Sociotechnical service quality for students and academics at private higher education institutions in South Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Riaan Dirkse van Schalkwyk ◽  
Jeanette Maritz ◽  
Rigard J. Steenkamp
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Private Higher Education Institutions

scholarly journals A top management perspective of total quality service dimensions for private higher education institutions in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 577-599
Author(s):  
R Dirkse van Schalkwyk ◽  
R J Steenkamp
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Quality Service ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Management Perspective ◽  
Private Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Service Framework

The growing need for higher education in Africa with the concurrent explosive growth of private higher education institutions in South Africa indicates the concomitant need for quality assurance of these institutions. This article presents leadership perspectives on the strategic need for developing a service quality excellence framework for private higher education institutions, a need which arises from the limitations of conventional quality assurance instruments, and highlights the importance of a holistic approach to service quality management in terms of a total quality service framework. The development of such a framework is being done in two phases: (1) from a top management perspective (the qualitative phase) and (2) from the perspective of academics and students (the quantitative phase). This article explains the first phase of the research with the focus on prominent South African private higher education institutions offering degree qualifications. In-depth semi structured interviews were conducted with 15 principals (CEOs or top managers) of these institutions. A thematic analysis approach was followed to identify service quality dimensions as the point of departure for the eventual development of a total quality service framework.

scholarly journals Service quality – Cases of private higher education institutions explored

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 402-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riaan Dirkse van Schalkwyk ◽  
Rigard J. Steenkamp
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
South African ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Niche Markets ◽  
Private Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Educational Need ◽  
Questionnaire Surveys ◽  
Primary Service

The South African higher education landscape has changed significantly. PHEIs (private higher education institutions) play a more important role although they are not yet fully acknowledged as higher education “universities”. This may be a strategic incentive for service quality excellence. It seems if the market responds well to PHEIs, because they complement the higher educational need and cater for unique niche markets. The article reports on the level and importance of service quality in three cases of South African PHEIs with the focus on primary service quality dimensions. The purpose of the study was to explore the strategic importance of service quality at PHEIs per se, its general service quality status and their endeavours to manage (measure and improve) service quality. The investigation followed a mixed method approach and applied interviews, observation and questionnaire surveys (using the SERVQUAL instrument). Case research has consistently been of the most powerful research methods in operations and quality management, particularly in contributing to the paucity of literature and the development of new theory and/or new hypotheses. Besides the paucity of literature, the results indicate that service quality at the PHEIs is a high strategic priority and may be a higher priority than service quality at public universities (a hypothesis for further investigation).

scholarly journals The exploration of service quality and its measurement for private higher education institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Dirkse Van Schalkwyk ◽  
R J Steenkamp
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Service Quality Management ◽  
Private Higher Education Institutions

The strategic importance of service excellence for service industries places the focus on service quality leadership, service quality management systems, service quality dimensions and the measurement of service quality. Many businesses such as private higher education institutions (PHEIs) regard service quality excellence as the single most important and distinct competence for survival and sustainability. The paucity of literature on the topic does not reflect the substantial growth of PHEIs in South Africa, and this paper explores service quality in this context. This exploratory study focuses on service quality (general insights), the need for service quality management and measurement at PHEIs, and the practical value of the SERVQUAL methodologies. The research approach is exploratory in the sense that it involves a literature review and an empirical application of the SERVQUAL instrument at a PHEI. The results (with internal validity) indicate the following three factors: the increasing strategic importance of service quality at PHEIs; good service quality levels at the PHEI studied; and why and how SERVQUAL (and SERVPERF) can benefitt PHEIs.

scholarly journals The Idea of a “For-Profit” Private Christian University in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morné Diederiks
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Christian Higher Education ◽  
Christian University ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Private Higher Education Institutions ◽  
The One

The one-sided focus of Christian higher education in South Africa on the field of theology and the lack of integrating faith and learning in other subjects emphasizes the need for a Christian university in South Africa. The question addressed in this article is whether a Christian university can also be for-profit, considering the fact that all Christian private higher education institutions in South Africa are non-profit. There are numerous criticisms against for-profit higher education institutions. The greatest of these are that for-profit private higher education institutions miss the purpose of what it means to be a university and that profitable higher education institutions exploit students. The church also has numerous criticisms of the profit motive, but from the Bible it is clear that there are two lines of thought regarding profit. The one is that profit is dangerous and that it easily becomes an idol; the other is that people are called to be profitable. This article concludes that there is room for a for-profit Christian higher education institution in South Africa. This for-profit Christian higher education institution should be imagined in terms of its understanding of profit regarding its mission, students, faculty and governance.

scholarly journals EXPLORING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN THE PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS (HEIs) IN SOUTH AFRICA (SA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 516-520
Author(s):  
Robert Walter Dumisani Zondo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
The South ◽  
Private Higher Education Institutions

The role of educators in education is indispensable. Hence, students continuously search for a business education that can equip them with the necessary entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to succeed in running businesses. Consequently, this study evaluates the perception of Academic Managers in the private Higher Education Institutions (HEI) of South Africa (SA) on the significance of entrepreneurship education. It explores the reasons for offering such an education in the private HEIs in SA. There were 78 private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in SA that were identified for participation in this study. These institutions are registered in terms section 54 (1) (c) of the South African Act (SAQA, 2012). For the study to achieve its objectives, the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) provided a sample frame of all the private HEIs in SA. From the 78 HEIs identified, 22 offered the pastoral courses and were excluded from the study. As a result, a target population of 56 HEIs participated in the study. This research has two objectives. That is, examining the perception of Academic Managers on entrepreneurship education, and the reasons for offering such education in the private HEIs in SA. This study uncovers the need for entrepreneurship education in private HEIs of SA. The results present the value of entrepreneurship education as a practice that develops students into cross functional innovative thinkers. It provides valuable data relating to the significance of entrepreneurship education for developing students into business minded individuals.

scholarly journals The potential financial impact and influence of black economic empowerment (BEE) on private higher education institutions in South Africa: management alert

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-56
Author(s):  
Riaan Dirkse van Schalkwyk ◽  
Louis P. Krüger
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
Financial Impact ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Black Economic ◽  
Black Economic Empowerment ◽  
Private Higher Education Institutions

Education is considered an important pillar of economic development and a vital factor for nation building in post-1994 South Africa. Higher education (HE) is offered by government-subsidized universities and colleges, while there has been an increase in the number of private higher education institutions (PHEIs), which offer more expensive, unsubsidized tertiary education. While all state bodies and public entities are required to apply the provisions of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act, this is not (yet) seemingly a requirement for PHEIs. This study used an adapted version of the “5 Star” research methodology to explore the potential financial impact and influence of the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) black economic empowerment (BEE) policy on PHEIs. The research shows that the BEE policy has the potential to financially impact and influence most of the components of the total quality service (TQS) framework for PHEIs in terms of preferential procurement from suppliers, company ownership, appointment of executive, middle and junior managers, employment of academic and administrative staff, and throughput of black student graduates. Management at PHEIs should be alerted to the fact that it is probably not merely a matter of IF, but rather WHEN the policy will start impacting on the financial stability and viability of PHEIs as BEE compliance becomes mandatory.

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