Students' motivations and satisfactions: Lessons for curriculum development and recruitment

The project used an exit survey on graduating students of the Leisure and Tourism Management programme at York St John a small higher education institution located in York in northern England. The research aimed to provide evidence of what attracted students to the programme, what they liked and disliked about it and whether the programme matched their expectations. The findings of the research would be used to improve the programme and the students’ experience. 32% of respondents found that the programme did not match their expectations implying that careful research is needed on the construction of student expectations through marketing. A clear demand for more “real world” learning activities such as field trips, work placements and the research project was evident. These results were generated at a time when field trips and placements were being reduced due to costs. The study showed that the location of the College was central to student selection and suggested that more should be made of the location in marketing. Employment opportunities was the reason most often offered for why the respondents chose the programme although this fluctuated in response to difficulties faced by the tourism industry in the early years of this decade.