Identification of Gaps in Service Quality in Higher Education

Gap means difference between perception and expectation. Identification of gap provides an opportunity to bridge it and thus to enhance the service. Higher education is getting popularity as a service industry day by day. This study focuses to identify the gaps in service quality of higher education by using a self-developed instrument on the lines of the SERVQUAL. Two stages random sampling technique was used. A sample of 144 students from university of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan was selected. The information collected through the questionnaire were used to find out the expectations as well as perceptions of the students regarding five dimensions of service quality namely, responsiveness, assurance, tangibles, empathy and reliability. The service quality gaps were determined based on differences between perceptions and expectations of the students. The results show that there are gaps in all the five dimensions. The study found significant difference between perceptions and expectations of students (p 0.000).It means students expectations exceeded their perceptions. It is recommended that the university should take steps for improvement in all the five dimensions.