Examining the Relationship between Perceptions of Service Quality, Student Satisfaction, and Intention to Persist at Different Higher Education Institutions

Using a correlational research design, this quantitative, descriptive study was conducted at a two-year community college and a four-year public university. A modified version of the Perceived Service Quality (PSQ) instrument was used to survey full-time, undergraduate students at each institution to examine perceptinos of service quality and whether those perceptions impact a student's decision to return the next semester. Students at both institutions in the study reported a high level of satisfaction in all three primary dimensions of service quality; no significant differences were found to exist in the way in which service quality is perceived by students based on race, first-generation status, or Pell Grant eligibility status at either institution. First-generation and Pell Grant-eligible students felt less welcomed at the four-year university compared to non-first generation and non-Pell-eligible students.