Customer Satisfaction on The Registrar Services Among Medical Students in A Private Higher Education Institution

Customer Satisfaction on The Registrar Services Among Medical Students in A Private Higher Education Institution

Resty L. Picardo, DM, JD, MAN; Joyce M. Valiente; Marlito B. Palarion; Winnebel Ragasa; Pamela L. Cabrera

Gullas College of Medicine, Inc.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2025.120500191

Received: 23 May 2025; Accepted: 27 May 2025; Published: 24 June 2025

ABSTRACT

Customer satisfaction affects student achievement, parent trust, the school’s reputation, and financial potential. Customer feedback studies had been widely studied, however, the services provided by the Registrar’s Office in higher education institutions had been scarcely done. This quantitative research made use of the descriptive research design to determine the level of satisfaction on the services and the different suggestions and recommendations of the Registrar’s Office among 346 medical students in higher educational institution for the school year 2024-2025. Findings of the study revealed that, overall, the students were very satisfied with the services provided by the Registrar’s Office. Students also made suggestion to improve the services provided by the Registrar on making the provision of service faster, increasing the manpower. It was also suggested that the enrolment process should be made shorter and easier and keeping it systematic. Issues pertaining to the use of the portal should also be resolved and the staff should be smiling when servicing students, online requests and payments for documents should be allowed, staff should be kind and professional, there should be less documentation, and there should be a proper waiting area. To address the findings of the study, recommendations were provided.

Keywords: Customer satisfaction; Mandaue City; Higher education institution; Medical students.

INTRODUCTION

According to American Society for Quality (2023), customer satisfaction is defined as a measurement that determines how happy customers are with a company’s products, services, and capabilities. Customer satisfaction information, including surveys and ratings, can help a company determine how to best improve or changes its products and services. An organization’s main focus must be to satisfy its customers. This applies to industrial firms, retail and wholesale businesses, government bodies, service companies, nonprofit organizations, and every subgroup within an organization. Institutions of higher education as the rudimentary provider of both academic and non-academic services to their clients (Ali et al., 2020), client satisfaction on their frontline services is the most imperative asset they may have. It is the main driver for performance and relies heavily on frontline service habits (Lee et al., 2016). Consequently, recognizing that these frontline services providers are conceivably the most critical link in delivering quality educational services, there has been increasing attention rendered to client satisfaction regarding the quality of service delivery (Brady et al., 2001). Customer satisfaction surveys is important to continually improve the service provided. The following benefits can be gained from doing customer service satisfaction surveys: (a) satisfied and loyal customers are a major growth lever; (b) dissatisfied customers churn in a heartbeat; (c) customer satisfaction drives business and product decisions; (d) it helps one to stand out of the crowd; and (e) satisfied customers attract new customers (Szyndlar, 2024).

The institution has been providing services to the students since time immemorial. Customer feedback has been a part and parcel of the continuous quality improvement that the school has been doing. However, a more detailed and specific customer feedback survey has never been implemented which is specific to the services provided by the Registrar. With this, the researchers aim to provide a baseline information on how the stakeholders are satisfied with the services provided by the Registrar’s Office. Thus, the conduct of this survey. This survey is intended to improve the services provided by the Registrar’s Office in order for stakeholders (internal and external) to gain higher levels of customer satisfaction through the development of a customer satisfaction enhancement plan. Lastly, this research work is aligned with the fourth and eight sustainable developmental goals of quality education and decent work and economic growth.

This findings is contrary to the findings in the study of Gorospe et al. (2021), all frontline offices were rated very high. Specifically, the overall weighted mean of the level of satisfaction of the employees on the frontline services they received and experienced from the Registrar’s Office is 3.93 with a descriptive value of “very high”. The office of the registrar eventually became capable of providing the services that their customers had anticipated receiving at some point in time. On the other hand, even with a degree of satisfaction that is satisfactory, this can still be improved upon and achieve a higher level of contentment, which is very satisfied.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the level of satisfaction on the services and the different suggestions and recommendations of the Registrar’s Office among students in a higher educational institution for the school year 2024-2025.

Specifically, it answers the following questions:

What was the level of satisfaction on the registrar’s services of the students?

What were the different suggestions and recommendations to improve the Registrar’s services?

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Customer Satisfaction. The findings showed that assurance, tangibility, reliability, responsiveness and personal interaction have positive effect on members’ satisfaction whereas empathy does not. The analysis of linear regression result indicated that the independent variable of service quality and explained 54.1 percent of the variation in customer satisfaction, indicating a moderate impact. However, the qualitative data and document analysis results confirmed that the provision of service quality did not satisfy students’ expectations. Based on the findings, the study concludes that, overall, the Registrar’s office’s performance not pragmatic to  meet customers’ expectations. Based on this, the study recommends that the office makes efforts to improve its services and ensure customer satisfaction (Adillo, 2023).

Findings in the study of Ramirez (2025) revealed an overall service quality rating of very satisfactory, with empathy scoring the highest at 3.81, indicating effective communication and care from staff. However, responsiveness was identified as an area needing improvement, with a score of 3.40. The study establishes significant relationships between service quality dimensions and stakeholder satisfaction, with 85% of respondents expressing satisfaction with services. This research underscores the necessity for higher education institutions to prioritize service quality to foster student satisfaction and loyalty.

Results of the study of Gonzales et al. (2020) showed that recipients of services are mostly female students in their adolescent stage who availed the top services from the offices of student services, registrar, library, and agriculture and college dean. The service units that received at par degree of satisfaction include planning, supply, registrar, medical, agriculture, student services, public relations, publications and information, library, research, physical plant facilities, gender-development and management-information system. The customers are very highly satisfied on the staff attitude of the campus and that their expectations along end result, convenience, timeliness and access often exceed their expectations. This implies that the campus related delivery service providers are customer-focused since they are able to provide and satisfy the needed and expected services as well as products stipulated in their respective units which are contributory to the attainment of the campus goal.

The results in the study of Gorospe et al. (2021), indicated a very high level of satisfaction with which heads of offices have gained higher satisfaction ratings than that of their staff. When grouped according to the respondents’ profile, the older students rated higher the frontline services and providers than the younger ones. At the same time, regular employees have a higher level of satisfaction as compared to non-regular. The result of the study manifests students’ and employees’ very high contentment with the actual performances of the frontline service providers. Result in the research of Khumsath (2015) identified the factors to indicate the satisfaction of customers toward the service: (a) process, (b) facility, and (c) staff by the overall result, students were satisfied with the service, but still left comments for each of the factors as good progress to make changes in the future of Registrar Office at the University. The finding of the study of Chala (2021) indicated that customers were most satisfied with the assurance dimensions of service quality. On the contrary, customers were less satisfied with tangibility dimensions of service quality. The study concluded that, the correlation between the customer satisfaction and the dimensions were positive and statistically significant. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that the Office of the Registrar should prioritize the service quality dimensions to provide quality service on customer satisfaction.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Design. This quantitative study made use of the descriptive research design. In application to the study, the descriptive design was used in determining the level of satisfaction on the registrar’s services along with the differe3nt suggestions and recommendations to improve the registrar services.

Environment. The study was conducted in a higher educational institution– College of Medicine, Inc. specifically on the Office of the Registrar. The college envisions becoming a top medical school and home of globally-competent and compassionate physicians dedicated to excellence and service to communities worldwide.

Respondents. Respondents of the study were the 346 bona fide students of the school. Currently, there were 3,061 students enrolled for the school year 2024-2025.

Sampling Design. The study made use of the convenience sampling. The sample was computed using the Krejcie and Morgan formula utilizing a confidence level of 95% and error of margin of .05. The fact that the selection of participants is not done in a random fashion could result in a sample that does not correctly reflect the diversity of the larger population, which could lead to the introduction of bias.  It may be difficult to extrapolate the findings to the full population as a result of this possibility.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria. Included were students of the Gullas College of Medicine, Inc. who were currently enrolled in the school year 2024-2025 regardless of age, sex or gender, religion, and nationality. They must be able to avail of any of the services in the Registrar’s Office. Lastly, only those who provide voluntary consent were able to participate in the study. There were no exclusion in the study for as long as the student complies with the inclusion criteria.

Instrument. The study made use of a researcher-made instrument. The instrument was created through an extensive review of related literature and studies. It is a 9-item questionnaire which can be answered using a five-point Likert scale where 1 is strongly disagree to 5 as strongly agree. A single open-ended item is asked for the different suggestions and recommendations to improve the services provided by the Registrar’s Office. Since the instrument was a researcher-0made it was pre-tested among 15 respondents and Cronbach alpha value was at 0.978.

Data Gathering Procedure. The study initially sought approval from the Dean of the College of Medicine, Inc. Following the approval, the study was forwarded to the Ethics Committee of the School for ethical approval. Once a notice to proceed was released, data gathering follows. A Google form was made for easy answering by the respondents. Respondents were conveniently selected and were asked to answer the questionnaire using a Google Form. This was done until sample size was achieved. Once sample size was achieved, data were collated and subjected to statistical treatment. All data were presented in tables along with the interpretations, implications, and supporting literature and studies. All soft copies of the data were permanently deleted at the end of the study.

Statistical Treatment of Data. Descriptive statistics were used in the study, to wit: (a) Frequency distribution and Simple Percentage. This was used to present the different suggestions and recommendations to improve the registrar’s services and (b) Mean score and Standard Deviation. These were used to present the data on the level of satisfaction on the registrar’s services among respondents.

Ethical Considerations. The study sought approval from the Ethics Committee prior to data gathering.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 Level of Satisfaction on the Registrar Services among Students

Note: n=346.

Legend: 1.00 – 1.80 is very dissatisfied (strongly disagree), 1.87 – 2.60 is dissatisfied (disagree), 2.61 – 3.40 is neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (neutral), 3.41 – 4.20 is satisfied (agree), and 4.21 – 5.00 is very satisfied (strongly agree)

Overall, the students were very satisfied with the services provided by the Registrar’s Office. They strongly agreed that the Registrar’s Office staff member greeted them respectfully and politely, that the staff member displayed professionalism during their interactions, and the staff member appeared concerned about their request/problem/issue by listening attentively and asking appropriate questions to better understand their needs. Moreover, they strongly agreed that the Registrar’s Office staff member was patient, the staff member was knowledgeable, and that they were served in a reasonable period of time. Additionally, they strongly agreed that the Registrar’s Office staff member satisfied their request during their initial contact, that if their request could not be immediately satisfied and the Registrar’s Office staff member provided them with the necessary steps needed for resolution and/or provided them with an update until their request was fulfilled. Lastly, they were satisfied with the service provided by the Registrar’s Office.

This finding clearly implies that the expectations of the students regarding the services provided by the Registrar’s Office were met. When a student is very satisfied with the services, they not only express high levels of enjoyment and satisfaction with these services, but they also go beyond simply fulfilling their expectations and possibly even exceed them. Similarly, results of the study of Gonzales et al. (2020) showed that the service units that received at par degree of satisfaction include registrar. The customers were very highly satisfied on the staff attitude of the campus and that their expectations along end result, convenience, timeliness and access often exceed their expectations. This implies that the campus related delivery service providers are customer-focused since they are able to provide and satisfy the needed and expected services as well as products stipulated in their respective units which are contributory to the attainment of the campus goal. Moreover, the results in the study of Gorospe et al. (2021), indicated a very high level of satisfaction with which heads of offices have gained higher satisfaction ratings than that of their staff. The result of the study manifests students’ and employees’ very high contentment with the actual performances of the frontline service providers.

It is important to sustain the very satisfied levels of satisfaction among students on the Registrar’s Office services. Continuing quality improvement should be instituted periodically to sustain the high quality service. Considering that the school is applying for accreditation and certification to ISO, it is important that continuous improvement is introduced through customer satisfaction surveys. This may also call for benchmarking activities to really introduce changes in the provision of services in the registrar’s office.

Table 2 Suggestions and Recommendations to Improve the Registrar’s Service

 Note: n=346

Looking at the table, few of the students made a suggestion on making the provision of service faster. This came out to be the major suggestion among the students. This is then followed by increasing the manpower of the Registrar’s Office to be able to service more during enrolment period and to avoid congestion of students during peak seasons. It was also suggested that the enrolment process should be made shorter and easier and keeping it systematic. Issues pertaining to the use of the portal should also be resolved and the staff should be smiling when servicing students. A single respondent suggested that online requests and payments for documents should be allowed. Similarly, a single respondents that the staff should be kind and professional, there should be less documentation, and there should be a proper waiting area. These findings will be addressed in improving the services provided by the Registrar’s Office. As part of the continuing quality improvement activities of the office, specific activities will be introduced to resolve these areas.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusion. In conclusion, the students were very satisfied with the services provided by the Registrar’s Office. This affirms the Expectation Disconfirmation Theory where the findings reveals a positive disconfirmation where the performance is judged to be exceptional in comparison to the expectations that were previously established. Thus, the students were delighted with the services provided by the Registrar’s Office. To sustain this very satisfied level, recommendations were provided.

Recommendations. The following recommendations are given:

Practice. The study will be presented to the school administrators and the different department heads. A brainstorming will also be done to discuss the different suggestions and recommendations to include specific departments that are involved like the IT Department. This will also call for a revisit, review, and revision of the already established operational and staff development plan of the Registrar’s Office to include specific activities addressing the findings of this study.

Education. The study can be used as a reference in studies relating to customer satisfaction, especially in educational institutions. The study can also serve as an educational material in discussing research methodology, statistical treatment and ethics in research.

Policy. The study may call for the creation or internal policies in the school where continuous quality improvement activities becomes mandatory in all servicing offices to mainly focus on customer feedback as a major activity in improving services.

Research. The study will be submitted for a possible oral or poster presentation in any local of international research congress. The study will also be submitted for publication in either a local or international refereed journal. The following research titles are also suggested:

A study on correlating the demographic profile with customer satisfaction among students of a medical school;

Predictors of customer satisfaction among students of a medical school; and

A mixed methodology on the satisfaction on the services provided by the Registrar Office among students of a medical school.

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