The Quality Assessment of Educational Services Based on Perception and Expectations of Students in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Background: Service quality (SERVQUAL) is a model that measures the quality through comparing the expectations and perceptions of recipients to identify gaps. Identifying the gap may provide valuable insights for improving services. The students are the main recipients of services in educational organizations. So, this study was conducted to assess the educational services from the perspective of students of Health Services management at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences by the SERVQUAL model. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2018. The participants were 85 students of various levels of Health Services management. The SERVQUAL questionnaire including dimensions of empathy, tangibles, reliability, responsiveness and, assurance was used for data collection. Descriptive analysis, T-test, ANOVA, and correlation (Pearson and Spearman) tests were used for data analysis. Results: The overall mean perceptions and expectations were 3.02 ± 0.58 and 3.78 ± 0.73 respectively. There was a negative gap in all dimensions of educational services (mean= -0.76). The greatest negative gap was in the dimension of assurance (-1.05). The other variables were ranked as the following order: Responsiveness, Empathy, Reliability, and Tangibles. A statistically significant correlation was observed between the students’ expectations and their educational level (P 0.05). Conclusion: Students’ expectations were higher than their perceptions based on the results; however, according to SERVQUAL model the quality of education was inappropriate. It is necessary to plan effectively, so that the quality of education in all dimensions, particularly in assurance domain, can be improved.