Understanding Service Quality in Higher Education Institutions Through Customers' Multivariate Lenses

Abstract

Research on customers' perceptions of service quality has become ubiquitous, from manufacturing to service industries, including  students' perceptions of service quality in Higher Education Institutions. Overall, findings about students' perceptions of service quality  in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are contextualised. The current study focuses on understanding perceptions of service quality in  Higher Education Institutions as experienced and perceived by first- and thirdyear students in Tanzania. The study investigated the  influence of multiple demographic characteristics on students' perceptions of service quality through multiple linear regression analysis.  A quantitative approach and a cross-sectional survey guided the study. A sample frame of around 2,236 students from three clusters  (School of Law, College of Natural and Allied Sciences, and School of Education) was randomly selected for sample size calculation from a  target population of undergraduate students studying in their first- and third-years. A sample size of 328 students was obtained using the  Cochran formula. Questionnaires with a Likert-type scale and rating scales of 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree were used. Two  factors (academic and consultation and technical and residential services) were extracted by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), with a  Kaiser-Meyer Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy of 0.914 datasets. The findings revealed that only the year of study and degree  program were statistically significant for all correlations. The findings show that experiences with the overall service quality fluctuated  among students in terms of their specialisation and the number of years spent receiving services. Institutional policies should stipulate  how students' affairs and services should be planned according to the specific requirements based on specialisation and years of study.  Institutional quality assurance policies should incorporate students' feedback into the HEIs' overall institutional planning. Quality  assurance units should have improved students' assessment and feedback in place and be able to provide academic support to enhance  students' personal development.