Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Applying SERVQUAL

Applying SERVQUAL Austerity approaches in higher education require choosing the highest leverage strategies of increasing student satisfaction. Attending to student perceptions of program/service quality (SERVQUAL) is a means to identify areas that have the greatest return on investment. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis study explores how a program has applied the SERVQUAL model and survey to identify areas for growth.FindingsThe survey of 57 students in a cohort-based doctoral program demonstrated the smallest gaps (highest satisfaction) with the domains of empathy (1.33) and responsiveness (1.30) and the lowest with reliability (2.03), tangibles (1.97) and assurance (1.90).Practical implicationsWhile not all of the five dimensions are within the purview of a program to address (some may require funding that is determined at a college or university level), many of the gaps can be addressed by adopting procedures and policies that increase transparency so that students can moderate their expectations and faculty and staff can provide reliable information. Additionally, the use of the SERVQUAL model provided this program with specific, actionable information that could be used to improve the program.Originality/valueThe study includes a review of studies that have applied the SERVQUAL model in higher education. The application of SERVQUAL to a cohort-based doctoral program to identify program improvements and steward program image fits into a gap in the extant literature. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Emerald Publishing

Applying SERVQUAL

Download PDF
12 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/applying-servqual-uZfkO5wQSp

References (49)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
2050-7003
DOI
10.1108/jarhe-12-2018-0268
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Austerity approaches in higher education require choosing the highest leverage strategies of increasing student satisfaction. Attending to student perceptions of program/service quality (SERVQUAL) is a means to identify areas that have the greatest return on investment. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis study explores how a program has applied the SERVQUAL model and survey to identify areas for growth.FindingsThe survey of 57 students in a cohort-based doctoral program demonstrated the smallest gaps (highest satisfaction) with the domains of empathy (1.33) and responsiveness (1.30) and the lowest with reliability (2.03), tangibles (1.97) and assurance (1.90).Practical implicationsWhile not all of the five dimensions are within the purview of a program to address (some may require funding that is determined at a college or university level), many of the gaps can be addressed by adopting procedures and policies that increase transparency so that students can moderate their expectations and faculty and staff can provide reliable information. Additionally, the use of the SERVQUAL model provided this program with specific, actionable information that could be used to improve the program.Originality/valueThe study includes a review of studies that have applied the SERVQUAL model in higher education. The application of SERVQUAL to a cohort-based doctoral program to identify program improvements and steward program image fits into a gap in the extant literature.

Journal

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education – Emerald Publishing

Published: Oct 2, 2019

Keywords: SERVQUAL; Service quality; Student satisfaction; Market-driven forces in education

There are no references for this article.