Enhancing postgraduate education quality: a comprehensive analysis of factors influencing students’ satisfaction in university-business cooperation

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the critical factors influencing students’ satisfaction with university-business cooperation (UBC) in postgraduate education, focusing on Chinese universities of applied sciences. Employing a comprehensive research model, we utilised multivariate statistical analysis methods, including canonical correlation analysis, partial correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis, to validate our measurement and hypotheses. Our findings reveal that teaching, tutor supervision, practical relevance, and individual development are primary determinants of students’ satisfaction with UBC in postgraduate education. Additionally, significant correlations exist between these factors, consistent with our proposed research model. The study emphasises the importance of fostering effective UBC for enhancing postgraduate education quality. Practical implications and recommendations for stakeholders are discussed, contributing both to the academic understanding of UBC and offering actionable insights for educational institutions and businesses. Future research directions in this field are also suggested.

KEYWORDS:

• University-business cooperation
• postgraduate education
• universities of applied sciences
• students’ satisfaction

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2024.2365317

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Shanghai Pujiang Program [Grant No. 21PJC063].

Notes on contributors

Ye Zhang

Ye Zhang is an associate professor at Shanghai Polytechnic University and a member of several academic associations. She has published widely on comparative vocational education and higher education and undertaken several research projects sponsored by different institutions.

Ziqun Zhang

Ziqun Zhang’s research interests have been related to higher education and digitization of education.

Xinrong Chen

Xinrong Chen is a professor at Fudan University. His research areas are comparative vocational education and digitization of education.

Huaqing Xie

Huaqing Xie is a professor at Shanghai Polytechnic University. His research interests have been related to university-business cooperation.