An application of the net promoter score in higher education

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) has been widely used as a strong indicator of loyalty and growth in organizations. However, despite extensive use in the extant literature, its application in higher education is scarce. To address this gap, we explore the use of NPS in the identification and investigation of the characteristics as well as behaviors of 3 groups of undergraduate business students: promoters, passives and detractors. We also investigated the role of university experience and satisfaction on students’ likelihood to recommend their academic program to their friends. Using survey data from 3 regional state universities in the US, with a combined sample size of 492 students, we calculated the NPS by asking the question, “How likely is it that you would recommend the business program to a friend?” Upon calculating the NPS, 75 detractors, 165 passives and 252 promoters were identified and categorized. Based on our findings, recommendations were provided to assist university administrators in their efforts towards minimizing the number of detractors and increasing the number of promoters. This important so promoters can help in the recruitment and retention of students.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Marketing for Higher Education on 2022-01-07, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/08841241.2021.2018088.

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Work Title An application of the net promoter score in higher education
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Ali Kara
  2. Alma Mintu-Wimsatt
  3. John E. Spillan
Keyword
  1. Net promoter score
  2. Likelihood to recommend
  3. Student satisfaction
  4. Higher education
License CC BY-NC 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education
Publication Date January 7, 2022
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2021.2018088
Deposited May 22, 2023

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added An_Application_of_the_Net_Promoter_Score_in_Higher_Education__ACCEPTED_VERSION_.docx
  • Added Creator Ali Kara
  • Added Creator John Spillan
  • Added Creator Alma Mintu-Wimsatt
  • Added Creator Alma Mintu-Wimsatt
  • Added Creator John E. Spillan
  • Published
  • Updated Keyword, Publication Date Show Changes
    Keyword
    • Net promoter score, Likelihood to recommend, Student satisfaction, Higher education
    Publication Date
    • 2021-01-01
    • 2022-01-07
  • Deleted Creator John Spillan
  • Deleted Creator Alma Mintu-Wimsatt
  • Updated Creator Alma Mintu-Wimsatt
  • Updated Creator John E. Spillan
  • Updated