Mitra Moubed; Ali Nadizadeh; Parisa Shaker
Abstract
Abstract
The education system can fulfill its tasks when, in addition to quantity, it is also in good condition in terms of quality. On the other hand, due to national and global competition between universities and the fast growth of the number of them, these institutions are forced to increase their ...
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Abstract
The education system can fulfill its tasks when, in addition to quantity, it is also in good condition in terms of quality. On the other hand, due to national and global competition between universities and the fast growth of the number of them, these institutions are forced to increase their quality of services in order to become priority for the students and society. One of the important services of universities for students is their accommodation services in dormitories. Therefore, dormitory is an important part of universities as a second home and will replace the family for a group of students. A high quality and satisfaction of students from these services can help the academic progress, physical and mental health of students. In this paper, the quality of dormitory services of Ardakan University has been evaluated using the SERVQUAL model and analyzed by IPA. To achieve this goal, the data was collected using questionnaire from 145 students in Ardakan University by sequential sampling. Examining students' expectations and perceptions of the services and the gap between them has shown a negative gap in all aspects of service quality; the biggest gap for tangibles and the least one for assurance. Analysis of different aspects and questions in this research using IPA matrix showed the strengths, weaknesses and improvement priorities. The results of this study can be used in the evaluation and diagnosis of dormitory services of other universities, as well as Iran Tourism hotels.
Extended abstract
Introduction
Higher education is responsible for the social, cultural, economic and educational growth and development of the society and it should be of good quality in addition to quantity (Yasbolagi et al, 2015). On the other hand, competitions in the field of higher education have increased the pressure on universities and educational institutions to improve their capabilities and service quality. The customer and his satisfaction are key elements in different definitions of quality that contribute to the success and excellence of organizations and increase their profitability (Madanian & Shekarchizade, 2019). In universities, students are one of the important groups of customers whose satisfaction can be a determining factor for evaluating the institution's performance (Yazdani & Hajian, 2018). Evaluating the quality of university services from the perspective of students, as one of the basic requirements of modern management, can help in planning for the long-term success and survival of universities. Some of the university services for students include information technology services, library, welfare services, administrative services, education and dormitory services (Haji Mohammad & Khoshghalb, 2020).
The service quality model (SERQUAL) is one of the most widely used models for evaluating service quality, which was first introduced by Parasuraman et al. in 1985. This model defines service quality in five: tangibles, reliability, accountability, assurance and empathy.
In the studies with the Seroqual tool, the evaluation of the gap between the expectations and perceptions of customers has been used for quality analysis. Another method that is suggested for the analysis of different dimensions of quality is the use of the importance-performance matrix (IPA), which makes suggestions and priorities based on the importance of each issue. For example, this method was used in Stig University of Portugal to evaluate the quality of educational services, and suggestions for improvement were defined (Silva & Fernandes, 2011). In a university in Indonesia, the student satisfaction index and the IPA matrix have been used to evaluate the quality of laboratory services in key performance indicators. The satisfaction index of students in this study is 72%. The IPA analysis has shown priorities for improving these services in matters such as equipment adequacy, their calibration, laboratory safety and staff behavior (Sidik et al, 2019).
Considering the importance of university dormitory services and the gap observed in research on the subject, in this article a model for evaluating the quality of dormitory services with the help of serqual techniques and importance-performance analysis is presented. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the quality of dormitory services in the university, which Ardakan University was selected as a case study. In this regard, the main question of the research is the quality of university dormitory services, which will be investigated based on the SERVQUAL model.
Theoretical Framework
In higher education, various studies have investigated the quality of educational services in different universities, which have often shown a negative gap in most dimensions of these services. Among the most recent of these studies, we can cite the evaluation of the satisfaction of university pharmacy students in Saudi Arabia (Sibai et al, 2021), students of dental and nursing colleges in Saudi Arabia and Egypt (Rabaa & Hala, 2022) and postgraduate students of medical sciences in Kermanshah (Toghroli et al, 2021). ). But in the university, in addition to educational services, other services are also provided. In a research to investigate students' satisfaction with the academic role of Babolsar city, it was shown that accommodation services and welfare services had the greatest effect, and sports services and employment facilities had the least effect on student satisfaction (Shamai & Mahmoodi, 2011). In our country, in the girls' dormitories of the Urmia University of Medical Sciences, researchers showed that the dormitory services are acceptable and satisfactory from the students' point of view, using SERQUAL questionnaires. However, a significant difference has been observed between the average satisfactions of students in different dormitories (Nabilou & Khani, 2015). In another qualitative research that was conducted among girls living in the dormitories of ten Iranian Universities, students were dissatisfied with the facilities of the rooms, the condition of the buildings, cultural and welfare facilities (Serajzadeh & Habibpour, 2019). In the dormitories of Mohaghegh Ardabili University, architectural and construction factors have been investigated and problems have been identified (Daliri & Hatami, (2022). In another study, the relationship between drug use and the quality of sleep and life in the dormitories of Allameh Tabatabai University was investigated (Kushkestani, 2020).
Another method used in studies to analyze different dimensions of quality is the use of the importance-performance matrix, which makes suggestions and priorities based on the importance of each issue. For example, this method was used in Stig University in Portugal to evaluate the quality of educational services (Silva & Fernandes, 2011); in a university in Indonesia to evaluate the quality of laboratory services (Sidik et al, 2019); in a university in China to evaluate the quality of English language teaching services (Wenyu, 2021); and in another university in Beijing to evaluate the quality of classroom teaching (Wang et al, 2022)).
Research methodology
The purpose of this applicable research, which was carried out with a survey-analytical method, is to evaluate the condition of the dormitories of Ardakan University. The statistical population of the present study is 1000 students living in the university dormitories, including 400 boys and 600 girls in four separate buildings. Cochran's formula was used to determine the sample size, and the number 88 was acquired at the 10% confidence level. To carry out this study, the standard questionnaire of Serqual model was adapted for dormitory services. This initial questionnaire was reviewed in several stages with the help of experts and university dormitory service officials, and the final questionnaire was prepared with 31 items in 5 dimensions.
In order to ensure the validity of the questionnaires, the opinions of at least 5 experts and relevant officials were used and the corrections were made according to their opinion. In order to measure reliability, a preliminary study was conducted with a random sample of 13 students, and Cronbach's alpha was 0.774 for expectations and 0.848 for perceptions. Since the coefficients are higher than 0.7, the questionnaire has the necessary reliability.
Research Findings
First, hypotheses were proposed based on the research questions, and then SPSS 19 software was used for inferential statistical analysis. The results of the statistical tests showed that students' expectations of different aspects of dormitory services are higher than average and their perception of these dimensions is lower than average. Students were most satisfied with the quality of services in terms of guarantee, accountability, empathy, confidence and tangibles respectively. Also, in all dimensions of service quality, a significant gap was observed between expectations and perceptions. The students' satisfaction with the dormitory services was different among different dormitories, and based on the average, the best services were provided in the Derakhshan, Farhang, and Payam Noor dormitories, respectively. The variables of age, year of entering the university and duration of residence did not affect the satisfaction of students.
In gap analysis models, researchers believe that the lower the service quality, the higher the receivers' expectations. In other words, the presence of defects and gaps in one dimension has an aggravating effect and causes quality loss in other dimensions (Yazdani & Hajian, 2018). Therefore, prioritizing improvement measures and allocating funds to dimensions with the largest negative gaps can be effective in reducing other negative gaps as well.
The biggest negative gap of this research was in the tangible dimension; despite the university's investment in building and equipping new dormitories, this dimension still failed to attract students' satisfaction, and it is also recognized as a weakness in the IPA matrix. Also, this matrix has correctly classified the allocation of funds for "updating the dormitory infrastructure" in the resource waste group. The priority of other problems identified in this dimension is mentioned in the previous paragraph. The second negative gap in the confidence dimension indicates the failure to fulfill the promises made to the students. But since this dimension is located in the fourth area of the IPA matrix, it has little priority for improvement. The review of the items also showed that only the item "quickly fixing the created problems" as a weakness has a higher priority for improvement. Based on these results, there is currently no priority for improvement in the other three dimensions.
Conclusion
The results of this research, like (Putri & Anffraini, 2018) and (Serajzadeh & Habibpour, 2019), show a significant gap between the expectations and perceptions of students about the quality of dormitory services. In other articles that have evaluated the quality of hostel services, the quality gap has not been measured. Compared to the work of Putri & Anffraini (2018), this research has also identified the priority of improvement in each of the dimensions with the help of IPA matrix. Naturally, the improvement priorities in the two universities are different from each other; but in both cases, improvement of tangibles and physical facilities has been among priorities. Similarly, in the study of the opinions of female students living in the dormitories of ten Iranian Universities, the physical epuipments and facilities of the rooms were also among the dissatisfaction cases (Serajzadeh & Habibpour, 2019). Also, the results of this research, like the work of Nabilou & Khani (2015) conducted in Urmia University, show a significant difference between the qualities of different dormitories of a university.
Conducting a similar study periodically can show the effectiveness of the various measures taken. Future researchers can use other methods to prioritize improvement measures in dormitories. Another suggestion is to examine ways to save money and reduce the costs of dormitories in order to fund the cost measures for improvement in the dormitories. Considering the service gap related to the behavior and attitudes of employees, it is suggested that future researchers identify and prioritize the educational needs of dormitory employees.
Mitra Moubed; Reza Rafi
Abstract
In this research, a model is presented to measure the importance and performance of different dimensions of agility in the university. To analyze the results, in addition to the calculations related to importance and performance, the importance-performance matrix (IPA) is used, which can show the location ...
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In this research, a model is presented to measure the importance and performance of different dimensions of agility in the university. To analyze the results, in addition to the calculations related to importance and performance, the importance-performance matrix (IPA) is used, which can show the location of the agility dimensions and the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This model was implemented as a case study in Ardakan University and the obtained results were evaluated and analyzed. A questionnaire and a survey of faculty members and employees were used to evaluate agility, and the results show that there is no significant difference between these two groups. The evaluation and analysis of the obtained information about the importance and performance of different agility items has been done with the help of the IPA matrix, and decisions about these items have been presented based on their position in the matrix. Based on this matrix, the strengths and weaknesses of Ardakan University and the cases that do not need to be allocated a budget at the moment have been identified and suggestions have been made for the university managers.Extended Abstract IntroductionAgility as the business paradigm of the new century is a winning strategy to be able to compete in the global market with customers whose needs change rapidly (Sarlak, Delangizan & Kakeh baraie, 2016). There are different definitions for organizational agility, but in simple terms, it can be said that it is the ability of the organization to survive and progress in an environment with continuous and unpredictable changes. In addition to surviving in such environments, agile organizations can also gain benefits and opportunities for themselves (Karami, 2008).The need for the agility of higher education in dealing with the changes in the world after the corona pandemic showed itself well. In this change, trying to maintain the quality of education while responding to the needs of students, staff and professors, and clear and accurate communication with these groups, universities faced new challenges (Connolly & Farrier, 2022). Virtual education and the use of digital tools have also strengthened concepts such as virtual university, agile university and 4th generation university (Shrivastava & Shrivastava, 2022).The main question of this research is to identify the state of agility in Ardakan University and the position of different aspects of agility in terms of their importance and performance and their prioritization. With such an analysis; the strengths, weaknesses and problems of the university in the field of agility can be identified and ranked.Theoretical FrameworkAgility as a strategy for organizations in the 21st century to quickly adapt to changes was introduced to the world by Iacocca Research Institute in 1991. Later, many researchers in this field researched and presented models and defined different dimensions for agility in organizations (Sarlak, et al, 2016). Agility in academia is defined as its ability as a living human system to thrive and learn from continuous changes in the environment, so that change becomes part of normal organizational life and not a threatening event (Sharpe, 2012).The IPA matrix was first proposed in 1977 to evaluate service quality. As a simple and understandable tool, IPA has wide applications in evaluating the organization by managers and shows a good picture of the organization's performance.Moradi, Hosseinpour, & Mehralizadeh, (2021) investigated the primary and secondary factors affecting agility in the University of San'at Naft and showed that university culture, knowledge management and information technology are effective on the strategic agility of managers and training and empowerment of employees and value addition of employees on organizational agility.Pourjavid, Khosravipour, & Alibaygi, (2021) examined agility in the dimensions of causal, contextual, intervening, core, strategies, and consequences of agility in agricultural education in Iran. This research describes the methods of achieving agility in agricultural universities and has not provided a model to evaluate the level of agility. MethodologyThis qualitative research is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive-analytical in terms of nature and method. The statistical population under investigation was all Ardakan University personnel (including staff and faculty members), whose number was 110 at the time of the research. By calculating the sample size through Cochran's formula at the error level of 10%, the number of 51 people was obtained as a sample. A total of 50 answer sheets were collected and the data of 47 of them were confirmed.To conduct this research, a questionnaire with 27 items on a 5-point Likert scale was used to measure the importance and performance of different agility factors in Ardakan University. In order to use the IPA model, the questionnaire is set in two sections: importance and performance. In order to measure content validity, the opinion of seven professors and experts in this field who had at least one article on university agility was received.Discussion and ResultsSPSS 19 software was used to check the research hypothesis and analyze data, and ANOVA test was used to check the difference of opinion of different occupational groups, and the results showed that the significance level (Sig.) for all dimensions of agility is higher than 0.05, that is, the reason is not enough to reject the null hypothesis, and in all dimensions the sample mean is equal to the expected mean. In other words, the importance of all aspects of the university's agility is high from the viewpoint of the university's staff and faculty. Friedman's test was also used for the performance of different dimensions of agility. The results of this test show that according to the significance value less than 0.05, the average performance of agility in different dimensions is not the same. The performance ranking results of different dimensions with the help of Friedman's test in Table 9 show that although agile leadership ranked first in terms of importance, it was ranked third in terms of performance. The ANOVA test results show that the significance level (Sig) for all dimensions is higher than 0.05, that is, the average gap in all dimensions is equal for different occupational groups. As a result, there is no significant difference between the opinions of the faculty, staff, and faculty with the executive position.ConclusionThe present research was conducted with the aim of assessing the agility in universities with the IPA model (case study: Ardakan University). Rapid changes in the environment, businesses, educational needs, teaching methods and new technologies have drawn the attention of university managers and higher education institutions to agility in the university. In the past, many studies in this field have been conducted in other countries and also in our country. Most of these studies have estimated the level of agility by surveying university faculty members about different dimensions. In this article, the performance-importance tool is proposed to measure different aspects of agility in the university and it has been used specifically in Ardakan University. Also, in addition to faculty members, employees have also been surveyed for evaluation. The results of the research showed that the importance of all dimensions of agility is high and performance in all dimensions is less than that. Comparing the performance gap in all dimensions and the opinions of faculty members and employees showed that the opinions of the different groups surveyed did not differ significantly. At the end, by placing the different dimensions and items of the questionnaire in the importance-performance matrix, the situation of each is analyzed and solutions are provided for them.According to the current research, the following are suggested:- Focusing on more interaction and encouraging teamwork between employees and faculty members by holding face-to-face and virtual meetings and defining projects and tasks as a teamStrengthening the industry communication unit to create and expand cooperation networks with different industries and specialists and hold related seminarsDesigning and creating appropriate systems and processes for evaluating and supporting the research of students, staff and faculty.
