Undergraduate Students’ Expectations of Teaching and Learning

A Multi-Stream Analysis in Higher Education

Abstract

In the evolving higher education landscape, understanding, prioritizing, and meeting students' needs is vital for service quality, institutional survival, and competitiveness. This study assesses the undergraduate students' expectations in regard to teaching, learning, assessment types, and teacher qualities in Kathmandu Valley.  A descriptive research design with a quantitative survey approach was employed. Data were collected from 611 newly enrolled undergraduate students in Management, Information Technology, and Humanities programs within the Kathmandu Valley and analyzed using frequency distribution, mean scores, ranking analysis, the Kruskal–Wallis H test, and post hoc Mann–Whitney U tests. Across the disciplines, the findings revealed that students prefer knowledgeable instructors, practical and relevant learning, authentic assessments, and interactive teaching methods, highlighting a shift toward more engaging and applied learning over traditional lecture- and exam-based approaches in Nepalese higher education. The findings inform improvements to enhance curriculum delivery, assessment practices, technology integration, and teachers’ professional development.