Health care management courses in Greek universities A first attempt to establish factors affecting satisfaction

Purpose -The object of this study is to formulate, establish and apply a suitable and reliable tool for measuring the course experience satisfaction of Master graduates. A questionnaire was formulated, based on similar tools, and adjusted to the reality of Hellenic Higher Education, in order to measure the satisfaction of graduates in three Master programmes in the area of health care management. Design/methodology/approach -Master graduates of the study (n=162), 2003-2007 admission years, filled in the questionnaire either electronically (web-based) or by phone interview. The overall response rate was 50.6 per cent. In total, 37 statements were used for the measure of satisfaction while other questionnaire parts recorded the demographic, occupational and educational characteristics of the graduates. Findings -Analysis revealed seven factors, listed as teaching, skills, assessment, feedback, social opportunities, facilities and organization of the course. Gender and first degree content do not affect the produced total satisfaction score. Married participants scored higher than those that are single in three factors and older participants scored higher than younger ones in two factors. The University of Crete's graduates scored higher than other graduates in two factors. Originality/value -The paper is the first attempt to assess satisfaction, based on the grounds of quality, for Master programs in Hellenic State Universities. In this study are presented the first results and conclusions of the application of the developed questionnaire. Further results, relative to graduates' occupational status changes and professional development, are currently under investigation.