Cultural influence on gobal assessment of higher education service quality : the case of Central Queensland University, Australia

This study aims to compare students’ cultural influence on global assessment of higher education service quality. In particular, this study surveyed the full-time students (i.e. at least 12 credit hours of study in a school term) studying at the Central Queensland University (CQU), Australia. CQU has ten campuses and is one of the largest universities in Australia with more than 14000 students in which 3000 students are enrolled as full-time students and 11,000 as part-time students. An online survey was undertaken, and 227 responses from full-time students were returned for data analysis. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed to determine valid and reliable dimensions of perceived service quality. Tests of differences such as ANOVA and t-test were conducted to examine the differences of perceived service quality in terms of four cultural dimensions; namely, power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity. Findings show that different cultures perceive service quality differently; especially administrative service quality and physical facilities service quality.