<![CDATA[Academic service quality is an important component of students’ experiences in higher education. Although previous studies have examined the relationship between academic service quality and student satisfaction, empirical evidence in the context of the Business Education Program B, Faculty of Economics, Universitas Negeri Medan, particularly among the 2023 cohort, remains limited. This study aimed to analyze the effect of academic service quality on student satisfaction among students of the Business Education Program B, Faculty of Economics, Universitas Negeri Medan, 2023 cohort. A quantitative approach with an ex post facto design was employed. The study involved 36 students, all of whom were included as respondents using a saturated sampling technique. Data were collected through a four-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using simple linear regression with the assistance of IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. Prior to the main analysis, the research instrument was assessed through validity and reliability tests, followed by regression assumption testing. The findings indicate that academic service quality has a positive and statistically significant effect on student satisfaction, as shown by a significance value of 0.0013, which is below the 0.05 significance level. Descriptive analysis showed that academic service quality was perceived as good, with a mean score of 2.7833, while student satisfaction was categorized as satisfied, with a mean score of 3.0521. The coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.266 indicates that academic service quality accounts for 26.6% of the variance in student satisfaction, while the remaining 73.4% is attributable to other factors outside the research model. These findings provide empirical support for the role of academic service quality in shaping student satisfaction within the context of higher education. The findings also imply that maintaining and improving the reliability, responsiveness, clarity, and supporting facilities of academic services may contribute to a better student experience. Future research is encouraged to examine additional factors, such as learning quality, lecturer–student interpersonal communication, institutional image, learning motivation, and academic climate, using broader samples and, where appropriate, qualitative or mixed-methods approaches.]]>
