Service Quality in Academia: A South African Experience Kem Ramdass Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, University of Johannesburg, South Africa Abstract--As competition intensifies and environmental factors become more hostile, the concern for service quality grows. Student numbers have become a focal point in the offering of programmes. With regular quality audits, academia prioritises the fulfillment of the HEQC criteria, but lacks the provision of service quality to the student. If service quality is to become the cornerstone of marketing strategy, the marketer must have the means that differentiates the different academic institutions in SA. Service quality is considered a critical determinant of competitiveness. Attention to "service quality" can help an organisation to differentiate itself from other organisations and through it gain a lasting competitive advantage. High quality of service is considered an essential determinant of the long-term profitability not only of service organisations, but also of manufacturing organisations. In some manufacturing industries "service quality" is considered a more important order winner than "product quality". Superior "service quality" is a key to improved profitability, and not the cost of doing business. Exemplary service is the next sale in the making. The methodology of the research comprises a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive design. Relevant literature in conjunction with national and international trends was used to understand how best practices could be employed. I. BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY South Africa is a multicultural democracy of approximately 44 million people, and is geographically located at the southern nib of Africa. Until 1994, the apartheid ideology created a scenario of inferior educational opportunities to people of colour. Education was often highlighted by protest action by the disadvantaged population. In particular, the teaching of the Afrikaans language was rejected by generations of secondary students. Tertiary education reinforced race and class differences under apartheid. Disparities in resource distribution and the curricula offered maintained the apartheid mentality. Higher education in the developing countries of Africa is a force in the national socio-economic development of countries against a backdrop of oppression, ignorance and eternal dependence. Therefore, attention should be paid to a curriculum that would be able to develop the needs of the skills demand in the country. In South Africa, development strategies from an educational perspective, which stress issues such as social equality, rural development and the eradication of poverty and diseases, are most applicable. As such, this looks at a distinctive view of the nature of quality and its implementation, thus embedding appropriate ways in the quality of teaching, learning, assessment and the curriculum. The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) takes a holistic view of the personal, social, and economic needs of the South African society in view of skills over formal knowledge. The NQF endorses an outcomes-based approach due to the growing concern about the effectiveness of traditional methods of teaching and training, which is content-based [6]. The purpose of the change is to promote overall improvement in the level of skills of the workforce, thus contributing to the productivity level in South Africa. The methodology of the research comprises a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive design. A questionnaire was used to gain insight into the experiences of first year students. Relevant literature in conjunction with national and international trends was used to understand how best practices could be employed. II. INTRODUCTION The business of education can be described as a service, a service which is directly impacted on by the provider of education. Higher education institutions are placing greater emphasis on meeting students' expectations and needs. As universities continue to become more student oriented, student perceptions of higher educational facilities and services are becoming more important. Educational service quality, emphasizing student satisfaction, is a newly emerging field of concern both nationally and internationally. Interest in the measurement of service quality is high, however, as highlighted by several researchers, service quality is an elusive and abstract concept that is difficult to define and measure [1]. This is because of the fact that once a service is delivered it cannot be returned, reworked or prevented from reaching the customer. A serviced delivered cannot be taken back and because of this reason it is critical to provide a service correctly, meeting customer needs, the first time around. Failure to do so may well result in an unsatisfied customer who may not only want to do business with the organization again, but may influence the decision of potential customers [2]. Also given the intangible nature of a service in comparison to a product, measuring conformance is difficult and may only be done after the fact. Yet again this demonstrates the necessity to “get it right the first time around.” III. LITERATURE REVIEW Education has become a primary focus for the SA government as the country grapples with skill shortages. Government policy since 1994 has strongly focused on repositioning higher education in terms of global technological and economic competitiveness. However there has been tension in terms of sector prioritization. The dual challenge that higher education institutions face is firstly to 1655 PICMET 2010 Proceedings, July 18-22, Phuket, Thailand © 2010 PICMET