| dc.description.abstract | The service quality (SERVQUAL) tool is a tool used to measure customer satisfaction (CS) in general and student satisfaction (SS) in particular. It consists of five constructs: tangibles (T), reliability (Rel), responsiveness (Res), assurance (A) and empathy (E). Although it has been widely used in a number of CS/SS studies, it has attracted a lot of criticism, one of which relates to the validity, reliability and independence of its constructs. In this paper we adapted the SERVQUAL tool for measuring SS in universities in Uganda and then tested the validity, reliability and independence of its constructs. Our focus was on two objectives: (i) to establish the validity and reliability of each of the five constructs of SERVQUAL; and (ii) to test if the five constructs were independent. We analysed our data using: (i) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha (α); and (ii) the Pearson linear correlation. Our findings were to the effect that: (i) Except for the “A” which was valid without dropping any items, the other constructs (T, Rel, Res, and E) were valid only after we dropped some of their items. We also established that the reliabilities of the five constructs of SERVQUAL were high. (ii) The constructs (T, Rel, Res, A and E) of SERVQUAL were interrelated. The SERVQUAL tool is a good measure of student satisfaction (SS). We recommend the SERVQUAL tool for continuous testing in other contexts with the objective of improving it. | en_US |
