Examining Front-Line Administrative Services in a Selected Public Higher Education Institution
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Problem Statement
3. Literature Review
3.1. Enhancing Client Perceptions in Public Service: A Comprehensive Exploration of Front-Line Administrative Factors
3.2. Navigating the Terrain of Client Perceptions: Unraveling the Front-Line Administrative Dynamics
3.3. Empathy, Timeliness, and Efficiency: Pillars of Client Satisfaction in Public Service
3.4. Personalized Service: A Cornerstone of Client Satisfaction in Public Service Delivery
3.5. Related Studies and Salient Issues
3.6. Framework
- Consultation—involving stakeholders in decision-making processes and seeking their input.
- Service standards—establishing clear expectations for the quality and efficiency of services provided.
- Courtesy—treating clients and stakeholders with politeness, respect, and professionalism.
- Access—ensuring that services are easily accessible to all, without discrimination or unnecessary barriers.
- Information—providing clear, accurate, and timely information to clients and stakeholders.
- Openness and transparency—conducting operations and decision-making processes in a clear, accountable, and transparent manner.
- Redress—offering mechanisms for addressing complaints, disputes, or concerns from clients.
- Value for money—ensuring that resources are used efficiently and effectively, providing optimal value for the services delivered.
4. Materials and Methods
5. Results
5.1. Determining the Perceptions of First-Time Entry Students on the Service of Front-Line Administrative Staff
5.2. Platforms Used by First-Time Entry Students to Log Their Queries
5.3. Satisfaction with the Quality of Service Rendered Remotely and/or Face-to-Face
“If you are visiting them face to face, they are really helpful, I would like them to be active as they are if you are communicating with them via emails.”
“They should respond to emails especially housing department at the beginning of the year because not all students can come to housing for residence.”
“Patience, we’re not all the same, sometimes they need to clearly explain in a slow manner making sure that the student seeking help understands what is being said.”
5.4. Issues That Students Were Not Satisfied with Regarding the Service They Received
“They were not responding to my emails; I was even thinking of giving up and looking for another university.”
“Their line is always busy, or ring without being answered.”
“The emails sent to get the application form for the registration fee were not answered after I sent one form there was no response.”
“My registration fee that I paid did not come back and I still need it to cover my debt. I took it as a loan.”
“Some of them are very rude and they make it seem like the students are at fault.”
“I felt like I was not given full attention at first and it takes a lot of time before you are attended.”
“I was not satisfied with their way of response when addressing students. They normally leave you with unattended questions.”
“I went to the Faculty Office during the first semester, and they said I should write them the proof of payment that I paid for at Finance via an email requesting an academic transcript. Till today they never responded.”
“I went there early in the morning around 7:30, they open at 8 am. While others and I were standing outside, the Nurse came and said ‘Did you all read the instruction by the door? I hope you all booked online.’ The Nurse never greeted us.”
“They gave me non-satisfying accommodation.”
5.5. Assessing Using the Batho Pele Principles the Degree to Which Front-Line Administrative Staff Service Influences the Service Experience of First-Time Entry Students
5.6. Ascertaining the Implications of Front-Line Administrative Staff’s Service on the Service Experience of First-Time Entry Students
“They made me feel more positive and excited about being part of the DUT family.”
“I would confidently encourage them to enroll at DUT because the service provided by frontline administrative staff is perfect.”
“I am going to encourage my siblings to also apply at DUT next, because it is a great institution.”
“On the next career guidance in my high school, I am going to speak highly about DUT due to swift service received for the past few months as a first-year student.”
“The institution doesn’t care about your concerns, for example, due to receiving failed service at the faculty department, I pleaded a transfer from my department to another at ML Sultan, they said they’ll answer me within a month about my request but now it’s been 4 months without their response.”
“I was not satisfied with how they handled my query, I felt like they get frustrated about hearing a lot of queries and they end up declining every query.”
“I am felt like they did not want to assist me because of my ethnicity.”
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variables | No of Items | Cronbach’s Alpha |
---|---|---|
Service delivery principles that were met | 2 | 0.879 |
Overall service experience | 5 | 1.031 |
The Students’ Service Experience N = 106 | Very Unsatisfied | Unsatisfied | Neutral | Satisfied | Very Satisfied | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
Batho Pele Principles | Freq | % | Freq | % | Freq | % | Freq | % | Freq | % |
Consultation | 12 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 32 | 46 | 43 | 11 | 10 |
Service standard | 11 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 29 | 43 | 40 | 15 | 14 |
Courtesy | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 28 | 26 | 40 | 37 | 20 | 17 |
Access | 11 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 28 | 26 | 32 | 30 | 22 | 21 |
Information | 8 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 28 | 26 | 38 | 36 | 23 | 22 |
Openness | 9 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 30 | 28 | 43 | 40 | 13 | 12 |
Responsiveness | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 34 | 32 | 41 | 38 | 15 | 14 |
Value for money | 12 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 36 | 34 | 37 | 35 | 15 | 14 |
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Luthuli, M.; Nkomo, N.; Moyane, S. Examining Front-Line Administrative Services in a Selected Public Higher Education Institution. Educ. Sci. 2024, 14, 422. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14040422
Luthuli M, Nkomo N, Moyane S. Examining Front-Line Administrative Services in a Selected Public Higher Education Institution. Education Sciences. 2024; 14(4):422. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14040422
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuthuli, Mthokozisi, Ntando Nkomo, and Smangele Moyane. 2024. "Examining Front-Line Administrative Services in a Selected Public Higher Education Institution" Education Sciences 14, no. 4: 422. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14040422
APA StyleLuthuli, M., Nkomo, N., & Moyane, S. (2024). Examining Front-Line Administrative Services in a Selected Public Higher Education Institution. Education Sciences, 14(4), 422. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14040422