Document Type : Original Article
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Background: Sustainable development of higher education system, which is a dynamic system, requires harmonious, proportional, and balanced growth of both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. This study aimed to determine the quality gap of educational services from the students’ perspective in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 220 students were selected using classified random sampling in 2012. The study data were collected through SERVQUAL questionnaire which measures the five dimensions of service quality gap, namely tangibles, reliability, assurance, empathy, and responsiveness. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, paired t–test, and one-way ANOVA.
Result: The highest quality gap was related to assurance (-1.72±0.91) and accountability (-1.72±1.02), while the lowest quality gap was related to tangibles (-1.48±0.88). The results revealed a significant difference between perceptions and expectations in all the dimensions (P>0.05). Considering the overall quality of the educational services, the majority of the students (211, 95.9%) attributed negative gap for service quality.
Conclusion: Considering the vital role of universities and centers of higher education in a country’s development, enhancing the quality of higher education will provide further improvements. In order to reduce these gaps, customer service and communication training workshops should be executed, training courses on new educational methods should be held for teachers, and culture of customer-orientation and student-centeredness should be institutionalized.
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