Service delivery and students' satisfaction in Politeknik Kuching Sarawak / Magretta Jawai Nyanggau

The educational industry is undergoing rapid change and competition has increased with an increasing influx of local and foreign colleges in the country. Higher educational institutions have begun to recognize the importance of attracting students and retaining them once they are in the institution. An important reason for the interest in service quality results from the belief that it has a beneficial effect on the performance of the institution. Students’ satisfaction assessment is vital in determining service quality in institutions. Hence, the objective of this study is to evaluate the service quality provided; the objectives the level of students’ satisfaction on service quality provided; to identify the relationship between service quality (tangible, responsiveness, reliability, assurance and empathy) and students’ satisfaction base on SERVQUAL measures (Parasuraman et al.,1998). Instrument used in this research is adapted from Parasuraman et al. (1990) with some of the items used extracted from LeBlanc and Nguyen (1997) using the five dimensions in service quality (tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, emphaty) using Likert scale. The respondents were students from Department of Commerce in Politeknik Kuching Sarawak (PKS). Total of 271 questionnaires distributed, 155 of questionnaires were returned, this representing 57.2% return rate.This research provides institutions service management with guidance of the current provision of service quality at Politeknik Kuching Sarawak. The findings generally indicate that majority of students are significantly satisfied with the services provided by institutions. Due to nature of service quality, it is essential to conduct further research to build on this study, in order to ensure that the institution remains competitive in what is an increasingly turbulent environment.