Examining Service Quality in Ghanaian Higher Education: A Comparative Analysis of Private and Public Universities

Abstract

Little is known about how students perceive the quality of service provided by Ghanaian tertiary institutions and how this perception influences their enrolment choices. Using the Higher Education Quality (HiEdQUAL) model for service quality measurement, this study examined service quality across five key dimensions; teaching and course content, administrative services, academic facilities, campus infrastructure, and support services in Ghanaian private and public universities. A structured questionnaire based on HiEdQUAL model consisting of 27 items with five dimensions, measured on a five-point Likert-Scale was used to gather data. Out of the initial 2,266 sampled respondents surveyed from private and public universities, a total of 1,758 correctly completed questionnaires were returned. This gave a high response rate of 76.43%. The paired t-test results that examined the equality of means between students’ perceptions of service quality at private and public universities across five dimensions, helped to determine the presence of statistically significant differences in some areas. The results suggested that public universities may be making better use of their resources or benefitting from their large numbers of enrollment and state financial support. Given that the quality of service provided by both private and public universities in Ghana falls short of students’ expectations, the paper provides administrators with practical insights to improve service quality in Ghanaian universities and suggests the need for continuous quality improvement in institutions of higher learning in Ghana. Keywords: HiEdQUAL, Service Quality, Higher Education, Public Universities, Private Universities.