Satisfação e lealdade discente nas universidades públicas brasileiras

Due to market changes and government necessity to provide education to citizens, Brazil has been experiencing a process of growth in its higher education. Thus, in an increasingly competitive and transforming environment, the overall demand for qualified services have become a common denominator in Higher Education Institutions HEIs. The later exposed the necessity for management optimization so that public institutions could improve their performance for the benefit of students. Unlike other companies that aim to satisfy themselves, these HEIs often perceive satisfaction as a means to an end. That is, satisfied students are loyal students. Thus, in this research the European Satisfaction Model (ECSI) was applied to 1581 students from 23 public and free universities in Brazil. As a result, it has been observed that satisfaction is a determinant of loyalty. Among the determinants of satisfaction, it was observed that the image, the treatment of complaints and perceived value are the most representative key-factor elements. In this way, the efficient management of the public HEI image, the adequate treatment of students' complaints and the perception that the investment of effort and time will generate future gains has a positive and significant influence on the continuity of students in Brazilian HEIs.