The Ministry of Education uses performance evaluation of each university as a
means of governance, measured by three main variables: the demand for education (i.e.
features of the matriculated students), results of the educational processes (i.e. number
of credits obtained), and results of staff research. This measure affects both Ministerial
funding and the restrictions to planning in each university. Therefore, students become
an asset to be preserved and possibly increased. At the same time, many initiatives
have been developed in order to analyse and satisfy the needs of the stakeholders in
general (namely families, institutions, and firms) and of the students in particular.
Italian universities need to develop marketing initiatives in order to increase their
capacity to understand needs and evaluate quality perception, as in firms. This can be
identified in customer/student satisfaction. The importance of measuring quality
perception is the mark of the customer-based approach and of the importance of his
evaluation in addressing governance choices.
Given that education is an experience good, its efficacy can be measured by
evaluating its effect on users (students). In such a competitive scenario, the Italian
offer seems to be standardised in the way it has to match Ministerial criteria, but
customised in the way universities respond to the different needs of their public,
providing their customers with different teaching programmes and services in order
to make life easier on the campus. The extent to which these factors attract
prospective students depends on individual features, such as demographic
variables, perception and expectations, and on environmental factors. This paper
investigates the influence of such features on student choice and satisfaction in the
University of Bari, in relation to the services provided. This University has
experienced a process of repositioning due to various events that have damaged its
image. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to a sample of students in the
twelve faculties in order to analyse their perception on didactic, administrative,
logistic, recreational, computerised and placement services.