FLOURISHING SERVICE AND QUALITY IN TOURISM EDUCATION. Case study: Central Ostrobothnia University of Applied Sciences
Rahman, Saifur (2012)
Keski-Pohjanmaan ammattikorkeakoulu
2012
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2012091513667
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2012091513667
Tiivistelmä
The thesis was commissioned by Jennie Elfving, research and development manager of Central Ostrobothnia University of Applied Sciences (COU). The main focus of the research was to improve service and quality of tourism education and to assess development opportunities in COU. In Finland, the Degree programme in tourism in COU has one of the largest student intakes. The international degree programme is relatively new and many foreign students attend the degree programme. It is important to conduct such research to develop the degree programme.
Extensive literature review was done to co-relate education with service management theories. To make it highly reliable both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied to complete the research. An e-survey was conducted with full time degree students and a group interview was performed with six exchange students.
The outcome of the research showed that most students came to study tourism to COU because of the good quality of education. The overall study environment was perceived as relatively higher than average but in terms of meeting expectations it indicated lower than average performance. The library required more subject related books and instead of teaching many foreign languages the local language studies should be emphasised to foreign students. The administration could consider putting further effort on making theoretical knowledge more real life connected. A clear image should be created by sending precise messages to minimise the gap between expectations and experiences. Finally, proper strategic planning and execution should be performed to attain higher quality in tourism education.
Extensive literature review was done to co-relate education with service management theories. To make it highly reliable both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied to complete the research. An e-survey was conducted with full time degree students and a group interview was performed with six exchange students.
The outcome of the research showed that most students came to study tourism to COU because of the good quality of education. The overall study environment was perceived as relatively higher than average but in terms of meeting expectations it indicated lower than average performance. The library required more subject related books and instead of teaching many foreign languages the local language studies should be emphasised to foreign students. The administration could consider putting further effort on making theoretical knowledge more real life connected. A clear image should be created by sending precise messages to minimise the gap between expectations and experiences. Finally, proper strategic planning and execution should be performed to attain higher quality in tourism education.