Students’ satisfaction with service quality in higher education institutions in the perspective of students’ expectations and perceptions in Tanzania

The uploaded dataset was obtained from a PhD study, guided by four specific objectives, which intended to:
1. Assess the influence of demographic characteristics on students’ expectations about service quality dimensions and overall service quality in a HEI in Tanzania.
2. Assess the influence of demographic characteristics on students’ perceptions about service quality dimensions and overall service quality in a HEI in Tanzania.
3. Assess the influence of demographic characteristics on students’ satisfaction with service quality dimensions and overall service quality in a HEI in Tanzania.
4. Assess the influence of demographic characteristics on students’ future intention to re-enroll or recommend a surveyed public HEI in Tanzania.

In order to examine the stated objectives, four hypotheses were stated as follows:

Hypothesis 1:
Keeping the other covariates ceteris paribus, demographic characteristics have no influence on students’ expectations about service quality dimensions and the overall service quality in a public HEI.

Hypothesis 2:
Keeping the other covariates ceteris paribus, demographic characteristics have no influence on students’ perceptions about service quality dimensions and the overall service quality in a public HEI.

Hypothesis 3:
Keeping the other covariates ceteris paribus, demographic characteristics have no influence on students’ satisfaction with service quality dimensions and the overall service quality in a public HEI.

Hypothesis 4:
Keeping the other covariates ceteris paribus, demographic characteristics have no influence on students’ intentions to recommend or re-enroll to a surveyed public HEI.

Both ontological and epistemological discourses were delineated within pragmatic research underpinning for the purpose of understanding "students’ satisfaction with service quality in higher education institutions in the perspective of students’ expectations and perceptions in Tanzania". A cross-sectional survey design was employed to collect data from one selected Higher Education Institution in Tanzania.

The main study findings indicated that, parent education and type of student’s degree programme had a statistical significant influence on the students’ satisfaction about technical and residential services. Moreover, student’s degree programme had a statistical significant influence on the students’ satisfaction with overall service quality and students’ intentions to recommend the university to colleagues. School ownership and student’s degree programme had a significant influence on students’ intentions to re-enroll to the same HEI, if given offers of scholarships. Parent occupation, school ownership and degree programme, had a significant influence on students’ intentions to recommend or re-enroll to the same HEI due to its geographical location. Students’ satisfaction with the overall service quality are determined by type of degree programme (students’ specialization).