Customer service factors of a Telematic Learning BBA degree

Traditional educational boundaries at tertiary institutions in South Africa are fast becoming more flexible and as a result, quality distance learning is becoming more accessible to the market. The challenges of the distance education market reside not only within the traditional academic system in South Africa, but also with the accessibility of quality tertiary education via distance learning programmes of foreign institutions. In order to supply the ultimate learning experience to students, the concept of client relations is becoming increasingly important. Client relations should not be regarded as a surrogate for academic excellence but it certainly enhances the value gained through distance learning on a tertiary level. In view of this exciting transformation process a vital Department of Telematic Learning Systems was established at the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE). This department delivers and administrates all the degree and diploma programmes constructed by the academic departments at the PU for CHE. This department adopts a strong customer aligned approach as a strategic thrust and students are treated as valued clients of the university. Continuous client satisfaction research is conducted and this article reports on the results of one such a research project. Apart from supplying the demographic profile of students, the article reports on the service levels that undergraduate Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) students experienced during their 1997 year of study. The statistical technique, factor analysis, was employed to determine underlying communalities of these specific services. Eight factors were identified from the varimax rotated factor matrix. As a result of the reliability statistical procedure: Cronbach's Alpha coefficient (value of 0.928), a favourable cumulative variance of almost 60% is explained. The results obtained could be of significant value, firstly, to the PU for CHE which attempts to improve the service that is rendered to students. If they understand the client relationship and its service levels, they should be able to concentrate more energy in these areas. This reasoning also applies to other universities who wish to enter distance and/or open-learning educational systems. Secondly, students should profit from efficiently trained front-line staff who are educated in client's expectations of service levels. Thirdly, other researchers in service quality could use the results as a basis for future research since they provide a comparative foundation. (South African Journal of Education: 2001 21(4): 228-232