Importance of measuring percepitons and arritudes of internal customers in higher education and the servqual model

Abstract EN

Quality improvement initiatives continue to be established in all service industries including those of healthcare (Moullin, 2002) and higher education (Quality Assurance Agency, 2003).

Education like any other service industry also aims to meet the needs and wants of its service users but it differs from most other services in at least two important ways.

There is no physical product involved, and the customer is hard to define.

Higher Education Institutions feel pressured to implement all necessary measures to provide a quality service and satisfy all stakeholders.

This can be achieved when employees’ perception of “good” quality is aligned with management’s intended objectives behind a system of quality assurance; and employees’ attitude toward this change is embracing.

Both constructs have impacts on the success potential of introducing a quality assurance system, and understanding them will allow the institutions to better prepare for the change.

This paper discusses the importance of measuring the perception and attitudes of both the academic and the administrative staff before the implementation of a quality assurance system.

It concluded the use of SERVQUAL as an assessment model can bring more understanding of the academic and administrative staff perceptions and that management can use this understanding to improve its services.