Aklan, Philippines — Awareness of the Citizen’s Charter is positively associated with satisfaction among internal stakeholders using frontline services at Aklan State University (ASU). This finding comes from research by Arvie C. Gan and Anne Cicely R. Samar of Aklan State University, which examined stakeholders’ awareness, perceptions of implementation, and satisfaction with university administrative services. The findings highlight that simply displaying service standards is not enough; active communication and meaningful stakeholder engagement are also important for improving service experiences.
The Citizen’s Charter is a public-service mechanism required in the Philippines under Republic Act No. 9485, or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, and Republic Act No. 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018. These laws require government institutions, including state universities, to provide accessible information about service procedures, requirements, processing times, and service standards.
At Aklan State University, the Citizen’s Charter is implemented across frontline service offices, including the Registrar’s Office, Office of Student Affairs and Services (OSAS), and Human Resource Management Office (HRMO). Although the information is available across the university’s five campuses, the study found a gap between the physical presence of the Charter and stakeholders’ actual understanding and use of the information.
The researchers used a mixed-method approach that combined quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews. A total of 250 internal stakeholders participated in the survey, consisting of students, faculty members, and staff from the five campuses. The questionnaire used a five-point Likert scale to measure awareness of the Citizen’s Charter, perceptions of its implementation, and satisfaction with service quality. Interviews with nine key informants were then conducted to provide deeper explanations of the survey findings and identify service gaps.
The survey showed that stakeholders had a high level of awareness of the Citizen’s Charter. The overall awareness mean score was 3.81, classified as “Highly Aware.” This indicates that students, faculty members, and staff generally recognized the existence and provisions of the Citizen’s Charter within the university.
Perceptions of Citizen’s Charter implementation were also high. Visibility received a mean score of 4.22, efficiency 4.13, responsiveness 4.23, and physical setup 4.23. These results indicate that stakeholders viewed the Charter as well implemented in terms of information visibility, service efficiency, staff responsiveness, and the physical environment of frontline service areas.
Stakeholders also reported high satisfaction across all five dimensions of service quality measured through the SERVQUAL framework. Reliability and assurance received the highest mean scores at 4.34 each, followed by tangibles at 4.30, empathy at 4.30, and responsiveness at 4.29. The results indicate positive perceptions of service consistency, staff competence, information accuracy, facilities, attention to users, and responsiveness.
The relationship between awareness and satisfaction was statistically significant. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.520 with a p-value of 0.000, indicating a moderate positive relationship. In practical terms, stakeholders with greater awareness of the Citizen’s Charter tended to report higher satisfaction with university frontline services.
The combined influence of Citizen’s Charter awareness and perceived implementation on satisfaction was also substantial. The regression model produced an R value of 0.784 and an R² of 0.615. This means that approximately 61.5 percent of the variation in client satisfaction was explained by awareness and perceived implementation of the Citizen’s Charter. The model was statistically significant, with an F value of 197.049 and a p-value of 0.000.
However, interviews revealed that high awareness did not necessarily mean deep understanding. Stakeholders often knew about the Citizen’s Charter because they had seen it displayed in university offices, but they did not always understand its contents or how to use it. The researchers described this condition as “Seen but Not Understood,” where visibility does not automatically translate into functional knowledge of service rights, procedures, and standards.
Another issue involved the design and placement of the Charter. Participants reported that font size, layout, and location could make the information difficult to notice or engage with. As a result, information that was technically available was not always effective in encouraging stakeholders to read and understand the Charter.
The study also identified weaknesses in information dissemination. Some stakeholders had not received formal orientations, seminars, flyers, or campaigns explaining the Citizen’s Charter. The researchers therefore recommended stronger Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) strategies to ensure that stakeholders do more than recognize the Charter’s existence and actually understand how it can be used.
Service delivery consistency was another concern. Interviews indicated that processing times could be affected by limited equipment, workload, and the number of clients. One example involved library card processing, where limited equipment restricted the number of cards that could be issued in a day despite the stated service timeframe. Queues and other resource constraints could therefore affect the actual service experience.
The findings suggest that improving frontline services requires more than physically displaying a Citizen’s Charter. Universities also need to communicate service information through accessible, engaging, and user-centered channels. Digital platforms and interactive communication strategies could help stakeholders develop a deeper understanding of service standards and improve their engagement with university services.
Overall, Gan and Samar found that frontline service quality at Aklan State University was rated positively, while communication and stakeholder engagement remained areas for improvement. Awareness of the Citizen’s Charter was significantly associated with satisfaction, while awareness and perceived implementation together significantly predicted satisfaction. The study therefore highlights the importance of moving from passive information display toward proactive, interactive, and user-centered communication in university frontline services.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v5i8.163
Journal Link: https://journaleajmr.my.id/index.php/eajmr
0 Komentar