A pilot emperical investigation into student perceptions of service quality at the Department of Management of the University of the Western Cape

Abstract

This pilot research survey was undertaken as a result of the need to assess the service quality within Higher Education in general and the Department of Management at UWC in particular. This report focuses on the complexities of measuring service quality in higher education. The quality of service delivery within education is becoming more important as the competition for students increases.The literature was searched to find a suitable measure with a sound theoretical structure. This measure was then adapted for the department.In a preliminary way this instrument was then applied to students in the department and initial results are reported on.The results revealed that undergraduates overall were uncertain in their attitude to the service quality in the department. On the other hand, postgraduate students tended to rate the service quality rather more negatively (p < 0.004). Furthermore there were no gender differences except for tangibles (p = 000.5).This pilot study could serve as a pilot study of the service quality in an academic environment. It is the main contention of this report that students themselves should be part of defining quality.