Indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution (HEI) in Ghana

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the indicators of service quality from the perspective of graduating students in a public university in Ghana. The identified indicators of service quality were rated and the extent of satisfaction among the students was determined. Another issue exp...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Precious Agbeko D. Mattah, Albert Justice Kwarteng, Justice Mensah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Publishing 2018-07-01
Series:Higher Education Evaluation and Development
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/HEED-10-2017-0006
_version_ 1817985938911920128
author Precious Agbeko D. Mattah
Albert Justice Kwarteng
Justice Mensah
author_facet Precious Agbeko D. Mattah
Albert Justice Kwarteng
Justice Mensah
author_sort Precious Agbeko D. Mattah
collection DOAJ
description Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the indicators of service quality from the perspective of graduating students in a public university in Ghana. The identified indicators of service quality were rated and the extent of satisfaction among the students was determined. Another issue explored was whether the satisfaction among the respondents inures to their loyalty to the university. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire was designed, pre-tested and administered to 500 graduating students, and 482 of them were returned for analyses. Principal component analysis was used to determine the indicators of service quality. Independent sample t-test and z-test for proportions were used to compare mean scores and proportions of respondents on various variables, respectively. Findings - The results revealed three indicators of service quality which include quality of academic services and facilities, quality of lecturers and quality of academic programs. Graduands were satisfied with academic services, lecturers and programs. They were, however, not satisfied with the quality of facilities. Majority of the respondents will remain associated with the university as a result of their satisfaction with the services, lecturers as well as programs of the university. It is recommended that the university works assiduously on improving infrastructural facilities to help boost the confidence of the students in the university. Originality/value - This paper argues that what constitutes quality service vary from one academic institution to the other. It is, therefore, needful for institutions to determine from the perspective of their students what may indicate quality service.
first_indexed 2024-04-14T00:03:18Z
format Article
id doaj.art-ac6b3c75e2914e199058ab551108fbe8
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2514-5789
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-14T00:03:18Z
publishDate 2018-07-01
publisher Emerald Publishing
record_format Article
series Higher Education Evaluation and Development
spelling doaj.art-ac6b3c75e2914e199058ab551108fbe82022-12-22T02:23:37ZengEmerald PublishingHigher Education Evaluation and Development2514-57892018-07-01121365210.1108/HEED-10-2017-0006607966Indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution (HEI) in GhanaPrecious Agbeko D. Mattah0Albert Justice Kwarteng1Justice Mensah2Directorate of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaDirectorate of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaDirectorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaPurpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the indicators of service quality from the perspective of graduating students in a public university in Ghana. The identified indicators of service quality were rated and the extent of satisfaction among the students was determined. Another issue explored was whether the satisfaction among the respondents inures to their loyalty to the university. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire was designed, pre-tested and administered to 500 graduating students, and 482 of them were returned for analyses. Principal component analysis was used to determine the indicators of service quality. Independent sample t-test and z-test for proportions were used to compare mean scores and proportions of respondents on various variables, respectively. Findings - The results revealed three indicators of service quality which include quality of academic services and facilities, quality of lecturers and quality of academic programs. Graduands were satisfied with academic services, lecturers and programs. They were, however, not satisfied with the quality of facilities. Majority of the respondents will remain associated with the university as a result of their satisfaction with the services, lecturers as well as programs of the university. It is recommended that the university works assiduously on improving infrastructural facilities to help boost the confidence of the students in the university. Originality/value - This paper argues that what constitutes quality service vary from one academic institution to the other. It is, therefore, needful for institutions to determine from the perspective of their students what may indicate quality service.https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/HEED-10-2017-0006QualitySatisfactionStudentsIndicatorsServiceLoyalty
spellingShingle Precious Agbeko D. Mattah
Albert Justice Kwarteng
Justice Mensah
Indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution (HEI) in Ghana
Higher Education Evaluation and Development
Quality
Satisfaction
Students
Indicators
Service
Loyalty
title Indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution (HEI) in Ghana
title_full Indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution (HEI) in Ghana
title_fullStr Indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution (HEI) in Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution (HEI) in Ghana
title_short Indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution (HEI) in Ghana
title_sort indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution hei in ghana
topic Quality
Satisfaction
Students
Indicators
Service
Loyalty
url https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/HEED-10-2017-0006
work_keys_str_mv AT preciousagbekodmattah indicatorsofservicequalityandsatisfactionamonggraduatingstudentsofahighereducationinstitutionheiinghana
AT albertjusticekwarteng indicatorsofservicequalityandsatisfactionamonggraduatingstudentsofahighereducationinstitutionheiinghana
AT justicemensah indicatorsofservicequalityandsatisfactionamonggraduatingstudentsofahighereducationinstitutionheiinghana