Assessment of the Quality of Academic Services at Yasouj University: Application of SERVQUAL Model

Abstract

The qualitative expansion of the higher education system, regardless of quality development, will have inappropriate outcomes. Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the quality of academic services at Yasouj University using the SERVQUAL model. The statistical population consisted of 508 senior undergraduates at Yasouj University in 2018-2019. According to the Krejcie and Morgan formula, 220 individuals were selected as the sample through stratified random sampling in terms of their field of study. Data were collected through a two-part questionnaire including students' perceptions and expectations about the quality of educational, research, and welfare services. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by using the opinions of the relevant field experts after revising, and its reliability was estimated by calculating the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. The results showed that students had the lowest and highest satisfaction with the current status in terms of welfare services and educational services, respectively. Also, the greatest service gap was in welfare, research, and educational services, respectively. The results of the means comparison test revealed that the students' expectations of educational, research, and welfare services were significantly higher than their perceptions. Therefore, better provision of educational, research, and welfare services should be taken into consideration by the relevant authorities.