An Examination of Students' Perceptions of Service Quality in Higher Education

PurposeThis study aims to examine the constructs of job satisfaction and organizational commitment (OC) as the determinants of customer-perceived service quality in higher education context. It also explores the role of OC in mediating the dynamics of the relationship.Design/methodology/approachIt applied the cross-sectional, ex post facto survey method to acquire data from 1,776 respondents at Aden University. Two sets of questionnaires on job satisfaction, OC and perceived service quality were filled out by 296 academic staff and 1,480 students. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results showed that job satisfaction exercised a significant positive effect on OC and students’ perception of service quality (i.e. the quality of lectures delivered in class that shaped their learning experiences). OC also significantly affected students’ perception of service quality and partially mediated the effect of job satisfaction on perceived service quality.Research limitations/implicationsThe current research only investigated the outcomes of job satisfaction and did not cover critical antecedents of job satisfaction, such as employee training and development, rewards and benefits and the like. Its outcomes have important implications for managing the link between organizational practices and customers perception of service quality in higher education context.Practical implicationsThe results have accentuated the importance of universities’ ensuring and increasing faculty’s job satisfaction and commitment if they seek to enhance students’ perception of service quality. Universities can do so by improving their organizational practices, which are expected to result in faculty well-being and improved working conditions.Originality/valueThe results have contributed new insights into the current understanding of the dynamics between and among job satisfaction, OC and customers’ perceptions of service quality. It has demonstrated how OC is shaped by job satisfaction and can influence the quality of services rendered by employees if they are happy and satisfied with the organization.

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.

PurposeThe changes in social and cultural framework, and even more in the economic order, have pushed the education system and higher education in particular, into a new environment in which quality plays an important role. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to develop a multidimensional scale to measure service quality in higher education in the Indian context.Design/methodology/approachThe study, descriptive, diagnostic, and causal in nature, has been conducted on students of higher education, particularly technical education in India. A questionnaire consisting of 26 items was developed to measure the service quality construct and its dimensions. Construct validation using exploratory factor analysis showed an interpretable latent structure consisting of seven dimensions.FindingsIt was observed that service quality in higher education setting comprises seven dimensions viz., input quality, curriculum, academic facilities, industry interaction, interaction quality, support facilities and non academic processes.Research limitations/implicationsThe study holds implications for institutes of technical education in India that seek to improve the quality of service that they provide. The scale developed can be used by practitioners as a diagnostic tool for identifying poor and/or excellent service performance.Originality/valueWhile studies in quality management for education have been conducted, this study lays emphasis on the student as a customer of education, and proposes to develop a scale to measure their perception of service quality. The study is an attempt towards developing and empirically validating a measurement scale for service quality in higher education in the Indian context.

With the globalisation of the higher education industry, service quality in the higher education services is seen as a vital factor in determining a university’s competitive advantage. This study posits that higher education sector has unique characteristics that differ from retailing industries and therefore requires a customised approach towards service quality measurement. Existing measures of service quality in higher education have largely concentrated on the use of generic models such as SERVQUAL and SERVPERF in assessing students’ perception. However, these measures are found to be inadequate to capture the complexity of service perception in higher education service offering. This research study provides a new perspective on the conceptualisation of university service quality (USQ) by adapting Brady and Cronin’s (2001) hierarchical model in exploring the complex nature of perceived quality in a high involvement setting. This study aims to understand the nature of the USQ construct and to examine an individual’s motivation in higher education pursuit in influencing his/her USQ perception and the consequent effects in terms of satisfaction and behavioural intentions. This research study involves a two-stage design, which consists of qualitative and quantitative studies. The first stage consists of phenomenological interviews to gain in-depth insights into service quality experiences in the higher education institutions. The second stage which is a questionnaire survey, was then carried out to empirically verify the proposed hierarchical construct for higher education service quality and to examine the proposed antecedents and consequences model. A total of 1988 students from 9 participating universities in Malaysia responded to the questionnaire survey, and the data gathered was analysed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory data analysis and structural equation modeling. From the collective findings from Stage 1 and Stage 2 of this study, it was confirmed that the construct of service quality perception in higher education is multidimensional in nature, based on a fourth-order model which anchored upon ‘Academic Services Quality’, ‘Administrative Services Quality’ and ‘General Services Quality’ as the primary dimensions. Secondary dimensions are ‘Interaction Quality’, ‘Physical Environment Quality’ and ‘Outcome Quality’ with corresponding sub-dimensions attached to the respective dimensions. The effect of academic valence (in the form of students’ feelings towards their academic results) upon USQ perception is found to be an important influencing factor in service evaluation which requires careful attention in quality management. Further examination of the nature of USQ construct with the phenomenological findings revealed that students’ expectations are influenced by students’ sense of self which varied according to the different service they were engaged in. Their sense of self in this regard shapes their service expectations and hence, their perception of service quality. It is also established in this study that USQ perception is subject to individual characteristics such as their degree of self-determination in higher education pursuit and learning style. This study found that those who are more self-determined in the higher education participation tend to have a more favourable USQ perception, which then leads to a greater level of satisfaction and student loyalty. It was also found that the degree of the motivational effect upon USQ evaluation is moderated by the students’ learning styles. On the basis of the research findings, this study suggests that the complexity of the USQ construct as well as the effect of motivational differences and learning style upon USQ evaluation should be taken into account when considering how students’ USQ perception is formed. These pertinent issues deserve considerable attention as they have a bearing upon important outcomes such as student satisfaction and behavioural intentions. The complex nature of USQ evaluation calls for a holistic approach in managing service standards in academic services, administrative services and general services. Additionally, the understanding of the nature of students’ USQ perception and expectations can assist universities towards developing more effective quality management strategies in order to provide a meaningful USQ experience for the students.

Service quality in higher education has become a key indicator of institutional effectiveness, particularly for universities seeking to remain competitive and responsive to student expectations. Although instructional leadership and organizational culture are recognized as important internal determinants of service performance, their combined influence on service quality and student satisfaction in private higher education institutions remains insufficiently explored. This study examines how instructional leadership and organizational culture interact to influence service quality and student satisfaction at Universitas Sindang Kasih Majalengka, Indonesia. This research employed a qualitative case study design to explore leadership practices and cultural dynamics within the university’s service system. Data were collected from 21 informants, including university leaders, administrative staff, and active students, through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document analysis. Data analysis followed the Miles and Huberman interactive model involving data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. Trustworthiness was ensured through triangulation and member checking. The findings indicate that instructional leadership provides clearer task direction, strengthens employee discipline, and promotes more consistent workflow management. In parallel, a collaborative and open organizational culture improves interdepartmental coordination, enhances communication, and supports collective problem-solving in administrative services. The interaction between leadership guidance and cultural support increases service responsiveness, reduces procedural delays, and positively shapes students’ perceptions of service quality. The study proposes an Instructional–Culture Service Model in which leadership functions as a structural driver while organizational culture sustains service performance. Aligning leadership practices with supportive cultural values is essential for achieving sustainable improvements in service quality and student satisfaction in higher education institutions.

Surveys of service quality are usually based on the analysis of external customers’ expectations and perceptions, neglecting the attitudes and expectations of internal customers. However, internal customers have a very important role in the service quality system, especially in the service industry. In higher education, the role of internal customers is particularly important. Service quality in higher education depends mainly on the competences and performance of the faculty. Accordingly, the main goal of this study is to explore internal customers’ perceptions of service quality in higher education and to define possible quality improvements. Higher education service quality is analysed using a modified SERVQUAL instrument, adjusted for the higher education context. Exploratory factor analysis is used to define key service quality dimensions. Furthermore, the results are compared based on personal and institutional characteristics. In addition, this study includes an analysis of faculty satisfaction with the working environment and working conditions at higher education institutions. The results provide useful information for the management of higher education institutions, which can be used in the design and customization of quality plans aimed at fulfilling the needs and expectations of their internal customers. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n13p29

Intense competition in the higher education sector in New Zealand has forced a number of educational institutions to examine the need for assessments of customer-perceived service quality for differentiation purposes. Research studies in the past have mainly focused on either the administrators or the students' perspectives and have overlooked the employers' views on service quality in education. The instrument developed, based on the Importance-Performance paradigm, was administered to 280 New Zealand employers of business graduates. The results indicate that employers have perceptual problems with the level of service provided by tertiary institutions. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.

In a time where the student experience increasingly mirrors a customer-centric approach, universities are tasked with fulfilling the role of comprehensive educational service providers. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review on service quality in higher education, focusing on various generic and industry-specific scales. The primary objective of this article is to analyse and compare prominent measurement scales such as SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, HEdPERF, UnivQual, and HiEduQual. Each scale is defined according to its original literature and provides a foundational understanding of their respective constructs and factors. To achieve a nuanced comparison, the paper examines these scales based on the number of factors extracted from studies and their characteristics. The analysis reveals a great diversity and specificity of factors in measuring service quality across different higher education contexts. Beyond that, the paper analyses a database of 45 selected peer-reviewed articles to understand the practical application of service quality scales in empirical research. This examination considers multiple dimensions such as the country of focus, the statistical procedures employed, and the research methods. These dimensions offer a rich comparative insight into the trends in service quality research within higher education. Additionally, the study delves into the number and names of factors identified in each article, mapping them against the established scales to uncover patterns and deviations in empirical findings. A notable aspect of the review is the exploration of gender differences in service quality perceptions, a critical yet often underexplored area. This gender-based analysis provides valuable insights into how male and female students may perceive service quality differently, thereby informing more nuanced and inclusive service quality enhancement strategies. The findings of this paper underscore the multifaceted nature of service quality in higher education and the importance of context-specific scales. By comparing different measurement approaches and analysing a broad spectrum of empirical studies, this review contributes to a deeper understanding of how service quality is conceptualised and measured in higher education. It also offers practical implications for researchers and practitioners aiming to enhance service quality and align it more closely with student expectations and experiences.

The increasing number of international students studying in advanced countries has sparked attention on servicequality in higher education. Perception of service quality is subjective, and is believed to vary with thedemographic characteristics of students. This study attempts to investigate the role that demographic factors playin service quality evaluation in the higher education sector. The framework used in this study is adopted fromMin, Khoon and Tan (2012) and consists of four key constructs, namely motivation, expectation, perception andsatisfaction. Applying the Structural Equation Model (SEM) approach to data collected from a sample of 263international students in a private higher education institution in Singapore, the present study found that motiveof study has moderate relationship with expectation and perception of service quality. Satisfaction of students isalso closely and significantly related with the perception of service quality. It was also found that demographyimpacted on the relationships between the elements of service quality. The study included four demographicvariables (gender, age, nationality and current level of study) and it was found that nationality and gender haveconsiderable impact on the weights of relationships. The research findings suggest that education marketersshould take demographic factors into consideration in the design and development of education services.

To speed the rate of higher education government (govt.) has increased and promoted the number of govt. degree level institutions as higher level honor’s and master’s institution. There is no measure to ensure quality of these higher educational institutions as prescribed in the public universities or international universities. To know service quality and performance of the service provider groups measuring service quality is very much significant. For this purpose, we have to measure students’ expectations from the service entity and their perceptions about the actual services they get. The govt. colleges that provide higher education need to understand the customers’ (students’) perceptions of service quality and identify the gaps between their expectations and these perceptions. This part of the research studies students’ expectations and perceptions of service quality in the present educational environment by using the modified service quality (SERVQUAL) model given by Parasuraman et.al for distinctive nature of service. The modified SERVQUAL instrument will measure five dimensions i.e. tangibles (academic, non-academic), reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. This study has been done over 382 undergraduate and post graduate students of selected four govt. colleges from top ten ranking 2016 by National University of northern division Rajshahi and Rongpur. Next the descriptive statistical analysis with mean scores, standard deviation and crosstabs in different perspective by colleges and respondents with service dimensions. Service quality has been measured by subtracting students’ expectations mean scores from their perceptions mean scores of different service items related to educational services based on SERVQUAL dimensions. A structured questionnaire has been supplied with same type questions to know students’ expectations and perceptions with a 5 point Likert type scale. The study found that all the SERVQUAL components has made negative scores of service quality of higher education in govt. colleges.

Higher education institutions (HEIs), like any other organizations, consider the customer experience to be an intrinsic component of their strategic plans, decision-making processes, and development. In the higher education (HE) context, the students are the customers and demand high service quality to inform their decisions. This article evaluates the perception of quality of service (QoS) in a HE setting from the perspective of students studying at King Khalid University (KKU) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A modified service quality (SERVQUAL) instrument is used to measure five constructs: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The research also assesses whether there is a connection between the participants’ responses and key demographic variables. Permission was granted to distribute 500 questionnaires to all the students in the selected college. Of these, 350 questionnaires were returned, and 298 were deemed useful. The data collected to assess perceptions of QoS was analyzed using SPSS, a t-test, and a cutoff point (3.4). The table of variance analysis and ETA square identified relationships between the participants’ answers and the demographic variables. Evaluation of all the services was lower than predicted. The highest rated construct was assurance with mean (3.0116), responsiveness with mean (2.8465), tangibles with mean (2.7843), reliability with mean (2.6914), and empathy with mean (2.5558). There were statistically significant differences found in the students’ evaluation for the first dimension (tangibles) associated with gender difference, with the average evaluation by male students being (2.9532), and the average evaluation by female students (2.6685); otherwise demographic characteristics had no statistically significant influence on students’ evaluations.

Little is known about how students perceive the quality of service provided by Ghanaian tertiary institutions and how this perception influences their enrolment choices. Using the Higher Education Quality (HiEdQUAL) model for service quality measurement, this study examined service quality across five key dimensions; teaching and course content, administrative services, academic facilities, campus infrastructure, and support services in Ghanaian private and public universities. A structured questionnaire based on HiEdQUAL model consisting of 27 items with five dimensions, measured on a five-point Likert-Scale was used to gather data. Out of the initial 2,266 sampled respondents surveyed from private and public universities, a total of 1,758 correctly completed questionnaires were returned. This gave a high response rate of 76.43%. The paired t-test results that examined the equality of means between students’ perceptions of service quality at private and public universities across five dimensions, helped to determine the presence of statistically significant differences in some areas. The results suggested that public universities may be making better use of their resources or benefitting from their large numbers of enrollment and state financial support. Given that the quality of service provided by both private and public universities in Ghana falls short of students’ expectations, the paper provides administrators with practical insights to improve service quality in Ghanaian universities and suggests the need for continuous quality improvement in institutions of higher learning in Ghana. Keywords: HiEdQUAL, Service Quality, Higher Education, Public Universities, Private Universities.

The Article attempts to analyze service quality in higher education institutions of Malaysia. The study used the Gap Model presented by Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988) to identify the difference between expected quality and perceived quality in higher education institutions of Malaysia. The study focused to identify gaps of Turkish students in Malaysian universities Five basic dimensions of service quality measured through SERVQUAL (Instrument for service quality measurement). These dimensions are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. A stratified sample of 41 Turkish students has been selected from top five public universities in Malaysia. Results showed a negative service quality gap in higher education institutions of Malaysia from Turkish students’ perception which indicated perceived service quality is below than expectations of Turkish students in Malaysian universities.

Research Question: The paper will investigate the service quality of the higher education provided by the higher schools of vocational studies using SERVQUAL methodology. Motivation: The paper will show the characteristics of higher education of vocational studies, and it will point out the significance of creating and maintaining a quality management system in higher education institutions. The new reform of higher education in Serbia and establishment of academies of vocational studies are the main reasons why the question of service quality becomes one of the most important issues for higher education institutions and basis for competitive advantage, better image and reputation. Also, a growing competition on the higher education market and a smaller number of prospective students are also problems which higher vocational schools are faced with. Idea: The goal of this research is to find the differences between expected and perceived service quality. Furthermore, the paper will show if there are differences between perceived service quality among the students of different study years, as well as differences between the students with State scholarship and the self-funded students. Data: The research included 244 students of the first, second, and third years of bachelor studies from higher schools of vocational studies in Novi Sad, significant and the second-largest educational centre in the Republic of Serbia. Tools: Statistical methods used in this paper are frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, while the hypotheses are tested using the paired sample t-test, the independent t-test, and the one-factor variance analysis – ANOVA. Findings: The results of the research show that service quality of higher vocational education does not meet students' expectations (sig.<0,001) and that the gap is negative for all dimensions of service quality (Tangibles (-.32), Reliability (-.52), Responsiveness (-.49), Assurance (-.33), and Empathy(-.26)). It is also shown by this research that there are no differences in higher education service quality based on the status of students (sig.>0.05) and the year of studying (sig.>0.05). Contribution: The results can be used as basis for introducing further measures to improve the quality of service provided by higher vocational institutions.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the impact of workplace spirituality and servant leadership on service quality in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: This was done by examining the function of job satisfaction as a mediator in this relationship. The study was carried out in a tertiary educational institution in Bali, Indonesia, and the data was analysed using PLS-based SEM (Structural Equation Model). Findings: The study findings indicate that (1) workplace spirituality and servant leadership in higher education have an impact on job satisfaction, (2) workplace spirituality and servant leadership do not have a direct effect on service quality in higher education, and (3) job satisfaction acts as a mediator between workplace spirituality, servant leadership, and service quality in higher education. Research limitations/implications: Research was carried out using scientific procedures and methods, but in its implementation, some limitations provide room for improvement in the future. Other variables that are decisive to service quality in education should be involved in future studies. Originality/value: Based on the findings, this study introduces a novel paradigm offering theoretical and practical advancements in ensuring quality of service in higher education. Additionally, it suggests fostering spirituality in the workplace and adopting servant leadership to guarantee lecturers' contentment to enhance the quality of service in higher education.