Identifying student satisfaction in an offshore British higher education institution using appreciative inquiry 4-D

Student satisfaction is a critical focus for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), influencing reputation, recruitment, and alumni engagement. As the cost of tertiary education rises, HEIs worldwide strive to meet student expectations. However, understanding student satisfaction remains complex, requiring ongoing research to explore its multidimensional nature.

New University Mauritius, an offshore British HEI, primarily adopts the British National Student Survey to assess satisfaction. However, as HEIs move towards decolonising knowledge frameworks, this study explores student satisfaction through an Indigenous lens, focusing on Anglophone African students and staff experiences. This qualitative research is the first to employ Appreciative Inquiry 4-D (AI 4-D) to ascertain student satisfaction intrinsic constructs through extra-curricular activity satisfaction.

The study consisted of two phases: Phase 1 used AI 4-D workshops to assess its impact in revealing student satisfaction, while Phase 2 employed semi-structured interviews to compare student satisfaction perceptions with and without the AI 4-D experience. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of this novel approach. Twenty-eight undergraduate students and two non-academic staff participated, with twenty-one engaging in AI 4-D workshops and fourteen in interviews. Findings indicate that AI 4-D enhanced students’ understanding of satisfaction. A misalignment emerged between staff and student perspectives on extra-curricular student satisfaction. Staff advocate leadership and independence, while students sought inclusivity, accessibility, sustained growth and collective success. The intrinsic constructs of student satisfaction was defined as a guided experience that promotes personal development, fosters a sense of belonging, supports personal affirmation, and encourages the expansion of one’s comfort zone.

Amplifying local voices, this study provides information that can be cogitated in and out of the classroom, a critical lens for global comparisons, and contributes to the broader discourse on decolonised higher education quality. A contextualised framework has been developed for New University Mauritius to inform quality assurance and the management of extra-curricular activities. Moreover, it serves as a reference for Mauritius and New University Mauritius student satisfaction surveys.