Impact of Service Quality Dimensions on Student Satisfaction: A Study Based On Commerce and Management Faculties of Public Sector Higher Education Institutions in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Public sector higher education institutes in Sri Lanka are in a close competition in recent years in order to offer high quality services and achieve higher national and International rank. But quality in higher education is a complex and multifaceted concept and a single appropriate definition of quality is lacking. Every stakeholder in higher education has a particular view of quality depending on their specific needs. But out of these stakeholders, students' perception of quality is more prominent than others. Since positive perceptions of service quality can lead to student satisfaction and satisfied students may attract new students through word-of-mouth communication and return them to the university to take further courses. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between student satisfaction over the service quality dimensions offered by Commerce & Management Faculties of the public sector universities in Sri Lanka. The research will be conducted using the HERDPERF service quality model and six declarative hypotheses will be developed for the dimensions chosen and tested through correlation analysis. Finally the outcomes of the results concluded that all five aspects are positively correlated with the student satisfaction and academic aspect and reputation has a strong relationship toward student satisfaction.