Benchmarking and service improvements in higher education
Dao, Thi Phuong Thao (2015)
Dao, Thi Phuong Thao
Lahden ammattikorkeakoulu
2015
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201505086885
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201505086885
Tiivistelmä
Together with globalization, internationalization has become an emerging trend among many higher education institutions worldwide. Over the past few years, the internationalization process has moved from a reactive to a pre-active strategy. In other words, institutions are beginning to develop different approaches to catch up with current market trends and expand their international cooperation in terms of exchange or partnership. Summer school is regarded as one of the most popular projects which provide great benefits for both institutions and students.
The aim of this thesis is to develop a benchmarking research for the summer school project at university X, and suggest suitable service improvement tactics. University X is a leading institution for higher education in Austria. They have started summer school several years ago; but the latest project failed to attract international students and fulfill their interests. As a result, the team has come up with a preliminary concept of multi-country summer school. While benchmarking has been chosen as the main framework to research competitors, a customer research is also included to collect more ideas for the new concept.
This thesis follows a deductive research approach. Data collection process is supported by both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Primary data were acquired via empirical sources like interviews, surveys, observation, and questionnaire. On the other hand, secondary data were obtained through both academic sources like books, journals, and online sources like webpage and online portals.
Findings from the research reveal that the best practices of summer school in the market usually offer distinctive values in such dimensions as location, academic program, social events, price, accommodation, etc. In addition, service improvement is a long-term process that requires continuous evaluation and changes to adapt with new demand. Based on this research, the institution can figure out suitable approaches to improve their service package. Nevertheless, further research is also needed to identify better practices from other competitors, and to provide a wider understanding about international students’ interests in summer school.
The aim of this thesis is to develop a benchmarking research for the summer school project at university X, and suggest suitable service improvement tactics. University X is a leading institution for higher education in Austria. They have started summer school several years ago; but the latest project failed to attract international students and fulfill their interests. As a result, the team has come up with a preliminary concept of multi-country summer school. While benchmarking has been chosen as the main framework to research competitors, a customer research is also included to collect more ideas for the new concept.
This thesis follows a deductive research approach. Data collection process is supported by both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Primary data were acquired via empirical sources like interviews, surveys, observation, and questionnaire. On the other hand, secondary data were obtained through both academic sources like books, journals, and online sources like webpage and online portals.
Findings from the research reveal that the best practices of summer school in the market usually offer distinctive values in such dimensions as location, academic program, social events, price, accommodation, etc. In addition, service improvement is a long-term process that requires continuous evaluation and changes to adapt with new demand. Based on this research, the institution can figure out suitable approaches to improve their service package. Nevertheless, further research is also needed to identify better practices from other competitors, and to provide a wider understanding about international students’ interests in summer school.