Student Satisfaction Level with the Universidad en el Campo Program, Regional University Center Las Minas 2024

Abstract

In Nicaragua, the Universidad en el Campo (UNICAM) is a flagship program of the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity (GRUN). It was created to guarantee free, high-quality higher education to people in rural areas, people with disabilities, and ethnic groups on the Caribbean Coast who have not had the opportunity to pursue a university degree. UNICAM represents an opportunity to dignify the lives of Nicaraguans. It is a restoration of the right to education for young people, adults, and seniors who wish to continue their academic training, and it is carried out thanks to the will of Co-President José Daniel Ortega Saavedra and Co-President Rosario Murillo Zambrana. This is a study with a mixed-methods approach, since qualitative and quantitative methods are combined, and the design is sequential explanatory. The population consists of 581 students from the UNICAM campuses. The sample includes 231 participants randomly selected through a stratified probabilistic sampling, where the strata are the campuses. The information was collected using the survey technique with a questionnaire written on a Likert scale, which classifies the level of satisfaction on a scale from "very dissatisfied" to "very satisfied." Additionally, the focus group technique was used with an interview guide. The conclusions are related to the level of satisfaction in the dimensions of learning environments and territorial authorities/institutions. They also compare satisfaction in both dimensions, grouping students by campus, major, ethnic group, and gender.