Quality in higher education institutions: insights from the literature

Hospitality and tourism management student satisfaction with their majors and career readiness amid the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak impacted hospitality and tourism management (HTM) program offerings that typically attract students, such as experiential learning courses, field trips, and internships, which were canceled or postponed. This transition has raised concerns about whether student satisfaction with their major and their perceived career readiness were impacted by the modified curriculum. Therefore, this study investigates how perceived curriculum, campus support, and self-efficacy affect HTM student satisfaction with the major and career readiness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, perceived curriculum, campus support, and self-efficacy positively influenced student satisfaction with their major. Self-efficacy has a positive impact on career readiness.

An empirical study into the use of 7 quality control tools in higher education institutions (HEIs)

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to revisit Ishikawa's statement: “95% of problems in processes can be accomplished using the original 7 Quality Control (QC) tools”. The paper critically investigates the validity of this statement in higher education institutions (HEIs). It involves analysis of the usage of the 7 QC tools and identifying the barriers, benefits, challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) for the application of the 7 QC tools in a HEI setting.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey instrument was developed, and as this is a global study, survey participants were contacted via social networks such as LinkedIn. Target respondents were HEIs educators or professionals who are knowledgeable about the 7 QC tools promulgated by Dr Ishikawa. Professionals who work in administrative sectors, such as libraries, information technology and human resources were included in the study. A number of academics who teach the 7 basic tools of QC were also included in the study. The survey link was sent to over 200 educators and professionals and 76 complete responses were obtained.

Findings

The primary finding of this study shows that the diffusion of seven QC tools is not widespread in the context of HEIs. Less than 8% of the respondents believe that more than 90% of process problems can be solved by applying the 7 QC tools. These numbers show that modern-quality problems may need more than the 7 basic QC basic tools and there may be a need to revisit the role and contribution of these tools to solve problems in the higher education sector. Tools such as Pareto chart and cause and effect diagram have been widely used in the context of HEIs. The most important barriers highlighted are related to the lack of knowledge about the benefits and about how and when to apply these tools. Among the challenges are the “lack of knowledge of the tools and their applications” and “lack of training in the use of the tools”. The main benefits mentioned by the respondents were “the identification of areas for improvement, problem definition, measurement, and analysis”. According to this study, the most important factors critical for the success of the initiative were “management support”, “widespread training” and “having a continuous improvement program in place”.

Research limitations/implications

The exploratory study provides an initial understanding about the 7 QC tools application in HEIs, and their benefits, challenges and critical success factors, which can act as guidelines for implementation in HEIs. Surveys alone cannot provide deeper insights into the status of the application of 7 QC tools in HEIs, and therefore qualitative studies in the form of semi-structured interviews should be carried out in the future.

Originality/value

This article contributes with an exploratory empirical study on the extent of the use of 7 QC tools in the university processes. The authors claim that this is the first empirical study looking into the use of the 7 QC tools in the university sector.

Student Satisfaction and Retention: Impact of Service Quality and Digital Transformation

A country’s economic and technological development in the twenty-first century depends heavily on higher education. Similar to other countries, the majority of higher education institutions in Bangladesh are private universities that offer educational services alongside public (government-funded) universities. This study aims to investigate how service quality dimensions and digital transformation influence student satisfaction and student retention in private universities in Bangladesh. Data were acquired from a convenient sample, including students from the top five private universities in Bangladesh, through a self-administered questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was completed by 210 of the 235 students who were asked to participate. Each questionnaire was carefully examined. 200 were determined to be appropriate for this study. A conceptual model of eight factors, including the five dimensions of the SERVQUAL model, digital transformation, student satisfaction, and student retention, was framed and tested. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), multiple regression, and bivariate regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 26.0 to test the hypothesized relations. According to the findings of descriptive data, students are satisfied with the quality of private university services and digital transformation activities. This study reveals that all the service quality dimensions positively and significantly impact student satisfaction except the empathy dimension. It is also found that digital transformation substantially influences student satisfaction. Furthermore, student satisfaction has a positive and significant influence on student retention. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first initiative to investigate the impact of service quality dimensions and digital transformation on student satisfaction and student retention in the context of private universities in Bangladesh. This study contributes to higher education institutions for the improvement of service quality dimensions and the digital transformation to obtain student satisfaction and student retention in highly competitive educational sectors. Finally, this work argues that digital transformation in higher education is necessary for survival and growth in the twenty-first century.

QoS in higher education institutions: the concept, a literature review and future directions

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the meaning and operationalisation of quality of service (QoS) in the context of higher education institutions (HEIs).

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review of 167 articles published in various peer-reviewed journals between 1990 and 2019 is performed.

Findings

The findings reveal that around 40 dimensions have been used to conceptualise QoS in HEIs. Reliability followed by responsiveness, tangibility, empathy, assurance, programme design, academic and non-academic processes, reputation and facilities have received the highest attention. The most popular approach is empirical, and surveys and single-context studies are the most popular methods. The United Kingdom (UK) leads research on quality in HEIs, followed by the United States of America (USA) and India.

Research limitations/implications

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting a comprehensive synthesis of articles addressing QoS in HEIs.

Practical implications

Policymakers and academic administrators can use the findings of this study to conceptualise student satisfaction along the educational value chain. The discussion on HEIs’ and students’ perspectives will help policymakers create teaching excellence.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting a unified synthesis of various strands of the literature on QoS in HEIs.

A comprehensive model for assessing the quality in higher education institutions

Purpose

This study aims to propose a comprehensive model for assessing the quality of academic programs in higher education institutions (HEIs) by adopting the TQM philosophy.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a sample of 377 responses from higher education academics, experts and professionals in Sweden, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to empirically test the proposed hypotheses and validate the model.

Findings

The model reveals that the input-based factors have a stronger impact on the process-based factors; while process-based factors have less impact on the output-based factors. The input-based factors: adoption of international pedagogy standards (IPS), education infrastructure (EDI), and work/study environment (WSE) through the process-based factors quality of students (QOS) and quality of faculty staff (QFS) is found to have a significant impact on output-based factor quality of academic programs (QAP).

Research limitations/implications

This study has been conducted in Sweden. Inclusion of other countries provides opportunities for further analysis by conducting cross-comparison between different cultures in higher education, and including additional stakeholders such as policymakers, parents and students.

Practical implications

This research also contributes to practice by providing an in-depth understanding of the relationships among variables that affect the quality of academic programs in HEIs, and provides insights to internally assess the quality levels of their academic programs

Originality/value

This study contributes to the knowledge by providing a holistic view in which it integrates input, process and output perspectives in a conceptual model to assess the quality of academic programs at the higher education level.

Findings of quality management studies in primary and secondary education: a systematic literature review

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to present the main findings of the studies in the field of quality management (QM) in primary and secondary education. Grouping these findings into themes and these themes, in turn, into broad categories as well as prioritizing the themes of findings are also aims of the present study.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review (SLR) of articles focusing on QM in primary and secondary education was carried out based on major publishers, namely Emerald Online, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier/Science Direct, Springer Link, Sage Publishing and Online. In total, 133 articles published in 62 journals during 1983–2019 were collected. The affinity diagram was applied in order to group the findings of the QM studies into logical themes and these themes into broad categories. Moreover, the Pareto diagram was applied to prioritize the themes revealed.

Findings

A plethora of articles focusing on QM in primary and secondary education have been published in the last decades. The findings of the QM studies presented in the 133 reviewed articles are grouped into 43 themes and these themes, in turn, into 6 broad categories, namely management practices, school characteristics, teachers, stakeholders, government and pupils. The analysis also reveals themes that can be characterized as “vital” and “useful.”

Practical implications

Researchers and school managers can take into consideration the findings of the QM studies in primary and secondary education as well as the themes of high priority for the design of future studies and QM implementation plans, respectively.

Originality/value

This is the first literature review study which presents analytically the findings of the QM studies in primary and secondary education. This study also contributes to the literature by formulating meaningful themes of these findings and broad categories of these themes and by prioritizing the themes revealed.

Service quality of student services and student satisfaction: the mediating effect of cross-functional collaboration

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the interaction of tangibles, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy dimensions of the service quality (SERVQUAL) and student satisfaction (SS), and second, to explore the mediating role of cross-functional collaboration (CFC) on these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

The structural equation modelling was used to examine the direct and mediated effect models using data collected through a survey of 352 students from 18 higher education institutes (HEIs) in Oman.

Findings

The statistical analysis confirms our main hypotheses. First, the centrality of tangibles, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy dimensions of the service quality was established in the direct effect model, while the importance of tangibles and responsiveness was not confirmed in the mediated effect model. Second, it approved the partial mediation effect of CFC on the five dimensions of SERVQUAL and satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Service quality, level of CFC and relative SS in higher education could be subjected to contextual verification and evaluation of these internal and external contextual factors should be considered.

Practical implications

Several implications are highlighted for the effective development of the service quality of student affairs departments (SADs), the development of CFC for effective management, development and deployment of various student affairs initiatives.

Originality/value

This paper satisfies the need to validate the SERVQUAL model in different contexts such as SADs, and the need to investigate the possible mediating effect of other factors on SERVQUAL dimensions and satisfaction to show how the latter can be achieved.