The Effect of Course Design, Learning Activities, and Lecture Quality on Student Course Statisfaction: A Structural Equation Modeling

Abstract

Student satisfaction with lectures is an important indicator in evaluating the quality of higher education. This study aims to empirically examine the relationships among course design, student learning activities, lecturer quality, and student course satisfaction using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The data were obtained from the Turkiye Student Evaluation Dataset and consisted of 582 observations after screening missing and duplicate records. Four latent constructs were analyzed, namely Course Design, Student Learning Activities, Lecturer Quality, and Course Satisfaction. The analysis was conducted using AMOS with Maximum Likelihood estimation. The initial model did not meet adequate model fit because the RMSEA value was above the recommended threshold; therefore, model modification was performed based on theoretically relevant modification indices. The modified model showed improved goodness of fit, with GFI = 0.999, TLI = 0.999, CFI = 0.999, and RMSEA = 0.014. The results indicate that course design and learning activities have positive and significant effects on lecturer quality, while lecturer quality has a strong and significant effect on student course satisfaction. These findings suggest that active learning experiences and lecturer quality play a central role in shaping student satisfaction in higher education.