An investigation into the role of learning styles in student satisfaction with on-line learning environments

To address profitability and retention issues, institutions of higher learning are turning to marketing principles for help. By utilizing more technologies in the form of Web-based applications in coursework, schools are adjusting the product and distribution of their service offering. But, what effect does this have on the satisfaction of the learner?; This research synthesizes literature from the disciplines of marketing and educational psychology to investigate a model of learner satisfaction with online courses. The model proposes that a student's satisfaction with an education service that is delivered via the Internet is affected by his or her perception of service quality, as well as the preferred learning style of the student. Using SERVPERF (Cronin & Taylor, 1992) and Kolb's LSI (1984), the research presents the statistical analysis and findings from the sample respondents of students enrolled in online courses at Rochester College, a private four-year institution in Michigan.; The research revealed that student satisfaction is with an online course is positively correlated to the student's perception that he or she is valued as an individual by a knowledgeable instructor who utilizes a trustworthy website to deliver the course content. The research suggests that colleges and universities that can successfully deliver an online course that is perceived as a high quality experience will be in a position to offer future online courses at a premium tuition rate.; The research also found no correlation between the learning style groupings and student satisfaction. This finding suggests that students of any learning style, as defined by Kolb (1984), are just as likely to be satisfied with an online course as students with different learning styles. However, support was found that students who rely more on abstract thinking in a learning situation will be more likely to find an online class to be satisfying.