Striving for student satisfaction with studies in the conditions of the turbulent environment of higher education institutions and many factors threatening their functioning has become a difficult challenge for modern universities. The need to take effective actions in this process results from the undeniable benefits that high values of student satisfaction indicators imply – for themselves, academic teachers and universities. The main goal of the article is to present the factors that have a decisive impact on student satisfaction and the effects of this phenomenon based on the analysis of secondary sources and the author's survey research. The determinants and effect of student satisfaction identified by the author as well as the presented models are the result of regression analysis. They are presented divided into levels of studies. The article ends with practical recommendations resulting from the research carried out.