SERVICE QUALITY AND STUDENTS' LEVEL OF SATISFACTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The proliferation of higher educational institutions in the country places burdens on existing ones on the need to ensure that services provided by them meet students' needs and interest. Examining current students' satisfaction vis-a-vis the services provided in these existing universities, therefore, becomes very important. This study examined students' perceived level of service quality and its relationship with their level of satisfaction in a public university in Ghana. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used. Service quality (SERVQUAL) and Students' level of satisfaction (SLS) questionnaires were used to gather relevant data on service quality and students' level of satisfaction respectively. Out of a population of 1,396 third and fourth-year education business students, 550 were randomly selected for the study. The data obtained were analysed through descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient). The study found that the students' perceived level of service quality and their level of satisfaction were moderate. The study found a significant strong positive relationship between service quality and students' satisfaction (r = 0.70, p < 0.01). It was recommended that the University should continuously improve their service delivery and that much premium should be placed on students' interest and needs.