An empirical study on quality improvement in higher education institutions with reference to selected processes

Abstract

Quality improvement plays an important role in higher education. The purpose of this study was to find the impact of quality (in terms of customer expectations) related to selected administrative processes in professional higher education institutions. The literature revealed that quality management in higher education studies mainly focused on teaching, learning, student issues, and infrastructure. Very few studies mentioned quality in terms of the administrative processes; hence, the authors saw the need to study this aspect. The study involved administering a survey questionnaire to students, faculty, administrative staff, and process owners in private engineering and management institutions. Data were collected from 12 engineering institutions and 8 management institutions. The total sample size was 725 respondents. Data analysis was done using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) software. In this study, the admissions process was found to have the most impact on quality, and exam and placement processes also had a significant impact on quality. The authors recommend that private higher education institutions strive to improve and maintain good quality.

Key Words:

• administrative
• higher education
• processes
• quality improvement
• quality management

Acknowledgements

The authors wishes to thank Dr. Nikunj Kumar Jain, faculty of Operations and Supply Chain Management, Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, Delhi NCR, India, for providing guidance and responding to queries about the partial least square method and tools. The authors thank the editors and reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. This has helped improve the manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rahul V. Mulay

Rahul V. Mulay is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Operations Management at K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai. He has nine years academic experience as an assistant professor in operations management. He has presented and published papers at national conferences and in journals. He has prior industry experience of more than 12 years in engineering services, and supply chain software applications. Mulay’s area of interest is quality management in services industry, and he is currently pursuing his PhD in the same. He can be contacted at email: [email protected]

Vandana Tandon Khanna

Dr. Vandana Tandon Khanna has a doctorate in services marketing from Kurukshetra University. She is presently a professor in the Department of Marketing at K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai. She has more than 20 years of post-graduate teaching experience at reputed management institutions. She has both presented and published in national and international conferences and journals. She is an approved PhD guide for Somaiya Vidyavihar University, University of Mumbai and Co-guide at Lincoln University Malaysia. She is a member of the advisory council of International Journal of Marketing Principles and Practices and the International Institute of Marketing Professional in Canada. Dr. Khanna can be contacted email: [email protected]