Service Quality: Quality Management in Higher Education using a Stakeholder’s Approach

External quality monitoring approaches (EQM), such as accreditation and assessment have been criticized for leading to the control of quality and not to its improvement (Elton, 1992). Consequently, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have been shifting toward quality management approaches that are market-oriented and aim in quality improvements. Approaches which emphasize a stakeholder focus and transfer service quality concepts to the HE area as tools for quality improvements.
This study transfers concepts of service quality to HE and utilizes a stakeholder-approach in order to define and assess the quality of HEIs. Students’ expectations for a “quality” university as well as their importance and performance perceptions are addressed; A “quality’ HEI, as perceived by students is defined. A “Conceptual Framework of Quality Dimensions”, validated by a key stakeholder (students) and the literature, is developed. Furthermore, the use of Importance-Performance Analysis identifies and prioritises quality efforts, thereby contributing to the improvement and the enhancement of the quality of the educational provision of a HEI.