back costs, universities are increasing teaching loads, class sizes, are unable to renovate facilities, which can affect student satisfaction negatively. Each student costs more than 2250 GEL for public universities.

Context The research studies Georgian higher education institutions, after reformation in higher education and change of the funding model. The theory is also applied specifically to Georgia, however, the topics of underfunding and financial austerity of universities is not a topic only in Georgia.

Hypotheses The hypotheses of the study is that student satisfaction in private higher education institutions is higher in Georgia, Tbilisi.

Data (or Case Selection) Self-administered survey for students – satisfaction survey. Conducted online. Students were from Tbilisi’s private and public universities. Most of the private universities are located in Tbilisi, while regional universities are public. The infrastructure and different services at universities does not differ much in public vs private universities in regions.

Data (or Case Selection) The dependent variable of the study is the satisfaction level of students. The primary predictor variable of the study is the type of the institution – public VS private. The control variable of the study is the academic year (2018-2019).

Methodology (or Case Study Techniques) Difference of means. SPSS statistical software used.

Results Present your results here. If you estimated a quantitative model, you probably will want a table of results here. You also may want to add a second slide offering an interpretation, such as predicted probabilities or the meaning of the numbers. How robust are these results? At least think about this. In a qualitative study, highlight the key factors you have observed that were critical to your conclusions.

Results

Results P value is <0.05, so we can say that there is statistically significant difference between the satisfaction levels of students in public and private universities in Georgia, Tbilisi.

Implications The research findings show that the satisfaction level among students, which may be the indicator of the quality of services at the HEIs is higher among private university students. This can be linked to the funding policy of higher education in Georgia. The results of the research may show that the funding model of higher education in Georgia should be revised. The data did not allow us to differentiate among students of different levels (MA, PhD). The study should further study the satisfaction level among students at different cycles of education.

Future Steps Improving data – collecting more. Improving the article structure. Online survey should be complementing with paper-based surveys (visits to the universities). Differentiating among different cycle students and studying the difference in satisfaction levels of the different groups of services.

Thank you for your attention.