Quality in Higher Education: The Need for Feedback from Students

Abstract

Students in higher institutions are part and parcel of the system, thus their opinions should count in decision making concerning the quality of the education they are receiving. This study set out to examine from literature the place of feedback from students and its possible relevance in decision making on quality issues in higher education. Among other things it found that feedback from students should form part of decision premises on a range of issues for possible revision; such as the quality of teaching, learning, course organization, assessment and the learning resources available to the students. It can also help determine such phenomenon as “customer delight” synonymous with student satisfaction, how transformative the programmes are and how the students grade the institutions. Such knowledge could help the institutions self-assess and re-position to make better choices to increase the quality assurance of their processes and services. A number of recommendations were made.

Keywords: Quality, Higher Education, Feedback