Exploratory Factor Analysis of Service Quality Dimensions for Higher Educational Institutes: A Students Perspective

Abstract

Purpose: The paper, which is a part of the study to monitor the service quality in the education sector, sought to empirically validate the service quality dimensions that are relevant to the higher education institutes across India. Design and Methodology: Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was carried out to identify the underlying latent variables that significantly determine the service quality in higher education institutes (HEI's) in India. 600 Post-Graduate (PG) students were sampled from three universities located in Punjab in a cross-sectional survey wherein a self-administered structured questionnaire was used for getting the relevant information. Findings: On analysis four factors emerged highlighting the importance of faculty & staff behaviour, tangibles, delivery and attitude, as the ones which significantly affect the quality of service being offered by the HEI's. The initial reliability testing for the dimensions yielded a Cronbach alpha ranging from 0.906 to 0.943 indicating that the modified instrument I- SERVQUAL can be conveniently used by HEI's for measuring service quality. Practical Implications: The focus on higher education in the last two decades or so has led to the establishment of many public and private higher education institutes (HEI's) and universities in the country. The students, now-a-days, before joining any institute tend to look at, not only the type, but also quality of the services being offered by the institutes. This paper does provide an extensive block of thirty one items; split into four dimensions, for assessing the service quality of HEI's.