Keywords

1 Introduction

The world has a radical changes and transformations that have led to increased growth and significant changes in various areas of life [1]. This has changed the nature of economic, administrative and social activities. Updated services and products have become an opportunity that no institution can ignore, as these technologies have changed the job and attitudes of individuals. It worked on developing new phenomena, such as: e-business and e-commerce, which created new ways of providing services, and which have a close relationship with information and communication technology [2].

The concept of electronic systems is a modern concept compared to other concepts and has great importance, especially in the rapid developments in information and communication technologies, as a concept that includes the use of information and communication technologies through interaction between individuals and organizations and the contribution of individuals in the decision-making process, finding ways to access information, and increasing transparency [3]. The emergence of the concept of electronic systems and their applications has led to an increase in efficiency and effectiveness, a reduction in routine work [4]. It is required of these systems, and perhaps one of the most prominent administrative aspects affected by the application of electronic management [5].

Most universities have sought to implement electronic systems and provide their services to students electronically, in order to improve the level of services provided. The benefits of systems are not limited the administrative activities, but rather extends to the economic and social aspects of the university, which made its study and study of its effects one of the important topics that must be shed light on [6].

The University College has endeavored steadily towards encouraging and supporting projects for the application of electronic management systems [7]. Obviously, the size of competition in the Gaza Strip compared to its geographical area and population, which forces them to find creative solutions to confront these limitations, and perhaps the most important of these solutions is to continuously improve their performance [8].

The importance of this study comes from its subject. More precisely, the research derives its importance from the fact that it deals with a vital and modern topic of management issues. Many universities pay great attention to the electronic systems. They dedicate great resources to its development in order to contribute to improving the quality of their services, and its various tools. The electronic systems are one of the most important systems which support the development of the performance of universities as an administrative strategy in general, and its application in particular in educational institutions. This research carries its importance from the scientific and practical perspectives.

The remainder of the paper are organized as follows: the research model and research hypotheses are then constructed in Sect. 2 by merging earlier students’ satisfaction research. Section 3 introduces the methodology. Section 4 discusses the study's findings, and Sect. 5 wraps things up with a discussion of the findings, limitations, and future research.

2 Theoretical Background

2.1 Students’ Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction in general is a complex concept, because satisfaction differs from one person to another, and customer satisfaction refers to the product of comparing the customer’s feeling before using the product or service with the actual performance of the product or service. [9]. As customer satisfaction is a function of the perceived and expected service performance, in the event that the service performance fails to meet the customer’s expectations, the customer will be satisfied and satisfied, and in this case the customer remains closely associated with this organization. Hope, and leaves dealing with the organization in the future, in the event that the service matches the expectations of the customer, the customer feels satisfied and comfortable, and if the performance of the service exceeds the expectations of the customer in this case, the customer is closely linked to this organization [10].

Given the importance of student satisfaction, universities should be careful and work to achieve this satisfaction, so that the university can acquire and maintain the largest number of students, which leads to its development and growth in various academic fields. Therefore, measuring student satisfaction objectively determines the extent to which students are satisfied with the educational and administrative services provided by the university, and allows the appropriate decisions to be taken to close the gap between student satisfaction and the quality of education [11].

2.2 The Concept of Electronic Systems

Electronic systems differ in their nature from paper systems in terms of the degree of diversity in the quantity and quality of information available in each system [12]. The revolution of information and communication technology has invaded most areas of life, and the learning process has become much easier through the use of many virtual application programs that can be used over the Internet [13]. Sadeh [14] defines electronic management systems as an integrated electronic system that aims to transform normal administrative work. While Kvon [15] defines it as a system in which each of the functional sub-systems in the database shares, so that any function is performed on the master file.

2.2.1 Electronic Services

It is the effective integrative use of all information technologies and communications to carry out all work related to services with the aim of facilitating and accelerating these services, which are provided by organizations. Within the organizations themselves, or between them and those that link them to individuals, auditors or sectors. Business, and the major electronic services [16].

The electronic services require the synergy of all sections and parts of organizations, as a continuous coordination between the departments to remove obstacles within the organization bodies, as well as the administrative, educational and technical ones that confront the implementation of electronic services, as there are main principles that must be taken into account when planning.

So, electronic services are to transform the normal administrative work from the manual pattern into an integrated digital system that aims to electronically, by relying on powerful information systems that help in introducing services as quickly as possible and at the lowest costs. An integrated electronic service that relies on communication and information technologies to transform manual administrative work into a system. Works carried out by modern digital technologies by eliminating paper transactions and replace the electronic services through the widespread use of technology [17].

This section regarding the electronic services has been divided into two parts:

  1. A.

    Electronic payment system

Electronic payment methods achieve great and multiple benefits for the economy, as electronic payment methods are considered as the entry to the banking system, which works on the circulation of money, which enhances transparency and increases trust and participation [18].

  1. B.

    Admission and registration system

The University’s Admission and Registration Department seeks to maintain speed in achievement. Students are the focus of the educational process. Universities provide a system that informs the student of all administrative and academic cadres present to serve him, so that this system works to solve the problems that guide students and remedy them as soon as possible according to the directives of the university president, through the application of the latest technologies in administrative and academic work through harmony with Students' aspirations and desires. [19].

Based on the above, we expect the following hypothesis:

H1:

UCAS students’ satisfaction is positively influenced by electronic services.

2.2.2 E-learning Systems

In light of the technological developments and the spread of epidemics globally, the new challenge for universities is to develop effective e-learning environments and tools suitable for distance learning. E-learning that takes into account service considerations includes mixed methods on current e-learning environments to determine how to improve their quality.

The aim is to develop e-learning features to become more useful and accessible. A number of problems have emerged as a result of introducing the new e-learning environment within the framework of university education. It was found that the success of the current e-learning systems depends largely on the level of system functionality and the pattern of interaction. System complexity and user difficulties in using current e-learning systems can be resolved or fixed by providing easier interaction between students and teachers.

By examining the design and implementation of high-quality e-learning services in educational environments for the use of information systems, levels of interaction and cooperation between users are evaluated to determine the key attributes of success in an e-learning system [20].

E-learning systems have been divided into two parts as follows:

  1. A.

    Moodle System

It is an open-source system (Open-Source Software) to automate educational activities, as it was developed by Martin Dougiamas in 1999 and was previously known as “MOOCH”, and was launched in 2002 as a platform, and this platform was known as a global success, as it was translated into thirty languages, many programmers are spread across the world and work in coordination with the Australian company that produced this platform to make full updates and introduce new functions to it [21]. It is considered one of the e-learning platforms and headquarters management systems, [22], and the interface of a Moodle is somewhat similar to Internet portals in the entry mechanism of the platform. It is used by universities, educational institutions and even commercial companies to produce courses for the development of educational activities [23].

  1. B.

    Classroom

Electronic classrooms create new opportunities for teaching and learning by integrating computer, multimedia, audio-visual and networking technologies [24] and Qasim [25] define Google Classroom as a simple and easy-to-use tool that helps teachers manage training course tasks. The primary purpose of Google Classroom is to simplify the process of sharing files between teachers and students. As Goh & Wen [26] pointed out, it is a computerized internet-based system that integrates G Suite educational applications with all other services and applications, and allows its users to e-learning and manage its operations.

We formulate the following hypothesis based on the above:

H2:

UCAS students’ satisfaction is positively influenced by the e-learning systems.

Figure 1 illustrates the study's conceptual structure. In this model, the dependent variable (i.e. UCAS students’ satisfaction) is linked to the independent variables (i.e. electronic services, and e-learning systems).

Fig. 1.
figure 1

The research framework

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3 Methodology

3.1 Participants

As stated in Table 1, 463 respondents completed the questionnaire and returned it. In the table, the results of the demographic variables were shown.

Table 1. Profile of respondents (n = 463)
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3.2 Procedures

The descriptive technique was used to explain the existing situation and to respond to crucial questions on the impact of the application of electronic systems on the UCAS students’ satisfaction. As a result, the major approach for this study was a survey, with data collected via a Google form. The URL to the Google form was circulated on social media (Facebook, WhatsApp, and emails). To comply with local language norms, the original questionnaire was properly translated into Arabic. It was then reviewed and pilot tested for correctness by two native Arabic speakers. All UCAS students were given the questionnaire. IBM SPSS software version 21 was used for statistical analysis.

3.3 Measures

The survey was conducted using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = no opinion/neutral, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree). There were three parts to the survey. The electronic services are evaluated using nine questions in the first part, which is based on [16,17,18,19]. In the second part, Limongelli et al., [21], Kerimbayev et al., [24], Qasim et al., [21], and Goh and Wen [26] were used to research e-learning systems, and eight items were produced based on their findings. Gong, [9], and Shauchenka and Busłowska [11] provide eight questions to measure UCAS students’ satisfaction in the third part.

4 Results

4.1 Factor Analysis

To see if the factor analysis was appropriate for the research, the KMO and Bartlett's tests were utilized. The reliability test results should be more than 0.7. The results of the Bartlett's Sphericity test should also be less than 0.05. The KMO value of 0.742 above the acceptable threshold of 0.000, implying that this analysis is adequate for the research.

One principle factor is rotated using the varimax normalization to build the factor score coefficient matrix created by principal components analysis [27,28,29], as illustrated in Table 2. The factor has 25 items. According to the research, the lowest loading threshold for factor loadings on various scales is 0.30 [30,31,32,33,34,35]. Table 2 shows that all of the loadings are more than 0.30, indicating that the scales’ construct validity is preserved.

Table 2. Reliability and factor loading of the constructs.
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4.2 Hypotheses Testing

Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the independent variables (i.e. electronic services, and e-learning systems) and the dependent variable (i.e. UCAS students’ satisfaction). The objective of the multiple regression analysis was to see how the independent variables influenced the UCAS students’ satisfaction.

Table 3 demonstrates that independent factors account for 58.4% of the variation in UCAS student satisfaction (adjusted R2 = 0. 584). Because the F value was substantial at 0.000, the model's quality was confirmed. Electronic services (t = 5.041, p 0.000) and e-learning systems (t = 6.021, p 0.000) were both positively connected to UCAS students’ satisfaction, as shown in Table 3. As a result, the data suggested that H1, and H2, respectively, were strongly supported by the data.

Table 3. Results of multiple regression analysis.
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5 Discussion

5.1 Discussion of Findings

This study investigates the link between the independent factors (i.e. electronic services, and e-learning systems) and the dependent variable (i.e. UCAS students’ satisfaction). The electronic services have a favorable impact on the UCAS students’ satisfaction. This could be attributed to the following: the electronic student services at the UCAS are efficient; the procedures for registering courses through the Student Services System are easy and clear; the UCAS provides brochures and/or indicative electronic training courses that explain the mechanism of using the student services system; services system allows students to easily access study schedules and exam dates at any time; the electronic payment system is very convenient compared to the traditional payment methods; the electronic payment system helps students to pay tuition fees easily and at any time; the instructions and procedures for paying university fees electronically are clear, organized and announced; the electronic payment system reminds the fees owed by students; the admission and registration system provides a form for registering study subjects with ease; the admission and registration system is suitable and easy to access; and the UCAS provides students with the appropriate technical assistance in the event of a problem in the admission and registration system. This result is in consistency with previous studies [1, 18, 24, 26] which proved that the students use the admission and registration system and the electronic payment system comfortably compared to the traditional payment methods.

The findings also indicated a link between e-learning systems and UCAS students’ satisfaction. This could be attributed to the following: there was a gradual transition from traditional education to e-learning by the UCAS; the Moodle system helps students to complete assignments faster than the traditional method; instructors possess sufficient skills to design and produce effective electronic content for the courses; the model system is flexible and students can deal with it easily; tests and evaluation of students via the model is flexible and effective; instructors provide interactive materials throughout the Classroom; students have the competence and skill to deal with Classroom; there is ease in direct communication with instructors or students through the Classroom technology; using Google Docs to create, edit and share documents and documents with colleagues via Classroom; and students can ask any questions and inquiries through the Classroom and they are answered by the instructors. This result is in line with previous studies [21,22,23,24,25,26] where they found a considerable level of students’ satisfaction towards using the Classroom technology, Google Docs, and Moodle.

Based on the above, it is logical to see a high level of UCAS students’ satisfaction. This is due to the following: students are satisfied with the electronic systems available at the UCAS; there is a continuous improvement of electronic services in the UCAS; students are satisfied with the quality of electronic services and the facilities for educational activities; the electronic systems used in the UCAS help students to understand the scientific material in a clear and smooth manner; the UCAS is working on following up on complaints and suggestions submitted by students regarding the applied electronic systems; the UCAS overcomes the obstacles that students face while dealing with electronic services; the systems are secure; and the systems are flexible and quick to deal with and can be worked on from college or home efficiently. This result is in consistency with previous studies [9,10,11].

5.2 Limitations and Further Research

The study's empirical findings included contextual and applicability limitations. Our findings are based on UCAS student answers. As a result, it's impossible to make broad generalizations regarding Palestinian colleges and universities.

The researchers suggest that the model be re-examined in different universities as part of future research. In addition, the model may include moderating and/or mediating factors to aid in the understanding of the relationships and mechanisms that support the current situation.