Examining Front-Line Administrative Services in a Selected Public Higher Education Institution

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

     This research delves into the encounters of front-line administrative personnel at Durban University of Technology (DUT), specifically examining the difficulties they encounter and how these challenges affect teaching, learning, and the broader academic activities at the institution. Convenience sampling is employed and a self-administered questionnaire is selected as the research instrument. The research findings provide evidence-based information on the deficiencies in front-line administrative services, their effects on the various stakeholders and the urgency of implementing improvements.

The manuscript is clear, relevant for the field and presented in a well-structured manner.

·       Hypothesis, methodology and conclusions are accurate.

·       References are appropriate,  mostly  including recent publications

·       (228) it enumerates Batho Pele principles quite well, but they should be explained in more depth in the article.It is difficult to understand the meaning of concepts as the principle “The value for money”.

·       The manuscript is scientifically sound and the experimental design is appropriate to test the hypothesis. The inefficiency of front-line administrative services  has a direct impact on the core mission of teaching and learning. Academic staff, who are responsible for ensuring the quality of teaching and learning, are often overburdened with excessive administrative tasks, thus compromising the educational process. These inefficiencies affect all stakeholders in higher education institutions (HEIs), with first-time entrants (FTENs) being particularly vulnerable when navigating in a new academic environment. Consequently, the observed inefficiencies justify the imperative need to examine and address front-line administrative services in HEIs.

·       Figures and tables are easy to understand, but Figure 2 should detail the platforms used to log queries and success as well as failure rate.

·       270. The study demonstrates the high level of consistency and reliability of the research.

·       The article is written in an appropriate English language, it is correctly designed and technically sound. The results and conclusions of the study are related to the hypotheses and statements of the research, but the interpretation of the results obtained should be further elaborated.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for dedicating your time and expertise to review our work. Your insightful comments and input are immensely appreciated and will undoubtedly contribute to the refinement and enhancement of our research. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback.

Warm regards

Reviewer 1 - Comments & Authors’ responses

Date: 12/04/2024

Overall Authors’ response:

Dear reviewer,

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for dedicating your time and expertise to review our work. Your insightful comments and input are immensely appreciated and will undoubtedly contribute to the refinement and enhancement of our research. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback.

Warm regards

1.Reviewer’s comments:

This research delves into the encounters of front-line administrative personnel at Durban University of Technology (DUT), specifically examining the difficulties they encounter and how these challenges affect teaching, learning, and the broader academic activities at the institution. Convenience sampling is employed and a self-administered questionnaire is selected as the research instrument. The research findings provide evidence-based information on the deficiencies in front-line administrative services, their effects on the various stakeholders and the urgency of implementing improvements. The manuscript is clear, relevant for the field and presented in a well-structured manner. Hypothesis, methodology and conclusions are accurate. References are appropriate, mostly including recent publications

Authors’ responses:

Thank you for the above positive comments

2. Reviewer’s comments:

(228) it enumerates Batho Pele principles quite well, but they should be explained in more depth in the article. It is difficult to understand the meaning of concepts as the principle “The value for money”.

Authors’ responses:

In-depth explanation for each principle is now given in the article page 5 (249-266).

3. Reviewer’s comments:

The manuscript is scientifically sound and the experimental design is appropriate to test the hypothesis. The inefficiency of front-line administrative services has a direct impact on the core mission of teaching and learning. Academic staff, who are responsible for ensuring the quality of teaching and learning, are often overburdened with excessive administrative tasks, thus compromising the educational process. These inefficiencies affect all stakeholders in higher education institutions (HEIs), with first-time entrants (FTENs) being particularly vulnerable when navigating in a new academic environment. Consequently, the observed inefficiencies justify the imperative need to examine and address front-line administrative services in HEIs.

Authors’ response:

Thank you for the above positive comments

4. Reviewer’s comments:

Figures and tables are easy to understand, but Figure 2 should detail the platforms used to log queries and success as well as failure rate.

Authors’ response:

Thank you for the above comment, However the information is now present. In figure 2 all 3 platforms used to log queries are present, namely face-face basis, remotely without visiting the university and partly remotely and partly face-face. The success rate and failure rate are presented by a “Yes” and a “No”. We have also clarified this in page 9 line 384 – 387.

5. Reviewer’s comments:
6. The study demonstrates the high level of consistency and reliability of the research.

The article is written in an appropriate English language, it is correctly designed and technically sound. The results and conclusions of the study are related to the hypotheses and statements of the research, but the interpretation of the results obtained should be further elaborated.

Authors’ response:

Thank you for your positive comments.

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors,

Thank you for the opportunity to review your manuscript, which seeks to illuminate the complex dynamics of front-line administrative services in public higher education institutions and their consequential impact on student experiences

In the following sections, you will find detailed observations and recommendations aimed at refining and strengthening your manuscript. These suggestions are intended to enhance clarity, deepen the analysis, and ensure that your valuable research reaches and resonates with a wide audience, thereby contributing to meaningful improvements in the administrative services of higher education institutions.

Title

While providing critical details, the current title could be tightened and clarified to better meet the criteria of being concise, specific, and relevant. A more precisely worded but shorter title is recommended.

Abstract

The abstract covers the essential elements reasonably well, maintaining an objective tone.

Tightening the wording to reduce length, providing a few more key methodological and result details, and increasing specificity in a few places could strengthen it further.

Keywords

The current keywords are appropriate and capture core concepts.

Minor refinements incorporating a methodology keyword, and more specific staff descriptor could potentially enhance their utility and specificity further.

Introduction

the introduction is well-structured and satisfies most of the requirements - providing context, purpose, significance, literature review, and highlighting the main aim.

 A succinct statement of the main conclusions and modest tightening of some of the details would further strengthen this section.

Materials and Methods

Details are given on the study setting (Durban University of Technology), target population (first-time entry Bachelor of Information Management students, with total population of 288 stated), and intended sample size of 160 based on sample size guidance from the literature. The sampling method used (convenience sampling due to practical constraints) and data collection instrument (self-administered questionnaire for cost/efficiency reasons) are also explained. Appropriate information is provided about steps taken to ensure reliability through pilot testing, calculating Cronbach's alpha, and meeting the recommended 0.7 threshold as shown in Table 1. Validity was addressed through pretesting the questionnaire.

Ethical considerations aligned with the institution's guidelines are mentioned, though specific details are lacking. Some minor wording edits could tighten the section. Given the unique context of DUT and its challenges, incorporating a comparative analysis with other public higher learning institutions within South Africa could enrich the study. This comparison might offer broader insights into systemic issues and potential best practices.

Results

The Results section is well-developed, presenting and interpreting the key findings relating to each objective in a systematic manner.

Enhancing subsection transitions, expanding the broader discussion, and addressing limitations/future work could further strengthen this section.

Conclusions

Conclusions section successfully synthesizes the core results, implications and recommendations arising from the study. It covers the essential points while highlighting DUT's opportunities to elevate its administrative services and student experience.

The section could be strengthened by offering more concrete recommendations for practice. The opening paragraph could be tightened slightly by removing a few redundancies. Future research directions are not covered.

We appreciate your dedication to exploring this important topic and look forward to your response to the review comments.

Kind regards,

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for dedicating your time and expertise to review our work. Your insightful comments and input are immensely appreciated and will undoubtedly contribute to the refinement and enhancement of our research. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback.

Warm regards

Reviewer 2 - Comments & Authors’ responses

Date: 12/04/2024

Overall Authors’ response:

Dear reviewer,

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for dedicating your time and expertise to review our work. Your insightful comments and input are immensely appreciated and will undoubtedly contribute to the refinement and enhancement of our research. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback.

Warm regards

Reviewer 2 – Comments

Thank you for the opportunity to review your manuscript, which seeks to illuminate the complex dynamics of front-line administrative services in public higher education institutions and their consequential impact on student experiences

In the following sections, you will find detailed observations and recommendations aimed at refining and strengthening your manuscript. These suggestions are intended to enhance clarity, deepen the analysis, and ensure that your valuable research reaches and resonates with a wide audience, thereby contributing to meaningful improvements in the administrative services of higher education institutions.

Title

Reviewer’s comments:

While providing critical details, the current title could be tightened and clarified to better meet the criteria of being concise, specific, and relevant. A more precisely worded but shorter title is recommended.

Authors’ responses:

We have amended the tittle as per below:

 “Examining Front-line Administrative Services in a selected Public Higher Education institution”

Abstract

Reviewer’s comments:

The abstract covers the essential elements reasonably well, maintaining an objective tone.

Tightening the wording to reduce length, providing a few more key methodological and result details, and increasing specificity in a few places could strengthen it further.

Authors’ responses:

The abstract has been revised accordingly, few more key methodological and result details are now provided on line 15 – 29, page 1.

Keywords

Reviewer’s comments:

The current keywords are appropriate and capture core concepts.

Minor refinements incorporating a methodology keyword, and more specific staff descriptor could potentially enhance their utility and specificity further.

Authors’ responses

Thank you for the input, we have included a methodology keyword in line 34, however with regards to the keyword used to describe the staff members in-question, we believe is the best fit.

Introduction

Reviewer’s comments:

The introduction is well-structured and satisfies most of the requirements - providing context, purpose, significance, literature review, and highlighting the main aim.

A succinct statement of the main conclusions and modest tightening of some of the details would further strengthen this section.

Authors’ responses:

The comments are well received, and we have actioned them in line 82 -88. The main conclusion on the introductions has been amended accordingly.

Materials and Methods:

Reviewer’s comments:

Details are given on the study setting (Durban University of Technology), target population (first-time entry Bachelor of Information Management students, with total population of 288 stated), and intended sample size of 160 based on sample size guidance from the literature. The sampling method used (convenience sampling due to practical constraints) and data collection instrument (self-administered questionnaire for cost/efficiency reasons) are also explained. Appropriate information is provided about steps taken to ensure reliability through pilot testing, calculating Cronbach's alpha, and meeting the recommended 0.7 threshold as shown in Table 1. Validity was addressed through pretesting the questionnaire.

Ethical considerations aligned with the institution's guidelines are mentioned, though specific details are lacking. Some minor wording edits could tighten the section. Given the unique context of DUT and its challenges, incorporating a comparative analysis with other public higher learning institutions within South Africa could enrich the study. This comparison might offer broader insights into systemic issues and potential best practices.

Authors’ responses:

Thank you for the above comment.

We have revised this section in minor changes were made as per the comment to tighten the section.

Thank you for your insightful comment. We agree that conducting a comparative analysis with other public higher learning institutions within South Africa could indeed enrich our research. However, we believe that such an endeavour could be explored in future studies, perhaps as an empirical investigation on its own. Our current study was focused solely on understanding the experiences of DUT students. Nevertheless, we value your suggestion and acknowledge its potential for incorporation into future research endeavours.

Results

Reviewer’s comments:

The Results section is well-developed, presenting and interpreting the key findings relating to each objective in a systematic manner.

Enhancing subsection transitions, expanding the broader discussion, and addressing limitations/future work could further strengthen this section.

Authors’ responses:

We have addressed the comment regarding to limitations/future work in lines 586-590.

Conclusions

Reviewer’s comments:

Conclusions section successfully synthesizes the core results, implications and recommendations arising from the study. It covers the essential points while highlighting DUT's opportunities to elevate its administrative services and student experience.

The section could be strengthened by offering more concrete recommendations for practice.

The opening paragraph could be tightened slightly by removing a few redundancies.

Future research directions are not covered.

Authors’ responses:

Recommendations for practice are now provided, see line 631-634.

The opening paragraph has been amended accordingly, we have rephrased and removed all redundancies.

Opportunities for future research is now provided, see line 640-642

We appreciate your dedication to exploring this important topic and look forward to your response to the review comments.

Kind regards,

Reviewer 3 Report

1.     Front-line administrative service is a very specific rule in South Africa. What is the content of administrative service? All of the services the same in different organization? Is it a kind of compulsory services for all of the young adults or for the university students? There are some descriptions regarding front line administration service related to the research. However, I am curious about the questions above.

2.     It’s good that the results answered the questions proposed in the introduction session.

3.     Generally speaking the manuscript was well written, and the data analysis procedure was conducted strictly, results were well reported.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for dedicating your time and expertise to review our work. Your insightful comments and input are immensely appreciated and will undoubtedly contribute to the refinement and enhancement of our research. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback.

Warm regards

Reviewer 3 - Comments & Authors’ responses

Date: 12/04/2024

Overall Authors’ response:

Dear reviewer,

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for dedicating your time and expertise to review our work. Your insightful comments and input are immensely appreciated and will undoubtedly contribute to the refinement and enhancement of our research. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback.

Warm regards

Reviewer’s comments:

Front-line administrative service is a very specific rule in South Africa.

Reviewer’s comments:

What is the content of administrative service?

Authors’ responses:

Administrative services encompass a broad range of functions and tasks aimed at facilitating the smooth operation and management of an organization.

Please refer to line 76 and 81.

Reviewer’s comments:

All of the services the same in different organization?

Authors’ response:

Generally, frontline administrative staff serve as the face of the organization, providing essential support to both internal and external stakeholders and contributing to the efficient opera-tion of the business. However, day to day task may vary depending on the nature of the organisation. Please see line 82-88.

Reviewer’s comments:

Is it a kind of compulsory services for all of the young adults or for the university students?

Authors’ responses:

Yes, these services are compulsory to be rendered to all students, they help the facilitation of day to day processes. Most importantly, these services must be satisfactory as FTENs may be not familiar and still transitioning to the new university environment.

Reviewer’s comments:

There are some descriptions regarding front line administration service related to the research. However, I am curious about the questions above.

It’s good that the results answered the questions proposed in the introduction session.

Generally speaking the manuscript was well written, and the data analysis procedure was conducted strictly, results were well reported.

Authors’ responses:

Thank you for the positive comment