STUDENT SATISFACTION AS A MEASURE OF DEPARTMENTAL QUALITY

Undergraduate and graduate students in 38 departments indicated their degree of satisfaction with their major department (7,360 and 2,396 Ss in 1976 and 1977, respectively). Two highly correlated factors, General Satisfaction with Major and Satisfaction with Mentorship, were obtained for the 2 groups for the 2 successive years. Factor scores did not differ substantially across subgroups of students with differing characteristics on class level, GPA, sex, field of study, or reason for choosing their major. 15 faculty and departmental characteristics were also uncorrelated with factor scores. Student satisfaction thus appears to represent a unique criterion for assessing departmental quality. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.