Abstract

Delivering superior service quality is becoming an important element in order to generate and maintain loyal customers as it will be same in the higher education context. Higher educational institutions have to provide superior service quality in order to retain loyal students and remain competitive in the industry.

Higher education institutions in Buea like other businesses operate in a competitive environment. Knowing how to satisfy their students who are their primary customers is important because it can lead to future business. The relationship between service quality and student satisfaction is important because if it is well understood, it can enable the right decision to be made about service quality that can lead to an increase in student’s satisfaction in Buea.

The study was carried out to find out if there is a relationship between service quality and the satisfaction of students. The study has used the SERVQUAL model of service quality with the application of the five service quality dimensions. These five dimensions of service quality was developed by Parasuraman namely Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy were used to measure the level of students’ satisfaction in ACHAS. The study used quantitative approach and correlation analysis tools. This research is both descriptive and explanatory.

Both primary and secondary sources data were used but the main source of data among the two was primary data. Among the five dimensions of service quality used in the study only reliability and empathy are positively related to students’ satisfaction.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The growth in the service economy is widely recognized and increasingly contributes to the economy of many regions. Educational sector is one of the most important sectors of an economy. Most countries are now shifting their economy from the manufacturing sector to the service sectors education sector is now considered as a very important sector in the service industry.

Hence, there is intensive competition between higher education institution in Buea the competition is very much in tensed such that higher education institutions are trying to outdo each other by buying adverting space in both print and electronic media. Also, most higher education institutions are looking for more innovative ways to achieve competitive advantage in order to attract students to their institutions and improve their efficiency and make students retained to the institution.

Higher education institutions act as service providers which have direct interaction with students and students act as main customers who or service receivers who may respond on the service provided by the institution. It is therefore important to consider students’ satisfaction as this is important in-service marketing. Besides that, customers play a vital role to determine the success of a business.

The Higher Institute of Professional Studies need to know what to do in order to satisfy their students because student can recommend their friends and relatives to join these institutions if they are satisfied with the quality of service provided to them. Service quality is one factor that can lead to customers’ satisfaction (Helsdingen, kasper and Gabbotts, 2006). Service quality can be used as a strategy for competitive advantage (Gronroos, 2007). In the service literature, service quality refers to the customers’ judgments about the service.

The authors of SERVQUAL extensively used in assessing service quality of different service providers including universities quality evaluation do not come solely on the outcome of a service; they also involve evaluation of the process of service delivery (Parasuraman et al 1985). Within the SERVQUAL model, service quality is the Gap between customers perception of what happened during the service transaction and his expectation of how the service transaction should have been performed.

Service quality is a persuasive strategic force and a key strategic issue in organization. It is no surprise that practitioners and academic alike are keen on accurately measuring and understanding issues affecting service quality delivery. It has become a critical factor in enabling firms to achieve a differential advantage over their competitors and thus it makes a significant contribution to profitability and productivity (sanchez, Gazques, Fernandez and Abad 2007) the Higher Institute of Professional Studies need to be concerned not only with what the society values in the skills and abilities of their graduates but also with how their students feel about their educational experience.

Beside service quality, customers’ satisfaction has also been under the scope for the past three decades (devasagayam, stark and valestine 2013). Customers are important stake holders in every organization and their satisfaction is a priority to management. Customers’ satisfaction has been a subject of great concern to organization and researchers alike in the recent past where the quality of service has become an aspect of customers’ satisfaction (Blumberg, cooper and schindler 2005)

Understanding customers’ satisfaction was highly related to service quality. Satisfaction is a customer’s respond   to the service provided (Tse and wilton 1998) a commond phenomenom with customers is that once they are not satisfied with the quality of service, some walk away and often without complaining, hints or warning. Such customers stop doing business with the offending company which will affect the financial performance of the company.

As Hall opines, students’ satisfaction has become a major challenge for higher education institutions in Buea. It is evident that student satisfaction is the major source of competitive advantage and that the satisfaction leads towards student retention (Arambewala and Hall 2009)

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Every higher education institution needs to understand its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The Higher Institute of Professional Studies need to know how students perceive the services they offer so that they can improve on them because students mostly have differences when it comes to service perception. Kasper et al (2006) suggest that service quality is one of the factors that affect customers’ satisfaction. Higher education institutions therefore have to satisfy their students in order to compete.  Service quality leads to customers’ satisfaction (Kasper et al 2006)

Students who come to study in the Higher Institute of Professional Studies come from different cultural backgrounds and as a result, their expectation and perception of satisfaction may differ. Students’ satisfaction plays a crucial role for the success of a university.

The students’ perception about satisfaction can act as an essential tool to enhance the university’s service quality. Recent years have seen an increase of work on the topic of service quality and customers satisfaction. Many researchers have extensively investigated the nature of service quality and customers satisfaction (Gazques Abad, Sanchez and Fernandez 2007).

In addition, researchers have explored in details the antecedent of customers’ satisfaction, effects on service quality dimension on behavioral intensions (Gazques Abad, Sanchez and Fernandez 2007). Researchers in this area of student’s perception and overall service quality in the Higher Institute of Professional Studies is however scanty. The emerging service quality issues faced by the Higher Institute of Professional Studies calls for a closer examination of service quality. This study sort to determine the relationship between service quality and student’s satisfaction.

1.3 Research question, objectives and Hypothesis

1.3.1 Research questions

This research is thus structured to provide answers to the following questions

1. Is there any relationship between service quality and student’s satisfaction?
2. Do the academic factors such as teaching system, library system and course curriculums has an effect on students’ satisfaction?
3. Do the non-academic factors such as institutional commitment account office system and transportation system have an effect on student satisfaction?

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