A SYSTEMIC, STUDENT-CENTERED STUDY OF UNIVERSITY SERVICE.

This paper discusses the methods and findings of the Student Focus Project, a sixmonth study of student perceptions of service at a large university in Brisbane, Australia. The study paneled 24 focus groups of undergraduate students to assess their beliefs about a pretested set of questions concerning positive and negative aspects of university life, successes and frustrations with university service, attempts to overcome the obstacles of university life, and what students expect from their relationship to the university. Of the themes identified in the Student Focus study, it was found that “malignant bureaucracy” and the “balkanization of Information” are systemic factors that negatively influence student perceptions of the quality of university service. It was also found that student strategies for service recovery can contribute to the overall confusion and poor performance of university services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]