Measuring service quality in higher education

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viraiyan Teeroovengadum ◽  
T.J. Kamalanabhan ◽  
Ashley Keshwar Seebaluck
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Hierarchical Model ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Educational Quality ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality In Higher Education

Purpose – This paper aims to develop and empirically test a hierarchical model for measuring service quality in higher education. Design/methodology/approach – The first phase of the study consisted of qualitative research methods and a comprehensive literature review, which allowed the development of a conceptual model comprising 53 service quality attributes. Quantitative methods were used for the second phase so as to test the dimensionality of the measurement instrument and assess its validity and reliability. A sample of 207 students was surveyed, and data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha test. Findings – The results of the factor analysis revealed the presence of sub-dimensions. A hierarchical model was therefore considered most appropriate. The final model consisted of five primary dimensions, which are administrative quality, physical environment quality, core educational quality, support facilities quality and transformative quality. The instrument contained a total of 48 items. Each scale was satisfactorily tested for validity and reliability. Research limitations/implications – This empirical study made use of data collected in Mauritius only, a developing country. Practical implications – This study provides a framework and an instrument that can be used by higher education institutions in view of continuously improving educational quality. Originality/value – The study adopted a holistic approach by considering both the functional and technical aspect of service quality in higher education. Moreover, technical quality was operationalised by considering the notion of transformative quality.

scholarly journals Development of Service Quality Scale in Higher Education: A Validity and Reliability Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-173
Author(s):  
Şakir Çınkır ◽  
Sevgi Yıldız ◽  
Gül Kurum
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Quality Of Services ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Quality In Higher Education

Students have become highly critical and analytical in selecting the higher education institution they would like to study at. It has become important for higher education institutions to be preferred by such prospective students as well as ensuring the commitment and retention of their current students. Universities, as the most important representatives of higher education institutions, are evaluated directly and indirectly by their stakeholders regarding the quality of the services they provide. Service quality and satisfaction surveys based on these evaluations can have a wide variety of implications on institutional rankings, preferability, financial policies, etc. This study aims to develop a scale specific to Turkish Higher Education Institutions to determine the quality of services offered in higher education according to the satisfaction perceptions of undergraduate students. Accordingly, the first draft of a 53-item seven-dimensional five-point Likert type scale was created. The piloting version of the scale was applied to a total of 500 undergraduate students, of whom 346 were female and 149 male, who were continuing their studies in 15 faculties of a public university in Turkey. Further, particular care was taken to include students who were in their second year or higher seniority at the university so that they would have had sufficient time to benefit from the services offered. A 29-item structure with three sub-dimensions was revealed as a result of the exploratory factor analysis performed. The sub-dimensions were named as "Academic services", "Administrative services", and "Campus facilities". The findings of the confirmatory factor analysis conducted on 1782 participants support the structure validity of the scale. Based on the findings, the Service Quality in Higher Education Scale has been determined to be a highly reliable and valid scale that can be used to specifically measure the quality of services offered in higher education.

Dimensions of service quality in higher education – critical review (students’ perspective)

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pragya Gupta ◽  
Neeraj Kaushik
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Expert Opinions ◽  
Average Variance ◽  
Quality In Higher Education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the dimensions of service quality used in different countries across the world, especially in the higher education sector. Design/methodology/approach Content analysis is used to get a comprehensive insight of the studies accumulated from some of the selected databases such as Emerald Insight, Ebsco ABI/inform, etc. All these studies are related to the measuring of service quality in higher education. Findings The result of this paper reveals that SERVQUAL is the most widely accepted scale which has its dominance in the higher education setting. The paper focuses on revealing the dimensions which are used in the past studies. The paper notices a huge variation in the items as well as constructs while exploring the dimensions. Further, it is observed that many of the studies considered in this paper picked dimensions from other studies, expert opinions and factor analysis. In addition to this, it is found that different scales are proposed and checked for their reliability and validity through the confirmatory factor analysis. Few studies confirm the validity using average variance extracted (AVE), model fit values and correlations. Practical implications The study will help other researchers to get a summarised form of different dimensions used in the higher education setting. It also points out the essential and common dimensions of similar studies. Further, with different samples and geographical location, it can help us to identify how the dimension varies as we move from one part to another around the globe with different samples. Further, it formulates directions to pick correct combination of scale, administration and methods that are useful in collecting the data and getting the inference out of it under correct settings. Originality/value The summarisation of different studies will help the researchers to have a holistic view of the important studies that took place in the higher education setting.

Service quality in higher education institutions: qualitative evidence from the students’ perspectives using Maslow hierarchy of needs

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jawad Abbas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Deductive Reasoning ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Hierarchy Of Needs ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Quality In Higher Education

Purpose Higher education institutions (HEIs) are responsible for training and transforming the students into valuable resources. Although students are believed to be the principal stakeholders in HEIs, limited research studies are available on service quality (SQ) in HEIs from students’ perspectives. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the factors, which constitute SQ in HEIs, specifically from students’ perspective, as existing literature on this topic is either from management and general perspective or is time dated. Design/methodology/approach The current study contributes by reviewing qualitative responses received through interviews and focus groups session with 43 students from 3 Turkey-based private HEIs. Data was collected from 43 students through 26 individual interviews and 3 focus group sessions and was analyzed through deductive reasoning using narrative and framework analysis with open coding. Findings The analysis of data indicated six main themes, specifically: teaching quality, facilities, support staff quality, employability links, safety and security and extra-curricular activities as indicators of SQ from students’ perspective. The findings of the study strongly comply with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and take steps by identifying employability and safety and security as new emerging indicators of the existing literature of SQ in HEIs. Originality/value The existing literature lacks to provide qualitative data on SQ in HEIs from students’ perspectives in Asian countries, particularly, in Turkey, the place of current research. The findings of the present research provide valuable insights to HEIs’ management to understand students’ perceptions of SQ, their expectations and experiences.

Factors of higher education quality service: the case of a Peruvian university

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-238
Author(s):  
María del Carmen Arrieta ◽  
Beatrice Avolio
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Private University ◽  
Curriculum Planning ◽  
Educational Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Education Service

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that impact the quality of the education service in a Peruvian private university, based on the perception of students and graduates. Design/methodology/approach The sample consisted of 29 students and 20 graduates from the Administration and Finance Program of a Peruvian private university. The data was collected through focus groups and in-depth interviews based on the students’ and graduates’ perspectives of their experiences. The collected data was subjected to content analysis. Findings The study identified ten factors or the underlying dimensions that drive the quality of the education service provided by a Peruvian private university. The factors are professors, lecturers, curriculum, extracurricular activities, position and recognition of the university, infrastructure, library, admission, adequate communication mechanisms with faculty and authorities and services. The main quality indicators of the education service were the professors and curriculum planning. As the students were using the education service, they were more focused on “how” they received the service, rather than “what” services they received, i.e. they evaluated the quality of the process. In contrast, graduates gave more importance to functional service quality. They evaluated the quality of “what they received,” i.e. the result. Research limitations/implications The study has several limitations. First, the qualitative approach does not allow generalizing data. The sample size was relatively small and only involved one Peruvian private university. The study was based on the respondent’s perceptions, which were considered accurate. Practical implications Based on the study findings, the authors made recommendations to meet the needs of the students and graduates. These findings can help universities to develop strategies that improve educational quality and to allocate resources more effectively. Further research could focus on factors that impact service quality in higher education at different stages of the student lifecycle, namely, applicants (service expectations), students (quality of the process) and graduates (results). The authors suggest validating these results quantitatively. Originality/value The study proposes a framework of the higher education service quality based on the experiences of students and graduates that can be used by higher education institutions to continue improving educational quality. The originality of the study lies in the perspective on service quality according to the experiences of students and graduates. Also, this study provides empirical evidence on service quality research in Latin American higher education institutions.

Factors affecting students’ intentions to study at universities adopting the “student-as-customer” concept

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 676-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boonlert Watjatrakul
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Social Influence ◽  
Interaction Effects ◽  
Educational Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Course Achievement ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Student Relationship

Purpose – Competitive pressure and declining incomes in higher education have propelled many universities to increase the number of students admitted as a means of increasing their income, while the admitted students are regarded as “customers.” The purpose of this paper is to examine students’ beliefs regarding outcomes of the adoption of the student-as-customer concept and the interaction effects of these outcomes and the social influence on students’ attitudes toward acceptance of the student-as-customer concept and their intentions to study at universities adopting this concept. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual model was developed to investigate the interaction effects of the five outcomes of the student-as-customer concept's adoption – the universities’ aim toward student satisfaction, the instructors’ neglect of teaching, the impairment of instructor-student relationship, the ease of course achievement, and the improvement of universities’ service quality and social influence on the students’ attitudes toward acceptance of the student-as-customer concept, and their intentions to study at universities adopting this concept. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data from students studying at a large private university inclining to adopt the student-as-customer concept. The structural equation modeling technique was utilized for testing the proposed model. Findings – The results indicate that students believe that the universities’ adoption of the student-as-customer concept will lead to improvement of the universities’ service quality and the degradation of educational quality in terms of the instructors’ neglect of teaching, the impairment of instructor-student relationship, and the ease of course achievement. The improvement of service quality has a positive effect on the students’ attitudes toward acceptance of the student-as-customer concept and their intentions to study at universities adopting this concept. The students’ beliefs toward the degradation of educational quality, on the other hand, have indirect and negative effects on the students’ intentions to study at universities adopting the concept. Interestingly, the effect of social influence on students’ intentions to study at universities adopting the concept is greater than the effects of students’ beliefs toward outcomes of the concept. Originality/value – This study is among the first research to empirically investigate the factors affecting students’ attitudes toward acceptance of the student-as-customer concept and their intentions to study at universities adopting this concept. The paper fills the gap in the higher education literature and provides guidance for universities to consider and prepare for the consequences of the concept's adoption associated with the number of students who intend to study at their universities.

Performance-based service quality model in postgraduate education

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 626-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdy A. Khalaf ◽  
Nevien Khourshed
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Postgraduate Education ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Validity Tests

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to promote and analytically verify an advanced assessment design to evaluate service quality (SQ) especially in postgraduate higher education. Design/methodology/approach This research adopts a quantitative approach through a survey method. A structured questionnaire was designed as a means for collecting data. Data were collected from 182 postgraduate students in an Egyptian higher education university. Data were examined by exploratory factor analysis to pinpoint the main irregularities explained by the extracted factors. Then, confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to filter the ratios and empirically test the assessment efficiency of the developed model. Findings The final model consists of 33 items loaded into eight dimensions for measuring performance-based SQ of the postgraduate higher education. The results are satisfactory in terms of unidimensionality, trustworthiness, and validity tests. Research limitations/implications Although the empirical results are significant, a comparative study can identify relative strengths and weaknesses of this model. Practical implications For improving postgraduate higher education institutions’ quality, this paper highlights some dimensions and attributes that should be considered. Originality/value The literature proposes that there is an opportunity to handle SQ from the point of view of postgraduate students covering different contexts to further build a more comprehensive structure specifically for postgraduate higher education SQ. This paper deals with this research gap with analytical confirmation within the context of postgraduate programs in an Egyptian university.

Synthesizing moderate upscale restaurant patrons’ dining experiences

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Daniel Clemes ◽  
Zurinawati Mohi ◽  
Xuedong Li ◽  
Baiding Hu
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Hierarchical Model ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Structural Equations ◽  
Third Order ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioural Intentions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop and test a comprehensive hierarchical model of the interrelationships among five higher order marketing constructs (service quality, customer satisfaction, perceived value, restaurant image and behavioural intentions) for moderate upscale restaurants in Malaysia. A third order conceptualisation of service quality is also included in the empirical analysis.Design/methodology/approachThe data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations.FindingsService quality, customer satisfaction and restaurant image all have a strong, positive impact on the behavioural intentions of moderate upscale restaurant patrons. Service quality, perceived value and restaurant image are also important determinants of customer satisfaction. Behavioural intentions to re-patronise a restaurant and recommend it to friends are influenced more strongly by restaurant image than by customer satisfaction. Three primary dimensions and ten pertaining sub-dimensions are modelled in the third order conceptualisation of service quality. The primary and sub-dimensions also vary in importance amongst the customers in the sampling frame.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical research that develops and tests a comprehensive hierarchical model for moderate upscale restaurants to provide a complete and integrative analysis of a service setting. The interrelationships among service quality, customer satisfaction, perceived value restaurant image and behavioural intentions are assessed. A third order conceptualisations of service quality is also included in the modelling framework.

A new service quality scale for hospital emergency rooms

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1133-1147
Author(s):  
Avichai Shuv-Ami ◽  
Tamar Shalom
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Emergency Rooms ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Loved One

Purpose Service quality and patient satisfaction have a significant impact in healthcare. Health organizations have also begun to put the customer at the center and meet his or her needs. This study aims to indicate the need to develop a simple and appropriate scale for measuring quality of service in hospital emergency rooms. Design/methodology/approach The validity and reliability of the scale were established by three separated and independent studies that used exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis to test the nomological network validity of the scale. The data was collected randomly from an internet panel that comprises more than 50,000 people over the age of 18. The research is based on 1,002 Israelis who accompanied a patient to a hospital emergency room. Findings In total, 23 items comprised the new scale of emergency room service quality with three dimensions: “staff professionalism”, “staff caring” and “tangibles”. The internal reliability for the total scale was high with Cronbach's α of 0.97. Research limitations/implications In Israel, there is a state health system, and therefore, it is necessary to check the scale elsewhere in the world. Originality/value The measurement of service quality for emergency room needed to be focused on the unique charters of the service provided in hospitals’ emergency room. The findings show that a client may assesses the service their loved one has received to decides whether to return to the same hospital and recommend it to his or her friends.

Evaluating customer-perceived service quality in business management education in India

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koushiki Choudhury
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Methodological Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Service Quality ◽  
Higher Educational ◽  
Quality In Higher Education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the question of service quality in the higher education sector in the business management area, with the research objective to explore the dimensions of service quality and assess performance of higher educational institutes (HEIs) in business management across customer-perceived service quality dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – A modified SERVQUAL instrument was used to capture customers’ perceptions of service quality with a sample size of 1,152 customers. Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was used to holistically evaluate the performance of the HEIs. Findings – The current research develops a scale for measuring service quality in the area of business management education and reinforces the fact that service quality is a multidimensional construct. It suggests that customers distinguish four dimensions of service quality in the case of the higher education industry in business management. TOPSIS analysis provides an effective framework for ranking competing HEIs holistically in terms of their overall performance with respect to multiple service quality factors. Research limitations/implications – Continued refinement of the scale for measuring service quality in higher education, proposed in this study, is certainly possible based on further research and trends in higher education. Practical implications – HEIs are finding themselves in an increasingly integrated competitive market. Consequently they are facing challenges due to the evaluation of the results of the services of education and training that they offer. In competitive environments, student perceptions of quality and their satisfaction level have become very important in order to attract and retain them. Identifying the underlying dimensions of service quality is the first step in the definition and provision of quality service and instilling of a customer-service culture. Having access to how consumers evaluate service quality in the higher educational sector in business management and evaluating the positions of the players in the market on service quality parameters, can help the organization to carry out its mission with more efficiency, aid in strategic planning and contend the initiatives that HEIs managers can take to enhance employees’ skills and attitudes and instill a culture of service excellence. Originality/value – The contribution of this research has been in terms of its scale development and modeling methodology. A methodological innovation in this research has been in the use of TOPSIS in the field of customer-perceived service quality in higher education.

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