Measuring students’ perceptions and expectations in business schools of Pakistan

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report and discuss outcomes of an academic survey conducted in 12 business schools of Lahore city, the provincial capital of Punjab province of Pakistan, to measure perceptions and satisfaction level of undergraduate students.Design/methodology/approachHere participants were BBA four‐year program students, registered in 4‐8th semesters, sharing their experiences with the services and facilities provided by their respective schools. An adopted survey instrument was used for data collection, which was earlier used in a UK university. A total sample of 1,015 students was collected from five public and seven private business schools. For analysis, multivariate stepwise regression method in degree of independent samples t test was used and ranking of services from importance and satisfaction perspective was analyzed. This allowed the authors to determine aspects of the university's service considered to be of high importance and degree to which they satisfied the students.FindingsThe most important aspects were related to academic facilities and teaching, while the least important were related to physical facilities. In regression results, lecture room facilities, facilitating goods and implicit services showed a positive relationship with overall satisfaction of students. In t tests results, a significant means scores difference between the satisfaction levels of male and female students and between the students of public and private business schools was observed.Practical implicationsOutcomes of this survey can serve as guidelines to the top management of business schools in Pakistan, when focusing their attention on areas/services that are perceived by the students to be of low satisfaction and high importance.Originality/valueThis paper attempts to make a significant contribution towards understanding students’ perceptions and expectations from business schools. Based on this, business schools can direct their efforts for improving service quality.