The Effect of Undergraduate Students' Perceived Service Quality on Student Commitment

Abstract

Higher education institutions are eager to attract more qualified students in a competitive environment. In this direction, they strive to increase the commitment of the students to the university by improving the quality of the offered service. Thus, students continue their higher education with great satisfaction and talk positively about their universities and recommend it to the next generations. This research aimed to identify the effect undergraduate students' perceived quality of service had on their commitment. A mixed methods research methodology with an explanatory sequential design was used. The research sample composed of 1,782 students, and the quantitative data were collected through scales developed by the researchers. The qualitative data were collected through a semi-structured interview and critical incidents technique forms. The findings have pointed out that the quality of service in higher education positively affects student commitment; as the perception of service quality improves, student commitment increases. Students' commitment to the university is mainly affected by the quality of education, the image of the university/faculty, and the quality of facilities. While research related to service quality and student commitment exists in the literature, this research has pointed out the underlying reasons for students' commitment and perceptions of university services with direct quotations. Students' views should be taken into consideration by the management to improve quality in the university. This research is limited to public university undergraduate students'; future researchers can conduct studies with private university students and state their findings.