MEASURING SATISFACTION WITH MYIIUM

STUDENT PORTAL

BY

MUNA AZUDDIN

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the degree of Master of Information

Technology

Kulliyyah of Information and Communication

Technology

International Islamic University

Malaysia

JULY 2011

ii

ABSTRACT

The research investigated the end-user satisfaction with student portal. The study

adopted the End-User Computing Satisfaction, User Satisfaction with B2E Portal,

Task-Technology Fit, Service Quality and WebQual as the theoretical basis. Target

respondents were undergraduate students from three Kulliyyahs i.e. Kulliyyah of

Information and Communication Technology (KICT), Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed

Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS) and Kulliyyah of Economics and

Management Sciences (KENMS) at the International Islamic University Malaysia

(IIUM) Gombak, Kuala Lumpur. A total of 580 questionnaires were distributed and a

total number of 479 questionnaires were used for analysis. This study found that

students were satisfied with the portal in terms of end-user computing and

convenience of access, trust, security and privacy, consistent image and entertainment,

relative advantage, task-portal fit and, entry guidance and Website structure. However,

students were not satisfied with service quality, innovativeness, aesthetic design and

visual appeal of the portal. This study also found that there was a significant

difference in satisfaction for male and female i.e. female students are more satisfied

with the IIUM Student Portal than the male students. There is no significant difference

in satisfaction for ethnicity, students’ academic programme and interaction effect

between gender and students’ academic programmes. The research implications and

limitations are also discussed in the dissertation.

iii

2

KICT

KIRKHSKENMS

IIUM

iv

APPROVAL PAGE

I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it confirms

to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and

quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Information Technology.

............................................

Norshidah Mohamed

Supervisor

I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it confirms to acceptable

standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a

dissertation for the degree of Master of Master of Information Technology.

...............................................

Asadullah Shah

Examiner

This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Information Systems and is

accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Information

Technology.

................................................

Abu Osman Md Tap

Head, Department of Information

Systems

This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Information and Communication

Technology and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master

of Information Technology.

..............................................

Mohd Adam Suhaimi

Dean, Kulliyyah of Information

and Communication Technology

v

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except

where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently

submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Muna Azuddin

Signature …………………………………… Date ……………………..

vi

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION

OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

Copyright © 2011 by Muna binti Azuddin. All rights reserved.

MEASURING SATISFACTION WITH MYIIUM STUDENT PORTAL

No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except

as provided below.

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may only

be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or

electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieval system and

supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities

and research libraries.

Affirmed by Muna binti Azuddin.

……………………………. ………………..

Signature Date

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful, Peace be upon the

Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) who has given light to mankind and His family.

My praise be to Allah (S.A.W) for providing His blessing, guidance and inner strength

which has helped me got through this challenging journey until successful completion

of this dissertation. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to

all those who have supported and assisted me along the way in completing this

dissertation. I could not have done this without their guidance and advice. Firstly, I

would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Associate

Professor Dr. Norshidah Mohamed for her guidance, patience, motivation,

enthusiasm, immense knowledge and continuous advice throughout this journey.

Secondly, I would like to extend my appreciation to all undergraduate students in

International Islamic University of Malaysia who have participated in answering the

survey questions for their valuable time and kind assistance. Most important of all, my

deepest appreciation goes to my beloved parents Azuddin Abdul Rahman and Zawiah

Jaafar, dearest husband Maruan Ibrahim, siblings and friends for their untiring do’a,

understanding and support throughout my study.

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ..........................................................................................................................ii

Abstract in Arabic .........................................................................................................iii

Approval Page ..............................................................................................................iv

Declaration Page ............................................................................................................v

Copyright Page .............................................................................................................vi

Acknowledgement .......................................................................................................vii

List of Tables ................................................................................................................xi

List of Figures ............................................................................................................xiii

List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................xiv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................1

1.1 Overview ......................................................................................................1

1.2 Organisation of the Dissertation...................................................................2

1.3 The Research Background ...........................................................................3

1.4 The Context of study and Problem Statement .............................................4

1.5 Research Questions .................................................................................6

1.6 Research Objectives .....................................................................................7

1.7 Definition of Common Terms ......................................................................7

1.7.1 Portal .............................................................................................7

1.7.2 Satisfaction ..................................................................................8

1.8 Significance of the Study .............................................................................9

1.8.1 Contributions to Theoretical Framework ......................................9

1.8.2 Contributions to Practice ............................................................10

1.9 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................10

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................11

2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................11

2.2 Information System Success ......................................................................11

2.3 Financial Approach in Information System Success .................................12

2.3.1 Return on Investment (ROI)........................................................12

2.3.2 Net Present Value (NPV) ...........................................................13

2.3.3 Payback Period ...........................................................................15

2.4 User Satisfaction as a Surrogate Measure ..................................................15

2.5 User Satisfaction in Malaysia ....................................................................26

2.6 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................28

ix

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....................................................29

3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................29

3.2 Related Theories ........................................................................................29

3.2.1 End-User Computing Satisfaction (EUCS) Model .....................30

3.2.2 Website User Satisfaction (WUS) Model ...................................31

3.2.3 Website User Satisfaction Model ...............................................34

3.2.4 User Satisfaction with B2E Portal Model ...................................36

3.2.5 Web-based Customer Support System Satisfaction Model.........37

3.2.6 Website Usability, Trust, Satisfaction and Loyalty ....................39

3.2.7 Task-Technology Fit Model .......................................................40

3.2.8 Demographic Factors ..................................................................41

3.3 Research Variables and Theoretical Model ...............................................42

3.3.1 End-User Computing Satisfaction ..............................................44

3.3.2 Task-Portal Satisfaction ..............................................................45

3.3.3 Trust, Security and Privacy Satisfaction .....................................46

3.3.4 Design Quality Satisfaction ........................................................47

3.3.5 Service Quality Satisfaction ........................................................48

3.3.6 Individual Factors .......................................................................49

3.4 Measurement and Instrument .....................................................................52

3.4.1 Measurement of End-User Computing Satisfaction ...................52

3.4.2 Measurement of Task-Portal Fit Satisfaction .............................53

3.4.3 Measurement of Trust, Security and Privacy ..............................54

3.4.4 Measurement of Design Quality Satisfaction .............................55

3.4.5 Measurement of Service Quality Satisfaction ............................56

3.5 Population and Sample ..............................................................................57

3.6 Data Collection Strategy ............................................................................58

3.7 Pilot Study of the Survey Instrument..........................................................59

3.8 Data Analysis Strategy................................................................................64

3.9 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................67

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS .........................................................................................68

4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................68

4.2 Response Rate ............................................................................................68

4.3 Respondent Profile .....................................................................................69

4.4 Factor Analysis ..........................................................................................70

4.4.1 Pearson Correlation ....................................................................78

4.5 Reliability Analysis ...................................................................................81

4.6 Analysis of Users’ Satisfaction with IIUM Student Portal ........................82

4.7 Analysis of Group Difference ..................................................................108

4.7.1 Gender and Students’ Satisfaction with the IIUM Student

Portal .........................................................................................108

4.7.2 Ethnicity and Students’ Satisfaction with the IIUM Student

Portal ........................................................................................109

4.7.3 Academic Programme and Students’ Satisfaction with the

IIUM Student Portal .................................................................110

4.7.4 Academic Programme and Gender in Students’ Satisfaction

with The IIUM Student Portal ..................................................112

x

4.8 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................115

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ...............................................................................116

5.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................116

5.2 Summary of Findings ..............................................................................116

5.2.1 Students’ Satisfaction with the IIUM Student Portal ................116

5.2.2 Students’ Characteristics and Students’ Satisfaction with

the IIUM Student Portal ...........................................................117

5.3 Implications .............................................................................................118

5.3.1 Theoretical Implications ...........................................................118

5.3.2 Practical Implications ...............................................................118

5.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ...................................119

BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................120

Appendix I: Survey Booklet.......................................................................................128

Appendix II: Letter ....................................................................................................133

xi

LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Page No.

3.1 Service Quality Dimensions Definition 38

3.2 Research Variables for Student’s Satisfaction 43

3.3 Computing Satisfaction Item Measures 53

3.4 Task-Portal Fit Satisfaction Item Measures 54

3.5 Trust, Security and Privacy Satisfaction Item Measures 55

3.6 Design Quality Satisfaction Item Measures 56

3.7 Service Quality Satisfaction Item Measures 57

3.8 Targeted Samples 58

3.9 Profile of Respondents 60

3.10 Cronbach’s Alpha for Pilot Test Instrument Round 1 62

3.11 Cronbach’s Alpha for Pilot Test Instrument Round 2 64

4.1 Overview of Response Rates 69

4.2 Profile of Respondents 70

4.3 Factor Analysis Results 72

4.4 Analysis of Items Before and After Factor Analysis 78

4.5 Pearson Correlation Relationship Strength 79

4.6 Correlation Relationship Analysis 80

4.7 Reliability Test after Factor Analysis 81

4.8 End-User Computing and Convenience of Access

Frequency Analysis

84

4.9 End-User Computing and Convenience of Access

Satisfaction Mean and Standard Deviation

85

4.10 Trust, Security and Privacy Frequency Analysis 87

4.11 Trust, Security and Privacy Mean and Standard Deviation 88

4.12 Innovativeness, Aesthetic Design and Visual Appeal

Frequency Analysis 90

xii

4.13 Innovativeness, Aesthetic Design and Visual Appeal Mean

and Standard Deviation 91

4.14 Consistent Image and Entertainment Frequency Analysis 93

4.15 Consistent Image and Entertainment Mean and Standard

Deviation

93

4.16 Service Quality Frequency Analysis 95

4.17 Service Quality Mean and Standard Deviation 95

4.18 Relative Advantage Frequency Analysis 97

4.19 Relative Advantage Mean and Standard Deviation 97

4.20 Task-Portal Fit 1 Frequency Analysis 99

4.21 Task-Portal Fit 1 Mean and Standard Deviation 99

4.22 Entry Guidance and Website Structure Frequency Analysis 101

4.23 Entry Guidance and Website Structure Mean and Standard

Deviation

101

4.24 Task-Portal Fit 2 Frequency Analysis 103

4.25 Task-Portal Fit 2 Mean and Standard Deviation 103

4.26 Students’ Satisfaction with the Portal 104

4.27 Additional Features in the IIUM Student Portal 107

4.28 T-test Analysis for Gender towards Students’ Satisfaction 109

4.29 T-test Analysis for Ethnicity toward Students’ Satisfaction

with IIUM Student Portal

110

4.30 Descriptive Statistics for Kulliyyah Group toward

Students’ Satisfaction

111

4.31 One-way ANOVA Analysis for Kulliyyah toward

Students’ Satisfaction

111

4.32 Post-hoc Test for Kulliyyah toward Students’ Satisfaction 111

4.33 Descriptive Statistics for Kulliyyah Group and Gender

toward Students’ Satisfaction

112

4.34 Test for Interaction of Kulliyyah Group and Gender toward

Students’ Satisfaction

113

4.35 Post-hoc Test for Kulliyyah Group and Gender toward

Students’ Satisfaction

113

4.36 Summary of Findings 115

xiii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Page No.

3.1 EUCS Model 30

3.2 Website User Satisfaction (WUS) Model 33

3.3 Website User Satisfaction Model 35

3.4 User Satisfaction with B2E Portal Model 36

3.5 Web-based Customer Support System Satisfaction Model 37

3.6 Relationship between Perceived Website Usability, Trust,

Satisfaction and Loyalty

40

3.7 Task-Technology Fit Model 41

3.8 Theoretical Model for Students’ Satisfaction with IIUM

Student Portal

51

3.9 Data Analysis Strategy 66

4.1 Response Rate Calculation 68

4.2 Theoretical Model for Students’ Satisfaction with IIUM

Student Portal

77

4.3 Estimated Marginal Means for Students’ Satisfaction 114

xiv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AHP Analytic Hierarchy Process

B2B Business-to-Business

B2C Business-to-Consumer

B2E Business-to-Employee

BELS Blended E-Learning System

CFA Confirmatory Factor Analysis

CGPA Cumulative Grade Point Average

CIS Clinical Information System

DF Degree of Freedom

EHR Electronic Health Record

ELS E-Learn Satisfaction

ESS Employee Self-Service

et al. (et alia): and others

EUCS End-User Computing Satisfaction

F F-Ratio

Freq Frequency

i.e. (id est): that is

IIUM International Islamic University

Malaysia

IS Information System

KENMS Kulliyyah of Economics and

Management Sciences

KICT Kulliyyah of Information

Communication and Technology

KIRKHS Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed

Knowledge and Human Sciences

LMS Learning Management System

Mbps Megabit per second

MIM Mobile Instant Message

NPV Net Present Value

QAS Question Answer System

ROI Return on Investment

Std. Dev Standard Deviation

T T-Test Statistics

TTF Task-Technology Fit

UIS User Information Satisfaction

UiTM University of Technology MARA

WELS Web-based E-learner Satisfaction

WUS Website User Satisfaction

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW

Technology advances have given rise to information overload for individuals,

organisations and institutions. In a rapidly changing environment, individuals now

require a technology enabler to assist them in finding the right information for the

tasks that they need to perform effectively and efficiently. The new millennium sees

more and more individuals getting connected over the Internet. A portal appears to be

the means to this end.

According to Clarke and Flaherty (2003), the word portal is derived from the

Latin word porta which means something that will be passed in order to get to another

place. A Web-based portal functions to assist Web users by leading them to the

ultimate location of their choice (Clarke and Flaherty, 2003). Krishnamurthya and

Chan (2005) defined a portal as a system that gathers a variety of useful information

resources into a single one stop-Web page. This allows its users to customise their

information sources by selecting and viewing information that they find useful.

Past researches suggest that portals have been widely used in government

(Guerrero et al., 2007; Farhan and Sanderson, 2010; Hirwade, 2010), corporate

environment (Detlor, 2000; Dias, 2001; Clarke and Flaherty, 2003; Yang et al., 2005;

Al-Mudimigh et al., 2011; Chang and Wang, 2011), educational institution (Haubitz,

2005; Krishnamurthya and Chan, 2005; Pinto and Doucet, 2007; Chiang et al., 2010),

production (Kreng and Wu, 2007) and health sector (Leveille and Weingart, 2007). A

government portal is developed to fulfil information needs related to government

2

facilities and services, and to allow citizens to communicate with government instead

of visiting the government buildings (Farhan and Sanderson, 2010). In the corporate

environment, a portal is used to integrate knowledge, commerce and collaboration

within internal and external organisations (Chang and Wang, 2011). In the medical

environment, a portal is used to transmit information between patients and doctors

especially chronic problems before scheduled visits (Leveille and Weingart, 2007).

1.2 ORGANISATION OF THE DISSERTATION

The dissertation comprises five chapters. The first chapter discusses an overview of

the research and introduces the research background. The problem statement, research

questions, research objectives and significance of the study are also determined in this

chapter.

Chapter Two provides a review of literature on the research area. Topics

include financial measures for information system success and user satisfaction as a

surrogate measure for measuring information system success. Chapter Three presents

the theories used in the research, theoretical model, research design that covers

population, sampling technique and instrument, and findings of pilot study.

Chapter Four presents the empirical results of the research while the last

chapter concludes the study with research limitations, contributions of the research

and suggestions for future research directions.

3

1.3 THE RESEARCH BACKGROUND

Measuring information system success has been a concern to not only practitioners but

also scholars. The use of financial method in measuring information system success

has been cited as difficult (Saarinen, 1996; Renkemaa and Berghout, 1997; Dehning et

al., 2006; Tuten, 2009). This has brought about the notion of using user satisfaction as

a surrogate measure.

Researchers on portal and student portal have captivated the attention of

scholars in the last decade. For instance Wang (2003), Shee and Wang (2008) and Sun

et al. (2008) investigated student satisfaction with Web-based online learning portal.

Nowadays online learning portal is used as telecommunication technology and

importantly to ease convenience to deliver information for education and training.

Sugianto and Tojib (2006) measured user satisfaction with Business-to-Employee

(B2E) portal where the portal uses a Web-based interface to access personalised

information, company resources, applications, and e-commerce options. Konradt et al.

(2006) measured employee satisfaction with Employee Self-Service corporate Web-

portal that enables company employees to view, create and maintain relevant

personnel information. Farhan and Sanderson (2010) measured citizen satisfaction

with Kuwait e-government portal in order to assess system success.

In Malaysia, Mohamed et al. (2009) investigated end-users’ satisfaction with

Malaysia’s Electronic Government Systems: E-procurement, E-services, Generic

Office Environment, Human Resource Management Information Systems, Project

Monitoring Systems and Electronic Labour Exchange. Masrek et al. (2009) evaluated

students’ satisfaction with academic library portal where the portal provides

personalised and customised information service to all kinds of library resources and

services.

4

1.4 THE CONTEXT OF STUDY AND PROBLEM STATEMENT

The focus of the dissertation is on the evaluation of user satisfaction with an

educational portal. An educational portal is a single integrated point that provides its

users with a useful and comprehensive access to information contents. Typically, the

scope includes information searching, educational resources, interactive teaching

materials, interpersonal communication, training and assessment (Pinto and Doucet,

2007).

The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has adopted a Web-

portal to manage the information and knowledge among students, academic and

administrative personnel since 2006. The portal is known as MyIIUM. It was

developed and is currently managed by the university’s Information Technology

Division (ITD). The MyIIUM portal link is available at IIUM Website for users to

access it. The MyIIUM portal is a tool and interface for the IIUM community to

access and leverage on online resources available within the institution. The portal

implementation was made in two stages i.e. the first phase was commissioned in

August 2006 for students and the second phase was in November 2006 for the

university’s personnel.

The users of MyIIUM Student Portal include students from IIUM Centre for

Foundation Studies in Petaling Jaya and Nilai, undergraduate students and post-

graduate students in both campus in Gombak and Kuantan. MyIIUM Student Portal

provides information about student’s personal information (MyPersonal), student’s

academic information (MyAcademic) and student services (MyServices) and

applications.

MyPersonal section provides information regarding student’s personal

information. This section enables students to view their personal information, study

5

information and disciplinary/compound information. In study information, the portal

provides information about student’s mahallah, financial, scholar and co-curricular

activities. Disciplinary/compound section, information about disciplinary, compound

and traffic summon are displayed.

MyAcademic displays information about programme information, course

information, examination/result information and academic services. Course

information provides information about student’s current semester, course schedule

and previous semester. Students are able to view information on their confirmation

slip, course timetable, examination timetable, result slip and student clearance system

in academic services section.

MyServices provides features such as student’s applications,

collaboration/communication tools, mahallah information, academic services and

reset password. In student’s applications section, hyperlinks to Learning Management

System (LMS), Library, IIUM e-Counseling and Smartcard/Attendance system are

provided for students to easily access them from MyIIUM Student Portal. Likewise,

with the collaboration/communication section, students are able to connect with other

students via webmail, Yahoo mail and Google mail. For mahallah service section,

students are able to register for mahallah such as perform check in/out online, and

view information on mahallah schedule pre-registration. Academic services provided

in MyServices is similar with academic services provided in MyAcademic section.

MyServices also allows students externally to reset student’s pin/password for Google

mail, IIUM Software Repository, library, LMS and Smartcard/Attendance. The

Miscellaneous section allows students to gain information in getting connected to

IIUM Wireless, and to register and verify MAC address for his/her computer

workstation.

6

Since the MyIIUM Student Portal was implemented, to the best of the

researcher’s knowledge, there has not been a study carried out to gain insight into

students’ satisfaction with the portal. An insight into students’ satisfaction may assist

in identifying potential improvement areas for the IIUM Information Technology

Division (ITD) when prioritising required actions for the student portal.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In guiding the research, the following questions were formulated:

1. What is the level of student’s satisfaction with the IIUM Student Portal?

2. Is there a significant difference in individual/student’s characteristics for

students’ satisfaction with the IIUM Student Portal?

a) Is there a significant difference in students’ satisfaction with the IIUM

Student Portal for male and female?

b) Is there a significant difference in students’ satisfaction with the IIUM

Student Portal for Malaysian and non-Malaysian students?

c) Is there a significant difference in students’ satisfaction with the IIUM

Student Portal for Information Technology, Islamic Revealed Knowledge

and Human Science and Economics and Management Science students?

d) Is there a significance difference in the effect of students’ academic

programme on students’ satisfaction with the IIUM Student Portal for

male and female?

7

1.6 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The research objectives of this study are to answer the above research questions.

1. To measure students’ satisfaction level with the IIUM Student Portal.

2. To investigate students’ characteristics and students’ satisfaction with the

IIUM Student Portal.

1.7 DEFINITION OF COMMON TERMS

This research uses terminologies like Portal and Satisfaction.

1.7.1 Portal

Dias (2001) defined a portal purpose as “facilitating access to information contained

in documents spread throughout the Internet”. Detlor (2000) defined a corporate portal

as a tool to promote, gather, share and disseminate information within an organisation.

A Web portal is able to provide users with online information and information-related

services such as search function, community building features, commerce offerings,

personal productivity applications and communication channel between portal owner

and users (Yang et al., 2005). In this study, portal refers to a single integrated point to

access to other information, system and link.

1.7.2 Satisfaction

Satisfaction in this research, comprises dimensions that include End-User Computing

Satisfaction (EUCS) (Doll and Torkzadeh, 1988), User Satisfaction with B2E Portal

(Sugianto and Tojib, 2006), Task-Technology Fit (Goodhue and Thompson, 1995),

Service Quality (Ozkan and Keseler, 2009) and WebQual (Loiacono et al., 2002). Doll

and Torzadeh (1988) defined EUCS as “affective attitude towards a specific computer

8

application by someone who interacts with the application directly”. They have

developed five instruments to measure user satisfaction with information system:

content, accuracy, ease of use, timeliness and format. In this study, End-User

Computing Satisfaction refers to the student’s affective attitude towards the IIUM

Student Portal (Doll and Torkzadeh, 1988).

Goodhue and Thompson (1995) defined Task-Technology Fit (TTF) as the

“degree to which a technology assists an individual in performing his/her portfolio of

tasks”. They stressed that information system success need to recognise both the task

for which the technology is used and the fit between the task and the technology. In

this study, TTF refers to student satisfaction with technology ability to fit and support

students learning and administration activities (McGill and Klobas, 2009) while

accommodating them with a variety of student ability such as communication channel,

accessing learning materials and interactive activities.

Trust refers to user’s belief and perception about portal attributes and functions

(Flavian et al., 2006). Security of information provides the assurance of information

confidentiality and frees from security breach issues (Sugianto and Tojib, 2006). Yang

et al., (2005) defined privacy as the promises in the website in protecting user personal

information. In this dissertation, trust refers to an expectation that the promise in the

portal can be relied on (Flavian et al., 2006). Information security refers to assuring

the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information in the portal (Sugianto and

Tojib, 2006). Information privacy refers to the degree that the students’ information is

exposed to others (Yang et al., 2005).

Design quality refers to the quality user experience in using the portal where

the instruments consist of consistent image, relative advantage, visual appeal,

innovativeness (Loiacono et al., 2002) website structure, entry guidance (Muylle et al.,

9

2004) and aesthetic design (Yoo and Donthu, 2001). In this study, portal design

quality refers to the quality of user’s experience with the IIUM Student Portal (Muylle

et al., 2004).

Service quality refers to the users’ overall judgement about system assurance,

empathy, and responsiveness (Ong et al., 2009). In this research, service quality refers

to how well the IIUM Student Portal service delivery matches the user’s expectation

(Negash et al., 2003).

1.8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

User satisfaction of the system is very important factor for organisations and

institution to determine the system success. This study is expected to contribute for

theoretical framework and portal design.

1.8.1Contributions to Theoretical Framework

This study has developed and tested a theoretical model on satisfaction with an

academic portal in an educational institution. The model was developed based on the

End-User Computing Satisfaction (Doll and Torkzadeh, 1988), User Satisfaction with

B2E Portal (Sugianto and Tojib, 2006), Task-Technology Fit (Goodhue and

Thompson, 1995), Service Quality (Ozkan and Keseler, 2009) and WebQual

(Loiacono et al., 2002).

1.8.2 Contributions to Practice

The research findings are expected to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the

student portal. Thereafter, the IIUM Information Technology Division (ITD) may gain

10

insights into future enhancement areas for the student portal and identify possible

actionable items and prioritise them accordingly.

1.9 CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter has introduced the research area that includes research background,

research context and problem statement, research questions and research objectives.

The next chapter will present a review of literature on information system success

measurement approaches.