Statistical properties of a new student satisfaction index

Quality of Higher Education is increasingly important in all developed countries. In fact quality and reputation are key elements to control the flow of students at national and international level. The authors have shown that quality of education can be improved through a process of self-assessment of the teaching services and a well studied analysis of the student feedback. In particular a new student satisfaction index was formulated which allows student feedback being summarised and interpreted for a continuous course improvement. In this paper some statistical properties of the student satisfaction index are illustrated, and comparisons with other measures based on Likert scales are made. A case study based on real student feedback data completes the article.