Although the student satisfaction literature has been well-established, critical drivers of student satisfaction amid the COVID-19 pandemic require further investigation. Therefore, drawing upon expectation-disconfirmation theory (EDT) and protection motivation theory (PMT), we propose a conceptual model incorporating service quality and perceived safety to predict student satisfaction in times of pandemic. We applied a PLS-SEM approach to examine the model empirically with a sample of 505 university students in Taiwan. The findings revealed that higher education institutions (HEIs) should accentuate greater safety value by adjusting their service quality to current students' challenges of attaining a safe state. The adjustments can strengthen students' perceived safety, subsequently influencing their satisfaction with HEIs services. This study is an earlier attempt to contribute to the student satisfaction literature associated with a pandemic, and it offers valuable directions for HEIs in maintaining student satisfaction during or post-pandemic time.