| Abstract: |
Facing a growing competitive environment, higher education institutions have
increased dramatically the competition for recruiting and retaining students
providing a high quality service as a solution to compete. Frequently,
researchers who have studied the service quality and client satisfaction have
measured it by comparing consumers’ expectations with their perception of the
provided service. This study was undertaken to provide data for analysing
students’ expectations when they enter University, as well as to know which
influences origin those expectations at the beginning of undergraduate
studies. Then these expectations were compared with student’s service
perceptions after one year of study. An analysis between expected service and
service received is maid and the results shown that the gap between those, is
great in aspects mainly directly related to educational service. A factorial
analysis shows that service expectations are mainly formed around the
dimensions related to aspects of learning and career, reputation of the
University and how the support services are delivered by staff. |