Service Delivery at a Satellite Campus: A Durban University of Technology Case Study

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to report on the SERVQUAL gap which causes unsuccessful service delivery at a satellite campus of a University of Technology in South Africa. Using a quantitative research design, the study adopts a SERVQUAL model adapted to a tertiary environment containing 5 dimensions of service quality (tangibles, responsiveness, empathy, assurance and reliability). A convenience sampling technique was applied, the data was collected from 99 respondents at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and the results and discussion are presented. The findings reveal that, on average, customers had high expectations in assurance, responsiveness and reliability dimensions and their highest perceptions were found in the empathy dimension. This paper will benefit management of higher education institutions in identifying cost-effective ways of reducing service quality gaps with particular reference to satellite campuses.