Service Quality and Students’ Satisfaction in Private Lebanese Higher Education Institutions: The Case of X University

Abstract

Service quality and students’ satisfaction have become global buzzwords in the higher education (HE) literature in the past 20 years. Research studies on service quality and its effect on students’ satisfaction in the Lebanese HE sector are still very limited. This quantitative study aims to measure quality of service provided for students at X University from students’ perspective. It also aims to assess the extent of students’ satisfaction with their educational experience at X University and investigate the effect of service quality on their satisfaction. Data were collected from 4,004 X University students across Lebanon through an online survey questionnaire adapted from the modified Higher Education Performance-only (HEDPERF) model (Abdullah, 2006b) and student exit survey (Lebanese American University, 2017). Results revealed that good quality service is provided for students, who are mainly satisfied with their educational experience at X University. The results also showed that service quality has a significant effect on students’ satisfaction, with reputation dimension as the strongest predictor of students’ satisfaction and academic aspects dimension as the weakest predictor. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are provided.