European graduates' level of satisfaction with higher education

Abstract

In this paper we investigate satisfaction rates among young European higher education graduates with their tertiary level study. Ordered choice models are used to parse out those factors that influence study satisfaction, such as environmental factors, field of study, usefulness of study and other individual-specific characteristics. Results show that those graduates who were most satisfied with their course of study scored course content and social aspects very highly, while opportunity to participate in research projects and poor supply of teaching materials were among the main reasons for dissatisfaction with higher education studies. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.