Parallel Enrollments: Associations Between College Student Satisfaction and Performance

Abstract

Austria is a country without college tuition fees, also allowing students to enroll in an unlimited number of programs simultaneously. Based on minimum ECTS requirements to keep enrollments valid, student performance is central. This study explores associations between student satisfaction and performance in the setting of parallel enrollments. Two hundred and thirteen students filled in a questionnaire, merging answers with performance parameters from the university's database. Multivariate regression analyses with performance as outcome and satisfaction measures as predictors were conducted on the levels: (1) unfiltered dataset, (2) one enrollment, and (3) 2 + enrollments. Performance satisfaction explained variance of grade point average and the number of failed exams on levels 1 and 2. Course satisfaction and the wish to continue studying were strongly associated with grade point average in nonprioritized programs of students with more than one enrollment. University systems worldwide could benefit from parallel programs, possibly preventing immediate dropout of unsatisfied students.