Quality evaluation of the Hungarian higher education based on the opinion of the ‘customers’: An application at Budapest University of Technology and Economics

Abstract

Quality is the central element of the results of changes happening in Hungarian higher education, which is serving an ever-increasing number of students. Following the transition to capitalism, as the number of students greatly increases, the direct control of higher education by the government ceases, and especially because of the ‘mass production’ character of education, the debate about quality has strengthened. It is especially difficult to define quality in the case of sophisticated, complex services, however, everyone agrees that quality is a major element of customer satisfaction. We have been conducting an interesting experiment at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE) for the past few years. The university asks the opinion of several groups about the quality of education at the university, including freshly graduated students, companies employing the freshly graduated students and freshmen. This article evaluates the results of this survey and summarizes the opinions of the ‘customers’ concerning education and training at the BUTE.