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© Proceedings of the Ruhuna Quality Assurance Sessions 2021 (RUQAS 2021)
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21 September 2021

lecture theatre facilities, and faculty staff being more friendly towards the medical students would
improve the quality of the learning environment.

In order to improve the overall quality of the faculty, students suggested improving infrastructure

(lecture halls, multimedia facilities, canteen, students’ car park, facilities for sports, common rooms

and study areas), activities of student bodies/societies, providing an updated academic calendar
informing about the main examinations well ahead and conducting extra classes for repeat students.

Discussion

The SSS was introduced to FoM, UoR in 2020. The response rate increased in 2021. The proportion of

females to males is greater than 1 for both batches. Jackson et al. (2001) stated that females are more

prone to be engaged in online communication and surveys than males. Tu and Liao (2007) also found
that females perceive responding to a survey as behaviour consistent with empathy or emotional

closeness, thus leading to a higher survey response rate for females than males. Further, the higher
number of females in a batch compared to male students could be another reason for the majority of

the respondents being female in the current survey.

According to the results, students were satisfied with most of the facts that inquired on the quality of

teaching. However, the satisfaction level was significantly reduced regarding the responsiveness of
lecturers to students outside classes in 2021 compared to 2020. It may be related to the difficulties they

encountered with the Covid-19 pandemic and limitations to meet their expectations. The majority rated
activities of student bodies as average in both years. It may be due to the lack of active involvement of

student bodies and restriction of activities related to the prevailing pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, IQAC

urged the student bodies to produce their terms of reference, conduct the annual general meetings and
appoint new office bearers to reactivate their activities and requested their annual activity plan.

The results indicated a significant difference between the satisfaction levels of students regarding

assistance received by the faculty administrative staff in the two years. The students’ satisfaction has
significantly reduced in 2021 compared to 2020. In a study conducted by Weerasinghe and Fernando

(2018) with undergraduates of Ruhuna, Rajarata, Wayamba, and Sabaragamuwa Universities in Sri

Lanka, it was concluded that reliability, responsiveness, caring attitude, accuracy, fairness, respect, and
cooperation with students during the university period play a vital role in determining students’

satisfaction level regarding the administrative staff. This was further supported by Malik et al. (2010)
and Elliott and Shin (2002), who found that the above factors, along with impartial treatment to all

students, significantly improve the satisfaction levels of undergraduates.

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