Date

6-2017

Department

Graduate School of Business

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Chair

Kendrick W Brunson

Keywords

Access, Bible College, Functional Value, Higher Education, Perceived Value, Service Quality

Disciplines

Business | Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Hospitality Administration and Management | Human Resources Management | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | Other Business

Abstract

This doctoral research project examined perceptual gaps of service quality and value in the context of higher education. The researcher performed quantitative analysis of survey data gathered from students at a small, Midwestern Bible college. Students self-selected to participate in this research project and, using class status as an independent variable, were grouped as Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, or Senior. Additionally, based on the literature review, the researcher used the Access variable as the primary determinant of service quality and the Functional Value variable as the primary determinant of value. After an analysis of the data, it was determined that there are differing perceptions of service quality and value amongst the students at the target institution. A Scheffe’s post-hoc test revealed that the Sophomore class perceives significantly lower levels of Access compared to the Freshman and Senior class. Furthermore, for the Functional Value variable, it was determined that students perceived lower levels of Functional Value the longer they were exposed to the curriculum of the college. These differences were significant at the α = 0.05 level. Finally, the findings of this project are useful to college administrators in developing recruitment and retention policies at the target institution.

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