A discriminant function analysis on service quality in higher education (a case study of ISO recognized institution vs. non ISO recognized institution)

The service sector has grown considerably since the 1970’s and services are now playing an increasingly an important role in the economy of many nations Abdullah, 2006a). Among the industries that are dominant in the services, Higher Education Industry plays a predominant role towards the development of a country. In the area of higher education, the concept of what constitutes quality is still developing and keeps on emerging because the educational environment is dynamic. These components must be regularly measured with the responding changes of environment. The outcomes of the measurement will be very useful for the administrators as well as for the academicians to provide plans and solutions for the continuous improvements so that the service offered by the institutions will be significant to the students.

This study describes the perception of customers across different disciplines of arts, science, commerce and management into one activity. This study aids to synthesize the broad perspectives, knowledge, skills, interconnections and epistemology in an educational setting. The aim of this study is to identify the SERVQUAL factors that significantly discriminate the ISO recognized Institution students from the Non- ISO recognized institution student's perception of Service Quality.