Expectations and Satisfaction of Participants who Joined the International Exchange Program

Abstract

The objective of this research is 1) to compare expectations and satisfaction scores of the exchange program participants towards the Faculty of Pharmacy’s international relations operatacy, 2) to compare Expectation and satisfaction scores of exchange program participants between thai and foreign participants and 3) to study suggestions or other issues from answering open-ended questions. Eligible participants were pharmacy lecturers and students who participated in the exchange program during the years 2017-2018 at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahasarakham University. The research instrument was a questionnaire regarding the expectations and satisfaction of international exchange program participants with the Faculty of Pharmacy’s international relations work. developed and has a total of 16 itudy with Cronbach alpha of 0.92. Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test
were used. Of the 75 who were eligible and received the questionnaire, 51 participants returned the questionnaire. The response rate was 68.0%. The results showed that all expectation and satisfaction scores were at the high and highest levels. The satisfaction scores were higher than expectation scores in all aspects (p<0.05), however, there were no signifcant differences in the access to information and souvenirs aspects. The domestic group was more satisfed than the foreign group with statistical signifcance (p<0.05) in 2 items: applicability and English improvement. The foreign group had higher satisfaction scores than the domestic group with statistical signifcance (p<0.05) in quick and appropriate service, accommodation, food and beverages, and overall satisfaction. Participants enjoyed the exchange program, the care received from staff, and practicing English with foreigners. In conclusion, participants were highly satisfed with the program and felt that they had received more than their expectations. The program should continue to be supported.