Research On Students

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STUDENT
SATISFACTION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND

PRIVATE FUNDED UNIVERSITIES
IN KLANG VALLEY, MALAYSIA
SIVARAJAH NAGALINGAM
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT MULTIMEDIA
UNIVERSITY
DECEMBER 2007
Siti Hasmah
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COPYRIGHT
The copyright of this project belongs to the author under the terms of Copyright Act 1987
as qualified by Multimedia University Regulation 4.1. Due acknowledgement should
always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived from this project.
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this BMP 6164 Research Project is my original work except for
quotations, statements, explanations and summaries, in which I have mentioned their
sources. No portion of this Research Project has been submitted in support of any
application for any other degree or qualification of this or any other university or institute
of learning.
Student's Signature: ______________________
Date: 14th December 2007
Student's Name: N.Sivarajah
Student ID: 1051200070
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
Abstract
II
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
Chapter 2: SELECTED LITERATURE REVIEW
13
Chapter 3: MENTHODOLOGY
38
Chapter 4: ANALYSIS
46
Chapter 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
69
REFERENCE
76
APPENDIX I
78
APPENDIX II
85
APPENDIX III
86
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those special people who have contributed
their precious time, skill knowledge and support to ensure the successful completion of
my dissertation.
First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr.A.S Santhapparaj for giving me all the moral
support, motivation, encouragement and importing his great knowledge from time to
time, from the day I started writing my proposal and always guiding me to the right
direction. Thanks for being there for me. I am gifted to have been introduced to a special
person like him.
Most importantly, greatest appreciation to my parents, who have supported me from

both mentally and physically during the process of completing dissertation.
Not to forget my wife, Nora Lynette Nagalingam, my daughter Natesa and my son
Narayan for support and help with the computer work. Thank you all very much.
With this opportunity, I would like to dedicate my piece of work to my family members
and my wife. Their insight support is very much appreciated.
ABSTRACT
An investigation and survey were conducted to determine student satisfaction in the
education industry. This dissertation would place emphasis on students satisfaction
between private and government universities. A total of 192 respondents participated in
this survey.
The objective of the study is to analyze the satisfaction level of students in education
industries (universities) specifically the service quality.
The findings showed that there were higher level student satisfactions in the private
universities compared to government universities.
In general, the usage of SERVQUAL instrument was found to be highly relevant to this
type of study. Although high levels of student satisfaction were found, there were certain
interesting differences in opinions between private university students and government
university student that was inconclusive.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
One of the fastest growing industries in Malaysia is education. If one takes into account
Government recurrent expenditure on facilities and manpower to support institutions of
higher learning and the provision of scholarships, as well as private spending on
education , both locally as well as overseas, the Malaysian education market is worth
about RM3 billion annually.
(NST, 15 Aug 1992)
Malaysian Government has evolved rapidly from time to time to increase the standard
and quality of education. This is to produce knowledgeable manpower which is needed
for todays society.
However, every one of us has a risk in education. Places in the local universities are
limited and very competitive. The government faces the same problem every year,
whereby there are always too many applicants applying for the seats but the government
finds it impossible to register/accommodate all the applicants due to limited resources in
the local government universities. Thus, growth of the private sector is encouraged.
The Malaysian Education System

The Malaysian Government has always given for Education. The growth, development
and progress of a nation are very much dependent on national education attainments. The
government always made it a point to provide standard education for its citizens. The
access to education is a fundamental right for every Malaysian child of school going age
at six years old.
The Malaysian Education Policy

The Malaysian Education Policy is founded on the principles of the RUKUNEGARA.
This philosophy embraces a holistic and integrated approach in imparting knowledge ,
skills , balanced development of the whole person , i.e. body (physical), soul (intellect
and emotions), spirit , good virtues and positive attitudes, hinging on a strong belief and
devotion to God.
Malaysians Government has taken a step by impending tabling of the Private Higher
Education Bill in Parliament to enable the establishment of foreign university branch
campuses in Malaysia. It has been one of the fastest growing industries in Malaysia today.
The government has taken responsibilities to invite premier universities with good
financial background, infrastructure and expertise in the Science and Technology field to
set up a base or branch campus. This step will definitely provide mare tertiary education
opportunities for the Malaysian for the Malaysian community and not only that but create
healthy competition among public universities.
Under the Private Higher Education Institution Act, private educational institutions would
help the country facilitate the establishment of foreign universities of high standing, thus
attracting foreign students worldwide to study here. It will also provide Opportunities for
Malaysians to obtain their degrees locally.
The Malaysian Government has called on the private sector to play a bigger role in
providing education. Some of the private local corporations such as Tenaga National
Berhad, Petronas, Telekom Malaysia, Edaran Automobile National (EON), Permodalan
National (PNB) AND Renong have announced plants to set up institutions and
universities. Some have already set up their universities.
Private Education in Malaysia

Covering pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary levels, private education is well
established in Malaysia. Culturally and traditionally, education has always taken priority
in the social order of Malaysians. Premium quality education is in good demand in the
country. To meet the educational needs, demands and the aspirations of the Malaysian
community, private educators provide an important and often indispensable service and
an alternative to public education.
A National Accreditation Board has been set up to ensure quality and control in private
education. The proposed tabling of the Private Universities Act and review of
immigration laws for student entry visas are the first steps taken by the Government to
achieve this vision.
Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996

It is the Act to provide for the establishment, registration, management and supervision
of, and the control of quality of education provided by private higher educational
institutions and for matters connected therewith.
Private Higher Educational Institution means an education an institution, including

university or a university college or branch campus, approved and registered under this
Act, which is not established or maintained by the Government.-
(a) providing higher education

(b) providing distance education ; or
(c) providing higher education or distance education in affiliation, association or
collaboration with:-
(i)
a private higher educational institution approved and registered under

this Act;
(ii)
other higher educational institutions-
a) Whether or not established under other written laws or

b) Whether within or outside Malaysia;
(iii)
a university or university college established under this Act
(iv)
a university or university college established under the Universities

and Universities College Act 1971
(v)
other Universities and University Colleges-
a) whether or not established under other written laws or
b) whether within or outside Malaysia;
(vi)
branch campus; or
(vii)
a professional body whether within or outside Malaysia leading to the

award of professional membership of a such professional body.
The Education Industry

As it is recession proof as well as it is no wonder that education has become an attractive
opportunity not for local operations but also overseas universities that have increasingly
become dependent on full time paying overseas students.
The case for education is now obvious and urgent in view of the development of the
economy and Vision 2020.The ability and effectiveness of education, training and
retraining to upgrade the education levels and skills of the workforce will have profound
effect on the Malaysian Economys capacity to adjust and grow competitively in the
10
years ahead. The continued reliance on the manufacturing sector and a sophisticated
service industry to achieve economic development uncouthly lead to an increased demand
for education and training.
Rapid economic growth has led to the problem of labor market tightening and labor
shortage. Not only that but these resulted to be a shortage of skilled labor. In the short
run, the physical shortage may be resolved through the impart of foreign workers and to
increase the participation rate of women in the labor force. However, long term
production of skills and a literate workforce cannot be solved this way.
A rise in the education level, particularly at the professional, technical and vocational
levels is a pre-requisite. Furthermore, if education and training are to play a significant
role in stimulating productivity, it must be relevant to and focus on the needs of the
industrial sector.
Background of University of Malaya

UNIVERSITY MALAYA, the first University of the country, is situated on a 750-acre
(309-hectare) campus in the southwest of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia.
The University of Malaya grew out of a tradition of service to the society. Its
predecessors, the King Edward VII College of Medicine established in 1905 and Raffles
College in 1929 has been established to meet urgent demands, one in medicine and the
other in education. When the two came together to form the University of Malaya in
October 1949, this was so that they might perform together an even greater service to
help lay the foundations of a new nation by producing a generation of skilled and
educated men. Hence the University of Malaya was established on 8 October 1949 as a
national institution to serve the higher education needs of the Federation of Malaya and
Singapore.
11
The growth of the University was very rapid during the first decade of its establishment
and this resulted in the setting up of two autonomous Divisions in 1959, one located in
Singapore and the other in Kuala Lumpur. In 1960, the government of the two territories
indicated their desire to change the status of the Divisions into that of a national
university. Legislation was passed in 1961 founding the University of Malaya on the 1st
of January 1962.
The University motto, Ilmu Punca Kemajuan (Knowledge is the Key to Success)
reflects the philosophy of the University in its constant Endeavour to seek knowledge in
all fields to produce successful graduates and a successful a nation. It offers a wide range
of programmers at Certificate, Diploma, Degree and Postgraduate levels.
Background off University Putra Malaysia

University Putra Malaysia can trace its origins to the School of Agriculture which was
officially instituted on 21 May 1931 by John Scott; an administrative officer of the Straits
Settlements. The School was located on a 22-acre spread in Serdang.
The School offered two courses then, a three-year diploma course and a one-year
certificate course. By 1941, the school had successfully trained 321 officers 155
diploma and 166 certificate holders.
The School was declared the Agricultural College of Malaya on 23 Jun 1942 by Sir
Edward Gent, the Governor of the Malayan Union. In 1948, it was proposed that the
College be upgraded to a university. However, the proposal was shelved due to the
declaration of Emergency in the middle of the year.
In 1960, the Faculty of Agriculture, University Malaya was established and on 1 January
1962, a statute was approved appointing the Agricultural College of Malaya one of the
governing bodies of University Malaya.
12
The establishment of agricultural university offering bachelor level programmes was put
forth by the Deputy Prime Minister then, Tun Haji Abdul Razak Hussein on 31
March 1969 at the opening ceremony of the additional wing to the Agricultural College in
Serdang, Selangor.
The establishment of University Pertanian Malaysia finally became a reality and was
enacted as an Incorporation Order of the Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Yang Di
Pertuan Agong under the Universities and University College Act 1971.It was published
in the Government Gazette P.U October 1971. The merger of the Agricultural College of
Malaya with Faculty of Agriculture, University Malaya led to the establishment of
University Pertanian Malaysian.
University Pertanian Malaysia started its academic programme in July 1973 with three
main faculties Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Forestry, and Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine and Animal Science. Besides the three faculties, there was also a Basic
Sciences Department. The total number of students then was 1,559.
Now, University Pertanian Malaysia consists of eleven faculties and six centers. These
are Faculty of Modern Language, Faculty of Human Economic and Management, Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of
Education Studies, Faculty of Forestry, Faculty of Biomedicine and Health Science,
Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Science and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Food
Science and Biotechnology while the Centres are Matriculation Centre, Centre for Social
Science Studies and Management, Centre for Science and Applied Studies, Centre for
Extension and Continuing Education, Computer Centre and Islamic Centre. It comprises
of 34,000 students and about 3,600 academic and support staff.
On April 3rd, 1997, the University Pertanian Malaysia was named as University Putra
Malaysia by the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
13
Background of University Tun Abdul Razak

UNITAR has its roots in the vast experience, vision and mission of the Chairman and
Chief Executive Office of KUB Malaysia Berhad, Datuk Hassan bin Harun.It began in
1964 when he enroller for a teaching stint in the Kelantan English School, a private
school in Kelantan, for three months. This experience made him dream to someday build
and manage a Malay private school. In 1967, Datuk Hassan joined Islah English School,
another private school in Kelantan. In May 1968, he joined Institute Pendidikan for
another two years, but his dream was still not realized.
It was not until the end of 1969 that Datuk Hassan came close to fulfilling his aspiration.
With a few friends who had just graduated from university, he set up Maktap Adabi, This
marketed the beginning of the Adabi Group. Datuk Hassan left Adabi in 1971 to pursue a
university education. In 1976, he returned to Adabi with a renewed spirit and vision, and
he set about bringing the Adabi Group to new heights of distinction.
He set up another private institution of higher learning, Institut Teknologi Tun Abdul
Razak (ITTAR) in 1991. ITTRAR is now one of the leading Bumiputera owned
provides of education in the country, offering more than nine diplomas, certificate and
prematriculation programmes.
From ITTAR, Datuk Hassan envisioned another monumental reject: to set up and manage
a futuristic private bumiputra owned university. He realized that there has to be a new
approach to the setting up and managing of such a university. For this to take place, a
paradigm shift had to be engineered in the educational system. The concept of a virtual
university, where student and faculty members engaged in learning and teaching activities
separated by distance and time, was still a new concept, and had to be pursued with
thought and care.
14
In early 1996, ITTAR and KUB IT, two wholly owned subsidiaries of KUB Malaysia
Berhad, formed a project team to study Datuk Hassans vision and to come out with
original concepts and plans. These were then presented to the Prime Minister, the
Honorable Dato Seri Dr.Mahathir Mohamad. Our Prime Minister agreed with the concept
and proposal. They were then presented to the Minister of Education, the Honorable Dato
Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak on 6 December 1996.
On 22 January 1997, the Minister of Education accepted the concepts and proposal of the
virtual university, which was then named as University International Tun Abdul Razak.
The name was later changed to Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR).
On 6 November 1997, Dato Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak and the family of the late
Tun Abdul Razak, agreed to the name of Tun Abdul Razak, our Father of Development,
as the name of the university.
On 18 December 1997, the formal invitation to set up the university was given to KUB
Malaysia Berhad. The university was subsequently launched on 21 December 1998. It
received the letter of establishment from the Ministry of Education in February 1999. In
January 2000, UNITAR was formally registered with the Ministry of Education.
The establishment of this university is indeed a great achievement for Malaysia. It plays a
significant part in the national agenda which aims to liberalize and democratize education
in this country.
Background of Universiti Tenaga Nasional

UNITEN started in 1976 as Institut Latihan Sultan Ahmad (ILSAS), which served for
many years as a corporate training institute for Malaysias Nasional Electricity Board
(LLN). In 1990, LLN was corporative and renamed as Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). In
15
1994 TNB transformed ILSAS into an institute of higher learning and renamed as Tenaga
Nasional Berhad (TNB).In 1994 TNB transformed ILSAS into a higher learning and
renamed it as Institute Kejuruteraan Technology Tenaga Nasional (IKATAN). The
institute offered
Academic programmes at undergraduate and graduate levels were on a twinning basis

with local and overseas universities.
In 1997, the instituted became University Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), one of the first
private universities to be set up in Malaysia. UNITEN is operated as a wholly owned
subsidiary company of TNB.
Universiti Tenaga Nasional provides quality education to prepare students for positions in
industry, commerce and academia. Educational programmes are offered by the
Universitys various colleges: College of Engineering, College of Business Management
and Centre for Languages and General Education.
All programmes are designed to satisfy the academic requirement of Lembaga Akreditasi
Negara (LAN) while engineering and accounting degree programmes are designed to
satisfy the requirements for membership to the relevant professional bodies.
We continue to offer training and consultancy services for organization, especially those
organizations whose main businesses are related to electricity generation, transmission,
distribution and related services. A wide range of technical and technology training is
provided by Instituted Sultan Ahmad Shah (ISAS) WHILE Consultancy services in
quality process / systems and management / administrative training is provided by the
Consultancy and Training Bureau.
16
Problem Statement
It is known that there are so many Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia to cater for
the education needs, demands and aspiration of the Malaysian community. Private
educators provide an important and often indispensable service and an alternative to
public education. It is that only about 30% of post SPM students get a chance to further
their studies in the Government Education Institutions whereas the remainder have look
for an alternative into the Private Higher Institutions.
These developments have encouraged the growth of Private Higher Institution in the
country. The main question here is whether these growths in the number of private
colleges and universities have maintained the quality of education in the country or
adversely affected it.
Research Objectives
The main objective of this research is to assess student satisfaction of the education level
between Governments funded universities and Private Universities in the Klang Valley.
The specific Objectives are:To study the current level of satisfaction of students studying in private and public
universities in terms of infrastructures and quality of input they provide.
To analyze differences in level of satisfaction of private and public university

students, if any.
To suggest possible modification that could be very important in maintaining and

Delivering quality education. New ideas could be implemented or introduced to boost
up the satisfactory level of students.
17
Limitation and Scope of Research

Every research, however planned, is undertaken under certain limitation.
First and foremost, time and cost constraints are the main problem in conducting the
research. Due to that, I have narrowed my scope by conducting my research within
the Klang Valley only. Namely, I will conduct/choose two local Government
Universities and two Private Universities.
There were many difficulties which I had to face in terms of obtaining data from the
Ministry of Education, National Accreditation Board and The Private Education
Department. The people in charged were always not available for interview purposes
and I was l left with no other alternative but to settle for secondary data.
This research will mainly target the student of first degree with the same area study
i.e. Business, Law, etc. This is for assessing the satisfaction level of the students of
the same course or area of study.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
In Malaysias quest to become a centre for educational excellence, the Malaysian
Government has introduced a number of measures as part of the reformation process
within the education system, affecting all levels including higher education. In the case of
the latter, while greater focus is given to first degree enrolment, of late attention is also
given to postgraduate education. This has been unavoidable because of the countrys
focus to enhance its manpower requirements at the degree level.
(Anuwar Ali, Director of Higher Education, Ministry of Education)
The supply of higher education today is not the monopoly of the public sector. The
changing economic conditions and the inability of public education institutions to provide
adequate places in the universities have prompted the birth and growing number of
private institutions. This review covers some of the issues in a mixed system that includes
the student price response in higher education. According to Hoecake (1982), efficiency
is the achievement of maximum total benefit to society from the resources employed in
higher education such as faculty, staff and student time, equipment and physical facilities.
A price represents any connection between an individuals choices in uses of resources
and the degree of fulfillment of his or her own achievements.
The study will look into the criteria such as faculty, staff and physical facilities and as a
bottom line to satisfy the student in the future. Looking into the above criteria will
overcome student dissatisfaction.
(Fair-weather,
Jones
S.
(1989)
Academic
Research
and
Instruction, the Industrial
Connection Higher Education, 60: 388-403)
19
The Satisfaction Process
EXPECTATION
PERCEIVED
QUALITY
OBJECTIVE
QUALITY
DISCONFIRMATION
SATISFACTION
FUTURE EXPECTATION
(Source: Rust R.T, Zahorik A.J., and Keiningham T.L (1994) Return an
Quality measuring the financial impact of your companys Quest for
Quality. Probus Publishing Company, cambridge, England.)
From the figure above, expectation has a direct effect on perceived quality; perceived
Quality also updates the expectations (either raise or lower), meanwhile the satisfaction
result primary from disconfirmation and expectation.
20
LINGKAGE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TO SERVICE

The voice of customer is the right carried by each customer that companies should not
ignore in decision making. However companies or organization attempt to incorporate
The voice of the customer into the service delivery process, they quickly discover a
need for diagnostic information that predicts how service changes will effect customer
satisfaction, revenues and profits. (Rustetal, 1994)
As noted by Oliver, 1993, satisfaction implies a feeling of fulfillment. Customer 1980) In

the years of 198.
Olivers framework
Satisfaction is a summary cognitive and effective reaction to a service incident.

Satisfaction and dissatisfaction results from experiencing a service quality encounter and
comparing the encounter with what was expected. (Oliver, views satisfaction as a state of
fulfillment related to reinforcement and arousal. Law arousal fulfillment is described as
satisfaction as containment which assumes only that time the service performs
satisfactorily in an ongoing, passive sense.
Suppose a student wants to continue his studies in a higher institution, private universities
are not cheap as government funded universities. Besides, there are a lot of different
universities in the country whereby a difficult choice has to be made. Each university has
their own competitive advantage, which are very confusing to the student. Thus it may be
considered as complex decision making.
There are two ways to understand students behavior to analyze the steps they will go
through before purchasing or getting the products or services, and what are the factors
that will influence them in choosing the product or services. In this research, we could use
the hierarchy of effects made by Lavidge and Steiner to study the process whereby the
individual student will go through the six steps to select the products and services.
21
THE HIERARCHY OF EFFECTS MODEL
STAGE
LAVIDGE AND STEINER

MODEL
AWARENESS
COGNITIVE
KNOWLEDGE
AFFECTIVE
LIKING
PREFERENCE
CONVICTION
CONATIVE
PURCHASE
(Source: Lavidge and Steiner, 1961)
22
According to Valarie S.Flokes, consumer expectancies play a central role in

understanding valuations of services quality. Thus, the predominant models of service
quality and customer satisfaction emphasize the role expectancies. When the services
performance is below the customers expectancy, quality is judged to be poor and vice
versa.
It is also stated that many service providers maintain that they provide a consistently high
standard. However, service is intrinsically difficult to standardize. As a result, consumers
will almost inevitably encounter variance in the outcomes they received form service
providers. In addition, consumers may take their past experiences as a basis to forecast
the future service performances.
WHAT IS CONSUMER SATISFACTION?
According to Kardes (1999), Consumer behavior is the study of human responses to

products, services and the marketing of products and services. In Hoyner and Mac Innis
(2001), consumer satisfaction is not only concerned about buying a product, but also
includes consumers use of services, activities and ideas. In order to understand the way
consumers mane the choices they do, there are three stages of human responses, which
include cognitive, effective ad cognitive responses heads to be studied.
Cognitive can be defined as what is known as a perception towards product or services,

the beliefs or knowledge about the issues concerned. While affective is some kind of love,
which are the feeling and valuation the products or services? The last element of
Consumer satisfaction or behavior cognitive is defined as behavioral intentions from the
result of the cognitive and affective stage. According to Ratchford (1987), the thinking
(cognitive) and feeling (affective) aspects refer either to categories of motives or to
modes of information processing. Cognitive motives stress the need for being adaptively
oriented to the environment and for achieving a sense of meaning. Affective motives
stress the need to reach satisfied feeling states and to attain goals.
23
Different consumers may have different needs & wants. Thus, the criteria they are into
may differ from each other. Consumers may differ in forms of the amount they spend, the
time they take in making decisions, the kinds of service they think is necessary, the stages
that they go through when decision making takes place and other from this point we
know that consumer satisfaction is difficult to analyze and study because different
consumers have different choices of criteria.
STUDENT AS A CUSTOMER
The student is the raw material but also the primary consumer .Without students there
is no education and in an environment where students can afford to choose, only
providers who are focused on customers and their needs will attract the best recruits and
in large quantities thus enabling them achieve superior competitive standards.
According to Dr.Mohamed Zairi (1994), a commitment to student as the primary

customer must be demonstrated through all activities and the building of a value added
Chain, including academic and support function. The customers are the starting point of
all activities, in industry for instance prior to designing new services, many organizations
started to use a technique called Quality Function Deployment (QFD) for establishing
customer wants and developing a translation process of the wants through focusing on
the right activities and developing strength in all of them, via a continuous improvement
process. QFD has been used in education to assess student (customer) satisfaction with
courses delivered.
The 7 tools of Total Quality Management (TQM) can also be used to achieve customer
satisfaction. A five phase improvement process to courses delivered has been
successfully adopted to improve courses. The five stages are based on Demings Plan,
Do, Check and Act (PDCA). They include.
24
1. Identify (gaps, variations) from students feedback
2. Analyze (Instructional process)
3. Plan (through QFD, introduce action to improved quality)
4. Implement (action)
5. Evaluate (customer satisfaction surveys)
Tools and techniques of TQM are very powerful building a culture focused on customer
and customer satisfaction. QFD and the 7 simple tools as demonstrated by the above
example can lead to effective outcomes. A focus on the customer however has to be
sustainable and will not merely require change in existing procedures; it is very much
behavioral. This is the only way forward for being an effective as competitive provide of
educational needs Identifying students as the primary customer and striving to meet their
need in an ethically correct strategy. Recognizing other important customer, such as
employers, reflects the reality that post secondary education organizations are
constantly engaged in complex efforts to satisfy many parties. But it is vital that
education institutions recognize that conflicts in the needs and expectations of different
customer should be resolved in favor of the students.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
The education industry is very competitive competition for students and eventually for
Resources and for funds. Quality management is an important criterion in meeting the
needs of its customers. The reputation and image of an organization can be changed
through improved quality. Quality is the most important of the competitive weapons.
Attention to quality improves performance in reliability, delivery, and price.
25
For any organizations, there are several lessons to be learned about reputation;
1. It is built upon the competitive element of quality, reliability, delivery and

price, of which quality has become strategically the most important.
2. Once an organization acquires a poor eruption for quality, it takes a very

long time to change it.
3. Reputation, good or bad, can quickly become national reputations.
4. The management of the competitive weapons, such as quality, can be learned

like any other skill, and used to turn around a poor reputation, in time.
WHAT IS QUALITY?
Quality is that which satisfies a customer or consumer. Definition varies, but then, quality
is simply meeting the customer requirement, in this situation, and the customers are the
students. The British Standards Institute expresses this notion more formally:
Quality is the total of features and characteristic of a product or service that bear on its
ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
A working definition of quality might be:

Quality refers to the standards that must to achieve specified purposes to the satisfaction
of customer.
By consistently meeting customer requirements, we can move to a different plane of
satisfaction delighting the customer. The ability to meet the customer requirement is
vital, not only between two separate organizations, also within the same organization.
26
MEETING THE REQUIREMENT
The marketers (the owners of the institutions) must of course understand not only the
needs of the customer but also the ability of their own organization to meet them. In order
to meet the internal customers and suppliers needs, the transfer of effective
Communications is very important. To achieve quality throughout an organization, each
person in the quality chain must interrogate every interface as follow:
CUSTOMERS
1. Who are my immediate customers?

2. What are their true requirements?
3. How do or can I find what their requirements are?
4. How can I measure my ability to meet the requirements?
5. Do I have the necessary capability to meet the requirements? (If nor, then what
must change to improve the capacity?
6. Do I continually meet the requirement? (If not, then what prevents this from
Happening, when the capability exists)
SUPPLIERS
1. Who are my immediate suppliers?

2. What are my true requirements?
3. How do I communicate my requirement?
4. Do my suppliers have the capability to measure and meet the requirement?
5. How do I inform them of changes in the requirement?
27
PROCESS
It is important to check the process how it works. Any university, after having answered
the above questions, has to look at the elements in their process. It can be briefly looked
at as follow:
INPUTS
OUTPUTS
Material
Service
Procedures
Method
Information
Including
Specification
Skills
Knowledge
Training
PROCESS
Information O
Paperwork
Ellis, Roger, (1993), Quality Assurance for University Teaching, (1st ed.)
28
Inputs have to be good, in order for the output to achieve a particular quality. In order to
ensure that, there must be quality control and quality assurance.
WHY QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY ASSURANCE?

Quality control is essentially the activities and techniques employed to achieve and
maintain the quality of a product, process or services. It includes a monitoring activity,
but is also concerned with finding and eliminating causes of quality problems, so that the
requirements of the customer, in the case of higher education institutions are the students
and also the parents of parents of these students are continually met.
Quality assurance, is broadly the prevention of quality problems through planned and
systematic activities (including documentation)? These will include the establishment of
good quality management system and the assessment of its adequacy, the audit operation
of the system and the review of the system itself.
QUALITY STARTS WITH MARKETING

The marketing function of all private universities must take the lead in establishing the
true requirements for the service. Having determined the need, marketing should define
the market sector and demand, to determine the service features as grade, price, quality,
timing and so forth. At the same time, a quality must be development and publicized and
understood at all levels of the organization. Quality, according to the dictionary, is:
A degree of excellence but of relative nature
It is sometime described in terms of excellence that is, the highest quality or in terms
of fitness for purpose. However, a product that conforms consistently to an appropriately
pre defined specification or standard can be said to be a quality product. Failure
consistently to meet specification would cast doubt on the products quality. Setting and
29
meeting, a higher grade specification would also result in a quality product, but of better
quality than that of the former.
Thus, quality is set by an education within its own specification, or mission statement
having decided on this specification, the mechanisms and procedures must be in place to
meet consistently. If they are not, and the university falls short of its predefined
standards then it cannot be said to be a quality institution and must work to a lower grade
specification.
The maintenance of the appropriate level of quality within an educational institution is a
major issue, which has only recently received attention it deserves. Senior management
teams within private universities have often been perplexed when faced with an array of
different management tools purporting to relate to the maintenance of quality and,
sometimes, have lost sight of the two main objectives.
These are:
1. to maintain the quantity of the student, experience;
2. to maintain the standards achieved by students.
In short, whatever organization arrangements and procedures that is introduced into

college which are geared to maintain and improve, for example, managerial performance,
administrative systems of staff motivation.
CUSTOMERS PERCEPTION OF SERVICE QUALITY.

Valarie A.Zeithaml stated that there are three fundamental ways services differ from
goods in terms of how they are produced, consumed and evaluated. Firstly, services are
Basically intangible because they are performance and experiences rather than objects,
precise manufacturing specifications concerning uniform quality can rarely be set.
Moreover, when what is being said purely a performance, the criteria customers use to
evaluate it may be complex and difficult to capture precisely.
30
Second, services with high lab our content are heterogeneous because their performance
Varies from one to another, from producer to producer, form day to day. Example, quality
of interaction between lecturer and students can rarely be standardized to ensure
uniformity the way quality of goods produced in a car manufacturing plant. Thirdly,
production and consumption of many services are inseparable. Here quality is based
during the services is being delivered.
THE CUSTOMERS VIEW OF SERVICE QUALITY

10 DIMENSIONS OF SERVICE QUALITY
Dimension
Definition
Tangibles
Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel

and communication material
Reliability
Ability to perform the promised services dependably

And accurately.
Responsiveness
Willingness to help customers and provide prompt

Services.
Competence
Possession of the required skills and knowledge to

perform the services.
Courtesy
Politeness, respect, consideration, and friendliness of

contact personnel.
Credibility
Trustworthiness, believability, honestly of the service

provider.
Security
Freedom from danger risks or doubt.
Access
Approachability and ease of contact.
Communication
Keeping customers informed in language they can

Understand and listening to them.
Understanding with
Making the effort to know customers and their
Customer
Needs.
(Zenithal, Parasuraman & Berry, (1990). Delivering quality

Services (pp. 111). New York: The Free Press)
31
Later it was modified into 5 dimensions:
5 DIMENSIONS OF SERVICES QUALITY

DIMENSION
Tangibility
DEFINITION
Is the ability or confidence of personnel

When dealing with customer by providing
Them the best service.
Reliability
Is the ability to deal with customers

Complaints or suggestion and performs
The promised service accurately on time.
Responsiveness
Is the degree of how much effort that

Personnel had put to approach the
customers
Customers in providing proper service.
Assurance
Is knowledge and courtesy of employees

And their ability or confidence in
delivering Its service.
Empathy
Is the ability of services provider to show

Their cares and respect to customers.
(Berry, L.L., Conant, J.S., & Parasuraman A. (1991), A Framework

For conducting a service marketing audit. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 19, 245-255)
32
THE IDEA OF HIGHER EDICATION

The pluralism of views regarding the purposes of higher education is the inevitable and
proper reflection of a democratic society, in which no single ideology is driven forward
by the state but in which institutions of higher education are increasingly encouraged to
carve out their own niche and mission for themselves in the totality of higher education
provision as it takes on the from of a quasi market.
Concept of higher education

Four if the key conceptions of higher education which can be found below debates on
quality. These four dominant concepts of higher education underlie contemporary
approaches to, and definitions of quality.
1. Higher education as the production of qualified manpower
This concept sees the higher education as a process in which student count as
products as outputs having a utility value on the labor market. On this
conception, quality tends to be identified as a function of the ability of Student to
succeed in the world of work, as measured by their employment rates and, more
especially, their career earnings (or rates of economic return).
2. Higher education as a training for a research career
Those members of the academic community who are they active research frame
the definition of higher education. Quality, on this conception, is measured less In
terms of the achievement of students than in the research profile of the staff. There
is an assumption that the related input and output measures the number of
fellows of the Royal Society, the amount of research income and the publications
Output are themselves indicative of education quality.
33
3. Higher education as the efficient management of teaching provision
On this conception, institutions are understood to be performing well if their

throughput is high, given the resources at their disposal. Their total efficiency is
what is in question here, not only how many students they can accommodate, but
also with what velocity their students are successfully propelled into the wider
world. As the dictionary indicates, efficiency is the ratio of the energy output of
machine, device, etc. to the energy supplied to it. According, here, indicators of
performance are sought which can capture this sense of efficiency. Non
completion rates and proportion of students obtaining good degrees are drawn
on. So too unit cost, especially as reflected through student: staff ratios
themselves, as well as financial data, come into play as key means of assessing the
performance of institutions. If these indicators are giving the appropriate message,
then an institution that does well by them account itself as one o high quality.
4. Higher education as matter of extending life change.
This final contemporary conception is none other than that of the potential
consumers of higher education. On this conception higher is valued education is
valued for its ability to offer opportunities to participate in the dominant in the
institutions and to enjoy the benefits of modern society. The key indicator of
institutional achievement here lies in the percentage growth Student numbers and
in the range of entrants. In particular, do they several a widening of the intake to
include students from socio economic backgrounds normally under-represented
in higher education?
In the UK, the universities are predominantly associated with conception two, but also to
a lesser extent with one and three; the universities are very much associated with one,
three and four. Indeed, while there are differences across these four conceptions of higher
education, they also have much in common.
34
In all four conceptions, higher education is a total system, in which student enter as
inputs, are processed and emerge as outputs. So the dominant approaches to quality are
characterized by a consensus of system approach in which higher education becomes a
black box: it does not matter what goes on in the black box as long as the quantity of
desired inputs and outputs is achieved. When faced with an analysis of quality however
elaborately up in technical jargon about institutional systems, international comparisons
and lists of performance indicators
a key issue is: what is underlying conception of higher education which informs this
particular approach to quality?
Is it a conception based on a thorough through set of sustaining argument? Or. Instead,

is the approach or quality based on a relatively shallow conception of higher education?
In other words, are we being faced with a rational approach to quality (prepared to enter
into debate) or are we, rather, faced with a piece of ideology (an unconsidered reflection
of social interests?)
Talk of quality in higher education is not fully honest. Those who use the language of
quality do not always make the explicit the conception of higher education form which
their approach to quality springs.
This is readily understandable, for often they have not made their ideas about the
purposes of higher education explicit to themselves. Consequently, proposals for quality
assurance and quality improvement tend to become the party lines of the different groups.
As we have seen earlier, the contrasting approaches to quality party derive quite honestly
From legitimately held but alternative concepts of higher education. Higher education is a
complex public good in modern society, giving rise to different definition of its purpose.
The question, then, is: can we uncover any set of principles basic to quality that is
grounded in the essential character of higher education; or, in these post modern and
pragmatic times, are we reduced merely to shrugging our shoulders and saying ,anything?
35
The author concludes that, the struggle is not be given up temporarily. There may be
some guiding ideas that we should hang on to. Contained within the idea of higher
education are the notions of critical dialog, of self reflection, of conversation, and of
continuing redefinition.
They do justice to the idea of higher education because it is through such a process of the
Mind that a higher level of understanding and ultimately, of action is achieved. These
Ideas are helpful in understanding the process of educational development that we hope
to see in the individual student; and also to understand the process by which every
institution of higher education should conduct its affairs, learn about itself and improve
the quality of its work.
CURRENT SCENARIO OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Anuwar Ali (Director of Higher Education, Ministry if Education) stated that currently
there are a few public funded universities in Malaysia, with the earliest being established
in Kuala Lumpur in 1962 and most recent being upgraded from public funded collage into
a university. They are as follows:
University of Malaya
University Sains Malaysia
University Putra Malaysia
University Kebangsaan Malaysia
University Teknologi Malaysia
University Utara Malaysia
36
University Malaysia Sarawak
University Malaysia Sabah
International Islamic University
University Pendidikan Sultan Idris
University Institut Teknologi Mara
University Tun Abdul Razak
In line with the countrys overall development the Malaysian educational scene has
witnessed substantial changes over the last three decades, affecting the whole spectrum of
the education system including higher education higher education. As indicated above,
not only do we see an increase in the number of universities, but more importantly, a
significant increase in the number of Malaysians given the opportunity to enter
undergraduate courses in our own universities. However, in view of the many ,change
affecting tertiary education during the last few years, it is also a desirable that local
universities respond to such changes. In line of this, the government has initiated a
number of important changes; and some of the significant milestones over the last two
years includes.
1.
The establishment in 1996 via on Act of Parliament, of the Nasional Council for
Higher Education which will, among other things, plan and formulate national
Policies for the development of higher education.
2.
The incorporation in 1997 of a National Accreditation Board, which is entrusted

With the functions of formative policies on standards and quality control in
respect of programmers conducted by private institutions of higher education.
37
3.
The creation of a special fund called the Tabung Perbadanan Pendidikan Tinggi
Nasional with an initial allocation of RM100 million in 1997 for the purpose of
Providing loans for students pursuing higher education in Malaysia.
4.
The corporation of University of Malaya on March 1, 1997, thereby giving

Greater financial autonomy and flexibility in the management of the university as
Well as paving the way for the corporation of other public funded universities.
According to Anuwar Ali, the last two decades have witnessed greater participation of the
private sector in proving alternative avenues for tertiary education is random with the
ever increasing demand for such education among the young population. Thus, the
private sector is assuming a more active role at all of education, a more active role at all
levels of education, with a major expansion of higher education. During the last decade
education sector therefore saw a substantial increase in the
Number of private colleges, including those introducing twinning programmers with

overseas universities particularly in the United Kingdom, United States and S Australia.
At the same time, public corporations and large privatized entities are encouraged to
expend their existing training facilities and establish new institutions of higher learning to
counter first degrees. Public corporations such as Petroleum Nasional Berhard (Petronas)
and Telekom Malaysia Berhard (TMB) have established universities that offer degrees
level courses.
The Tenaga Nasional Technology Institute (IKATAN) has been upgraded into a
university namely, University of Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). The establishment of these
private universities has been facilities have been facilitated by the enactment of the
Private Institutions of Higher Education Act 1996.
38
Anuwar Ali also stated that the focus of institutions of higher education has been on
expanding their enrolment to meet the nations, manpower requirements; increasing
emphasis is being given to quality and relevance in the conduct of their care business of
teaching, research and development activities and publication. To support the science and
technology strategies of the government, research activities are increasingly geared
towards satisfying industry needs on market oriented R & D and the generation of
indigenous technologies.
SUMMARY AND JUSTIFICATION

These factors are very important because so far there is no literature on this matter and it
is different among Malaysian universities which highlight the importance of this research.
In short, to summarize all the above stated selected literatures from various sources, what
is common among all of them, is that all of them are stressing on the importance of
customer satisfaction, quality of service and customer value. All universities are called to
the adhere to the requirements above that are made by the government and the same time
not to neglect the requirements of the students and the general public. Basically 5
dimension of service quality or SERVQUAL comprise of tangibility, reliability,
responsiveness, assurance and empathy are used with modification to measure service
quality offered to students in this research.
39
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLGY
This chapter describes how this research was conducted in detail. Both primary and
secondary data were used to obtain information for this research. Sources of primary data
were use obtained from interviews and questionnaires; meanwhile, secondary data came
from the Internet, references, journals, newspapers and brochures.
Research objectives:
The main objective of these researches is to assess student satisfaction of the education
level between Government Funded Universities and Private Universities in the Klang
Valley.
The specific objectives are:-
To study the current level of satisfaction of students studying in private and public
universities in terms of infrastructures and quality of input they provide.
To analyze differences in level of satisfaction of private and public university students, if

any.
To suggest possible modification that could be very important in delivering quality

education. New ideas could be implemented or introduced to boost up the satisfactory
level of students.
40
PRIMARY DATA
Primary data is the first hand data that has not been collected by past researchers. It is
very expensive and time consuming. However, the data collected is accurate, relevant and
sufficient to the research problem. There are many ways to achieve the primary data, such
as interviews, questionnaires, observation, experimentation and so forth.
In this research, I used the interviews and questionnaires to get the primary data.
QUESTIONNAIRES
According to chisnall (1997), questionnaire is a method to obtain the specific information

for the problem at hand. In this research survey, version of SERVQUAL modified and
adopted self administered questionnaires were used to collect new and fresh data from
the respondents.
A majority of the questions were set in close ended form, as it would not bring any
inconvenience and difficulties to the respondents. It would also save the time of the
respondents. In other words, it was very time efficient. There is one in opened ended
Form whereby it allows the respondents to write down their comments or ideas to
improve the situation on the universities.
Some questions were set in Likert scale form so as to make the questionnaires more
attractive and not so boring. Easy and simple wordings were used for better understanding
of questions. It was much easier for the respondents to answer, as they understood the
questions.
The above-mentioned methods were adopted with degree of confidence because of my

follow ups done on these universities and also based on experience and interesting in the
field of higher education.
41
SECONDATY DATA
Secondary data is the data that was collected by persons or agencies for purposes other
than solving the problem at hand. It is the easiest and cheapest way to get the information.
However, secondary data will not be sufficient all the times as it could be outdated,
irrelevant and inaccurate. Thus, primary data helps to solve the problems created by
secondary data.
In this research, I gained the secondary data in many ways, such as Internet, journals,
references, newspapers and brochures. All the sources allow me to get the explanation,
definitions of the key terms, and the various models to evaluate and apply to this research.
INTERNET
The internet is an easy way to get information. The only thing I had to do is to get the
right web page address. There are numerous information on the website but not all are
relevant and reliable to the research problem. Thus, I had to screen through all the
information on the net and select only the important, relevant and reliable information to
apply into the research problem. The universities were obtained from the Internet. Beside,
other electronic marketing journals were also viewed to find some related studies done by
other researchers.
JOURNALS
Journals are another source of obtaining relevant information for the research problem .I
Found some similar studies that was done before which helped in my chapter 2, literature
review. The articles from the Journal of Marketing were used to gather information that
was done by other researchers before regard was given to the model used. It was not easy
to find the literature review, as there were so many journals on the net and the libraries. It
was very time consuming to find the journals so, as I did not miss out any for the
research.
42
REFERENCES
Reference books are important as it talks of the different theories to apply in the research
problem. I used many different reference books so as to get the most suitable theories and
models to best describe and apply to the research problem Different authors have
different theories and each of them has there own uniqueness. Thus selecting the best and
the most suitable for the research problem so as to give a precise and clear idea to the
readers.
NEWS PAPERS
Newspapers are another source in obtaining information for my research, as there were
many articles on education in all daily newspapers in Malaysia such as The News Straits
Times, The Malay Mail, The Star and The Sun. These usually are specially focusing on
education in the Higher Educational Institutions in Malaysia, in these newspapers.
BROCHURES
Brochures were used as subsidiary information that tells about the universities
background, details information of the universities and so forth. Small amounts of
information were attained form the brochures and more detailed information were gained
when the interviews were carried out.
TARGET POPULATION AND SAMPLING METHODS
Sampling plan, a segmentation of the selected population for this survey and the result
will represent the population as a whole. Therefore, I draw up the conclusions of studying
220 sets of survey paper, which includes 55 sets of each of the following universities. The
Result will represent the students as a whole in Malaysia.
43
1. University of Malaya
- 55 questionnaires
2. University Putra Malaysia
- 55 questionnaires
3. University Tenaga Nasional
- 55 questionnaires
4. University Tun Abdul Razak
- 55 questionnaires
TOTAL
- 220 questionnaires
The sampling procedures employed for the research was judgmental sampling .
Judgmental Sampling
Judgmental sampling is a non probability sampling. It was emplied when I could not
obtain a list of students to represent the universities. Thus, judgmental sampling was
employed. When the questionnaires were distributed and completed by the students, I
selected the sample to be interviewed by using judgmental sampling.
DATA ANALYSIS
After collecting the datas from the respondents, I used SPPS version 8.0 to enter all the
data and analyzed them. The method of analysis to be used analyze the data collected
from the survey include cross tabulation, bar charts, diagrams, frequencies and relative
frequencies. Cross-tabulation was used to measure there were two or more variables to
find the number of respondents and its corresponding percentage for each group. Such
finding are then displayed by the bar charts or pie charts.
LIMITATION OF THE RESEARCH

Every research, however well planned is undertaken certain limitations and constraints.
Hereby, I would like to list down the limitations and constraints that I faced while
completing this research of mine. The first and foremost, the finding are targeted on the
respondents in Klang Valley only so it may not be representative.
44
For this study, I used questionnaire method to collect primary data. As we all know it is
Very time consuming and not only that but also cost consuming. The costs were incurred
through printing of questionnaires and transportation. Meanwhile, time was the major
factor because it took sometime to get back the feedback and had to explain
the
questions to a few respondents.
There were many other difficulties which I had to face in terms of obtaining data from the
Private Education Department (Ministry of Education). The officers were always not
available for interview purposes and so I was left with not other choice but to settle for
secondary data.
Another limitation was, the private universities, when approached for permission to
conduct such a research, were not keen in taking part. That is why had to manage with
only questionnaire and secondary and secondary data.
45
CHAPTER 4
PART A
ANALYSIS
After screening the questionnaires, the answers were typed into the SPSS statistical
package. From there on, a battery of tests was conducted. Reliability and validity were
used to determine whether the question matches with the answers given by the
respondent. These include descriptive statistics to differentiate the various groups in the
survey such as percentage of respondent gender, age nationality and etc. With this mean
of each group was calculated and compared with each other.
BACKGROUND
SECTION A:
TABLE 10:
GENDER
GENDER
MALE
FEMALE
TOTAL
UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY
NO
NO
NO
13
19.6
34
27.0
47
100
50
100
44
100
51
100
192
100
MALAYA
(27.7)
(72.3)
UNIVERSITY
PUTRA
11
MALAYSIA
UNIVERSITY TUN
16.7
39
(22.0)
25
ABDUL RAZAK
37.9
31.0
(78.0)
19
(56.8)
15.1
(43.2)
UNIVERSITY
TENAGA
17
NASIONAL
TOTAL
25.8
34
(33.3)
66
100
26.9
(66.7)
126
100.0
(Figures in brackets are column percentages)
46
GRAPH 1.0: GENDER

50
40
30
20
10
0
MALE
FEMALE
M
U
PM
U
EN
AR
IT
IT
N
N
U
U
Overall 65.6% of the respondents are female while the remaining 34.4% are male Among
the 192 respondents majority female are from University Putra Malaysia with the
percentage of 31.0% and male respondents are from University Tun Abdul Razak with
56.8%. There is more female respondent, probably because of their liking or preference to
business courses.
47
TABLE 1.1 AGE

(Figure in brackets is column percentages)
UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY TOTAL

TUN
AGE
MALAYA
PUTRA
ABDUL
MALAYSIA
18-20
NO
NO
NO
NO
6.1
16.3
12
24.5
26
53.1
49
100
113
100
20
100
10
100
192
100
63.8
(16.0)
38
(63.8)
8
40
60
47
100
24
15
10
100
21
35
10
100
10
(3.9)
(2.3)
44
18.6
(41.2)
(15.9)
(2.0)
50
21.3
(51.0)
(54.5)
(6.0)
(12.8)
TOTAL
33.6
(27.3)
(76.0)
(17.0)
ABOVE 27
NASIONAL
30
24-26
RAZAK
NO
(6.4)
21-23
TENAGA
20
(3.9)
51
100
40
18-20
30
21-23
20
24-26
10
ABOVE 27
0
UM
UPM
UNITAR UNITEN
From the 192 respondents, 58.9% are from the age 21-23, followed by 25.5% from the
age of 18-20, 10.4% from age of 24-26 while the balance are from the age group of
above27. In Malaysia majority of student enter universities at an average age of 19 to 20.
48
Also, the respondent are most likely second or third year students, hence the age group
majority of 21 to 23. It is also a known fact that people above the age of 27 are highly
unlikely to still be in universities.
TABLE 1.3
NATIONALITIES
UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY TOTAL

TUN
MALAYA
PUTRA
NASIONALITY
MALAYSIAN
MALAYSIA
TENAGA
RAZAK
NASIONAL
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
43
23.4
49
26.6
43
23.4
49
26.6
184
100
100
100
100
192
100
(91.5)
INDONESIAN
ABDUL
(98.0)
(97.7)
(96)
100
(6.4)
MALDIVES
CHINESE
33.3
(2.1)
OTHERS
33.3
(2.3)
1
50
(2.0)
1
(2.0)
TOTAL
47
100
50
100
33.4
50
(2.0)
44
100
51
100
49
GRAPH 1.3: NATIONALITY

60
50
MALAYSIAN
40
INDONESIAN
30
MALDIVES
20
CHINESE
10
OTHERS
0
UM
UPM
UNITAR
UNITEN
Out of 192 respondents, 95.8% ARE Malaysian, followed by Indonesian and Chinese
(From China) with 1.57% and others with 1.06%. In the survey, there were no
respondents from Maldives. The finding in this table is extremely logical considering that
all the respondents are from Malaysian universities. To compound matters, local
universities do not accept foreign students for undergraduate programs.
50
SECTION B:EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND (CURRENTLY PURSUING)

TABLE 1.4 EDUCATION BACKGROUND
GOVERNMENT
UNIVERSITY
PRIVATE

TUN
EDUCATION
MALAYA
PUTRA
BACKGROUND
PRE
MALAYSIA
NO
66.7
UNIVERSITY
DIPLOMA
NO
RAZAK
NO
NASIONAL
NO
NO
33.3
100
18.6
11
100
170
100
100
192
100
(2.0)
1
(4.3)
37
21.8
DEGREE
(78.7)
MASTERS/POST 6
75
GRADUATE
(12.8)
TOTAL
TENAGA
(4.3)
2
BACHELORS/
ABDUL
47
100
(2.0)
47
27.6
(15.7)
44
(94.0)
2
72.5
25.9
42
(100)
24.7
(82.4)
25
(4.0)
50
100
44
100
51
100
(Figure in brackets are column percentages)

GRAPH 1.4 EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
50
40
PRE - UNI
30
DIPLOMA
20
DEGREE
10
POST - GRAD
0
UM
UPM
UNITAR UNITEN
51
88.5% of the respondents Bachelors Degree student followed by 5.75% in Diploma,

4.18% are from Post Graduate level and the remaining of the respondents are currently
In Pre-University course. It is also interesting to note that 100% of the students are from
UNITAR Fall in the category of Bachelor Degree. The data above corresponds well with
the scope of study of this research, which is mainly looking into undergraduate program.
SECTION C:
MAJOR AREA OF STUDY
TABLE 1.5
MAJOR AREA OF STUDY
GOVERNMENT
UNIVERSITY
PRIVATE

TUN
AREA OF
MALAYA
PUTRA
STUDY
MALAYSIA
NO
ACCOUNTING 5
32
TENAGA
RAZAK
NASIONAL
NO
NO
NO
NO
41.7
25
8.3
25
12
100
113
100
10
100
14
100
43
100
192
100
(10.6)
BUSINESS
ABDUL
28.3
(2.3)
(60.)
30
(68.1)
26.5
39
34.5
(5.9)
12
(88.6)
(60.0)
10.7
(23.5)
LAW
MARKETING
20
(4.0)
ECONOMICS
64.3
(19.1)
OTHERS
2.3
47
100
(6.8)
50
(9.8)
35.7
(10.0)
10
(2.1)
TOTAL
30
23.3
(20.0)
50
100
2.3
31
(2.30
44
100
72.1
(60.8)
51
100
52
GRAPH 1.5 MAJOR AREA OF STUDY

50
40
30
20
10
0
UM
UPM
UNITAR
S
G
G
W
SS
RS
IC
IN
IN NE
E
LA
T
T
M
H
I
O
N
S
KE
U
OT
ON
BU
AR
CO
C
M
E
AC
UNITEN
Out of 192 respondents, 58.85 of them are from Business Studies, followed by 22.4% in
other areas as engineering, science and so on 7.30% of the respondents are Economics
students and the remaining of the respondents are from Accounting and Marketing.
UNITAR (Kelana Jaya campus) mainly offers business courses therefore majority of
UNITAR respondents are Business students.
TABLE 1.6
PERIOD OF STUDYING IN THE SAID UNIVERSITY
GOVERNMENT
PRIVATE

MALAYA
PUTRA
TUN ABDUL
TENAGA
MALAYSIA
RAZAK
NASIONAL
STUDY
TIME
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
15.4
26.9
15.4
11
42.3
26
100
90
100
76
100
192
100
LESS THAN
1
YEAR
1-2 YEARS
(8.5)
21
23.3
(14.0)
26
(44.7)
MORE THAN 22
28.9
2 YEARS
(46.8)
TOTAL
47
100
28..9
(9.1)
29
(52.0)
17
22.4
100
14
(65.9)
11
(34.0)
50
32.2
(21.5)
14.5
(27.5)
26
(25.0)
44
100
15.6
34.2
(51.0)
51
100
53
GRAPH 1.6 PERIOD OF STUDYING IN THE SAID UNIVERSITY

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
< 1 year
1-2 year
> 2 year
UM
UPM
UNITAR
UNITEN
46.88% of the respondents have been studying for about 1-2 years, whereas 39.58% for
above 2 years and 13.54% of the respondents are fresh students. This table relates very
well to table 1.2, where it shows that majority of the respondents is first or second year
students.
TABLE 1.7
DECISIONS MAKING IN CHOOSING UNIVERSITY

TUN
DECISION
MALAYA
PUTRA
MAKING
MYSELF
MALAYSIA
NASIONAL
NO
NO
NO
NO
35
28
34
27.2
29
23.2
27
21.6
125
100
18
100
45
100
100
192
100
MEMBERS
OTHERS
RAZAK
11.1
(68.0)
2
(4.3)
FAMILY
TENAGA
NO
(74.5)
FRIENDS
ABDUL
20
10
(4.0)
14
(19.1)
1
11.1
(65.9)
31.1
55.6
(52.9)
4
(22.7)
5
(28.0)
11.1
(7.8)
17
(11.4)
25
47
100
37.8
(33.3)
(2.1)
TOTAL
22.2
75
(5.9)
50
100
44
100
51
100
54
GRAPH 1.7 DECISIONS MAKING IN CHOOSING UNIVERSITY

40
30
MYSELF
FRIENDS
20
FAMILY
10
OTHERS
0
UM
UPM
UNITAR UNITEN
65.10% of the respondents make their own decision in choosing a university while others
Are convinced by family members, friends and others. It shows that Malaysian in general
Is independent by nature. Although it is highly probable that parents sponsor most of
Them, it seems that the final decision still rests with the students.
55
TABEL 1.8: CRITERIA IN CHOOSING A UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY

TUN
MALAYA
CRITERIA
PUTRA
ABDUL
MALAYSIA
TENAGA
RAZAK
NASIONAL
FRIENDLY
SERVICE (3a)
5.23
5.76
5.23
5.73
5.51
5.2
5.64
5.27
OFFERED (3c)
6.15
6.32
5.77
6.1
RECOGNITON BY
6.19
6.38
6.07
6.49
5.68
5.9
5.55
6.35
ATMOSPHERE (3f)
5.34
5.88
5.11
6.22
LOCATION (3g)
5.36
5.34
5.05
5.49
SECURITY (3h)
5.89
6.22
5.61
6.04
CLEANLINESS (3i)
5.38
6.02
5.52
6.18
ENVIROMENT (3j)
5.51
6.08
5.3
6.37
OTHERS (3k)
6.13
3.5
TOTAL
5.67
5.69
5.62
6.02
PRICE
OF
COURSE(3b)
COURSES
MINISTRY (3d)
EQUIPMENT &
TECHNOLOGY (3e)
56
GRAPH 1.8 CRITERIA IN CHOOSING A UNIVERSITY

8
UM
UPM
UNITAR
UNITEN
TOTAL
0
3a 3b
3c
3d 3e
3f
3g 3h
3i
3j
3k
From the table and bar chart shown above, recognition by the ministry with the mean of
6.28 are the most important criteria that are likely to influence the students decision in
choosing a university. Other important criteria are type of course offered (6.09), security
(5.94), equipment and technology choices (5.87), and environment (5.82) and cleanliness
(5.78). The remaining criteria such as atmosphere price of course, friendly service and
location are the least important for the students in choosing a university.
57
TABLE 1.9
SERVICES OFFERED
UNIVERSITY
SERVICES
MALAYA
PUTRA
TUN ABDUL
TENAGA
MALAYSIA
RAZAK
NASIONAL
4.87
4.52
5.50
5.10
(4b)
4.85
4.18
5.45
5.04
PACE OF
4.43
3.76
5.34
4.71
4.49
3.56
5.48
4.41
5.23
4.80
5.73
5.76
4.77
4.16
5.5
5.00
OFFERED
FRIENDLY
SERVICES
(4a)
POLITENESS
SERVICE (4c)
PROVIDING
FEEDBACK
(4d)
QUALITY OF
COURSE
CONTENT
(4e)
TOTAL
GRAPH 1.9 SERVICES OFFERED

8
UM
UPM
4
UNITAR
UNITEN
TOTAL
4a
4b
4c
4d
4e
58
Majority of the respondents agrees that quality of course content or syllabus is very
important with the mean of 5.38. A friendly service is another criteria with the mean of
4.98 followed with politeness (4.88), pace of services (4.56) and pace of providing
feedback (4.49). UNITAR respondents rated services offered to them as good with the
highest mean of 5.5. Here the respondents in the private universities are more satisfied
with the service offered compared to government universities
TABLE 1.10 ADMINISTRATION

UNIVERSITY

MALAYA
PUTRA
TUN ABDUL
TENAGA
MALAYSIA
RAZAK
NASIONAL
4.26
3.46
5.46
4.57
(5b)
4.13
3.30
4.93
4.53
SERVICES (5c)
4.36
3.48
5.02
4.51
HELP (5d)
4.43
3.32
5.00
4.53
TOTAL
4.30
3.39
5.03
4.54
MEAN
PROMISES (5a)
PROBLEM
SOLVING
WILLINGNESS
TO
GRAPH 1.10 ADMINISTRATION
6
5
UM
UPM
UNITAR
UNITEN
TOTAL
1
0
5a
5b
5c
5d
59
UNITAR respondents agrees that the administration of the university is good with the
mean of 5.08 whereas University Putra Malaysia respondents feel that their
administration should be improved and it has the lowest mean of 3.39. Overall, majority
of the respondents feels that administration should be improved in their respective
universities. It is unofficially known tat government run universities is usually slack in
their administration procedures.
TABLE 1.11 LECTURERS

UNIVERSITY

MALAYA
PUTRA
TUN ABDUL
TENAGA
MALAYSIA
RAZAK
NASIONAL
4.89
4.74
5.39
5.33
4.98
4.88
5.61
5.78
5.57
5.0
5.36
5.82
4.64
4.16
5.34
4.98
5.02
4.40
5.34
5.2
ATTENDANCE (6f)
3.91
3.32
4.66
3.31
COURSE OUTLINE
4.55
4.68
5.23
5.53
4.91
4.46
5.50
5.53
4.81
4.46
5.30
5.19
MEAN
PROMT SERVICE
(6a)
WILLING TO HELP
(6b)
KNOWLEDGE TO
ANSWER (6c)
AVAILIBILITY
(6d)
MARKS PROMPTLY
(6e)
(6g)
TEACHING AIDS
(6h)
TOTAL
60
GRAPH 1.11 LECTURERS

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
UM
UPM
UNITAR
UNITEN
TOTAL
6a
6b
6c
6d
6e
6f
6g
6h
Majority of the respondents agrees that their lecturers have the knowledge to answer
question with the highest mean of 5.44. Private universities have upper edge regarding
lecturers compared to government universities. This can be related to the ratio of lecturer
to students in which local universities has a very high ratio compared to private
Universities. Therefore private university teachings are more personalize base. Hence the
higher satisfaction from students.
TABLE 1.12: FACILITIES
UNIVERSITY

MALAYA
PUTRA
TUN ABDUL
TENAGA
MALAYSIA
RAZAK
NASIONAL
5.40
5.54
5.73
6.25
5.38
4.44
5.25
5.80
5.79
5.66
5.95
5.88
5.13
4.78
5.36
5.25
4.49
4.20
5.36
5.39
5.24
4.92
5.53
5.71
MEAN
EQUIPMENT
(7a)
PHYSICAL
CENTER (7b)
LOANS/SCHOOL
ARSHIPS(7c)
TEACHING
METHOD (7d)
BOOKS
AVAILABILITY (7e)
TOTAL
(Figures n brackets are column percentages)
61
GRAPH 1.12: FACILITIES

8
UM
UPM
4
UNITAR
UNITEN
TOTAL
7a
7b
7c
7d
7e
In terms of facilities provided, the respondents with the mean of 5.82, rate their
universities provide loans, scholarships as the highest score, whereas availability of book
in the library as the lowest score, 4.86. Generally all the respondents rated above average
regarding facilities provided by their universities. But University Putra Malaysia students
are slightly dissatisfied compared to the others. Here, the highly populated nature of local
universities, which have small of students per facility. But surprisingly private
universities, which have small number of students also, seem to have a problem with
facilities.
62
TABLE 1.13: SUPPORT FACILITIES
UNIVERSITY

MALAYA
MEAN
PUTRA
TUN ABDUL
TENAGA
MALAYSIA
RAZAK
NASIONAL
LIBRARY (8a)
5.26
5.04
4.57
5.96
COMPUTER LAB (8b)
4.70
5.04
5.80
5.41
CANTEEN (8c)
4.19
3.40
1.64
5.35
HOSTELS (8d)
4.34
4.06
1.77
5.63
(8e)
5.11
4.34
3.75
5.22
TOILETS (8f)
4.06
3.20
4.73
5.43
FOOD (8g)
3.87
3.30
2.16
4.82
STAFF(8h)
4.11
3.14
5.05
4.94
TOTAL
4.46
3.94
3.68
5.35
SPORT
ACTIVITIES
GRAPH 1.13 SUPPORT FACILITIES

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
UM
UPM
UNITAR
UNITEN
TOTAL
8a
8b
8c
8d
8e
8f
8g
8h
Based on the respondents, UNITEN scored the highest mean with 5.35 for the support
facilities provided by their university. Where UNITAR recorder the lowest mean of 3.68.
63
Generally all the respondents noted food quality very bad in all the universities.
Respondents rated computer lab as highest mean of 5.24 followed by library (5.21), sport
activities (4.62), and toilet (4.36), and staff (4.32). The remaining support facilities such
as hostels, canteen and quality of food are below average. All the universities should
improve on the aspect above so that the students will be more satisfied
PART B
INFERENTIAL ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
The chi-square statistic (x2) is used to test the statistical significance of the observed
association in a cross tabulation. Here the test is conducted based on <4 (dissatisfied) and
> 4 (satisfied). Meanwhile 4 are not tested because respondents are not sure with their
Answers. Before proceeding into x2 test reliability and validity analysis is made and
analysis resulted are put at the end in Appendix 111.
SERVICE PRODUCT
H
: There is no difference in the opinion of the students with respect to

Service products of private and government universities.
: There is difference in the opinion of the students with suspect to service

Product of private and government universities.
UNIVERSITY
GOVERNMENT PRIVATE
TOTAL
<4
29
37
>4
64
86
150
TOTAL
93
94
187
HYPOTHESIS
64
Inference:
Calculated value is 15.05 which is greater than table value of 3.84 at 1

degree of freedom and 5 significance level. Hence H is rejected. And
alternative hypothesis is accepted. It can be inferred that there is difference
in opinion of the students with respect to services product of private and
government universities.
Private universities have meant of 2.25 compared to 4.47 by the

government and universities. These support the chi-square tests where is
difference in the opinion of the students with respect to service product.
Private university students are more satisfied compared to government
universities.
ADMINISTRATION
H:
There is no different in the opinion of the students with respect to

administration of private and government universities.
H:
There is difference in the opinion of the students with respect to

administration of private and government universities
UNIVERSITY
GOVERNMENT PRIVATE
TOTAL
<4
41
17
58
>4
49
72
121
TOTAL
90
89
179
HYPOTHESIS
65
Inference:
Calculated value is 14.25 which is greater than table value of 3.841 at 1

degree of freedom and 5% significant level. Hence H is rejected and
alternative hypothesis is accepted. It can be inferred that there is difference
in the opinion of the student with respect to administration. We could also
summarize that private university students are more satisfied compared to
the government.
From the table 1.10, private universities have the mean of 4.79 compared to 3.85 by the
government universities. This result supports the chi-square test where there s difference
in the opinion of the students with respect to administration. We could also summarize
that private university students are mire satisfied compared to the government
counterpart.
LECTURERS
H:
There is no difference in the opinion of the students with respect to

lecturers of private and government universities.
H:
There is difference in the opinion of the student with respect to lecturers of

private and government universities.
UNIVERSITY
GOVERNMENT PRIVATE
TOTAL
<4
17
25
>4
78
85
163
TOTAL
95
93
188
HYPOTHESIS
66
Inference:
Calculated value is 3.515 which is lesser than table value of 3.841

at degree of reedom and 5% significant level. Hence H is accepted
and alternative hypothesis is rejected. And it can be inferred that
there is no difference in the opinion of the students with respect to
lecturers of private and government universities.
From table 1.11, private universities have the mean of 5.25 compared to 4.64 by the
counterpart. These result because according to the chi- square test, there is no difference
in the students with respect to lecturers of private and government universities. The
difference of the mean is gathered from the cross tabulation.
FACILITIES
H:
There is no difference in the opinion of the students with respect to

facilities of private and government universities.
H:
There is difference in the opinion of the students with respect to facilities

of private and government universities.
UNIVERSITY
GOVERNMENT PRIVATE
TOTAL
<4
15
>4
81
89
170
TOTAL
90
95
185
HYPOTHESIS
Inference:
Calculated value 0.843 which is lesser than table value of 3.841 at 1

degree of freedom and 5% significant level. Hence H is accepted and
alternative hypothesis rejected. And it can be inferred that there is no
67
difference in the students with respect to facilities of private and

government universities.
From table 1.12, private universities have the mean of 5.62 compared to 5.08 by the
government universities. This result does not support the chi-square test because
according to the test, there is no difference in the opinion of the students with respect to
facilities of private and government universities. These differences are obtained from
cross tabulation and we could say that private university students are slightly more
satisfied compared to the government students.
68
CHAPTER 5
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATIONS
After having conducted the investigation , analyzing the finding and formulating the
conclusion, a few recommendations may to be made for the improvement of the higher
education institutions in terms of service products, administration, lecturers and facilities.
SERVICE PRODUCTS
Based on the chart 1.9, private students are more satisfied overall so government
universities should improve mainly in the aspect of providing feed back or taking
necessary action as soon as possible. According to the finding, government universities
staff should be more professional in handling students welfare because the staff in the
government universities takes things for granted that the students in the government
universities may be so much lower than the private universities. So the students got no
choice but to put up with this and not leave the universities and sign up in the private
university where the fees is double what the pay in the government universities. Changing
the public relation skills will improve their mindset and be more professional in handling
the students.
ADMINISTRATION
Administration is another important aspect where it will determine effectiveness of a
university. According to the chart 1.10 students from University Putra Malaysia are very
dissatisfied with the administration. UNITAR has the least administration problems
because most of their registration is down by online so there is no contact with the staff.
Furthermore, based on my survey, most of the student prefers less contact with the
administrative staff, so my recommendation is to implement online service so that the
69
student need not queue up as early as 4 am before the registration booth opens at 9.00
am.Online registration is the best solution because generally most of the students
nowadays have their own computers and this method is hassle free.
LECTURERS
Government universities have the best lectures but it does not justify the research done
because most of the government university student does no agree that they have the best
lecturer. My opinion is that having the best Lecturer. My opinion is that having the best
lecturer is not good enough because their public relation with the students are very
important.If we take private universities, lecturers are always available to the students so
it is plus point there.I would recommend that generally all the lecturers should have
visiting time where their students can consult them and not only that but start
corresponding with the students via e- mail. That is the last method I would recommend
because lecturers can solve the students problems from home or anytime from anywhere.
FACILITIES
Facilities are what the students nowadays stress on before signing up a program.
Generally private universities have better facilities due to the financial background. This
is all because the government funds government universities and the fees paid by the
students are just nice to pay for the operation cost. So to solve problem, government
should have bigger allocation for education and upgrade the facilities to provide the best
for the students.
SUMMARY
To summarize the whole chapter, government universities should be more competitive
and should erase their mindset thinking that they are best. If they do not consider this,
one-day they might lose out to private universities because students satisfaction is very
important aspect. Satisfaction will lead them to strive harder in education.
70
In my research, I have collected data through questionnaire that distributed to about 220
students from 4 universities. I used data tabulation to summarize the 192 questionnaire
than I managed to collect back from the respondents. All the questionnaire was tabulated
one by one in order to get mean and percentage.
If we compare gender of the 192 respondents, the percentage of female respondent is

more than male. When it comes to age, majority of the respondents falls into the age
category of 21 to 23 and 96% from the 192 respondents is locals or Malaysian. Most of
the respondents are Bachelor Degree students from the school of business because that
was objective of the research or another word the scope of the research.
If we rate the importance of the criteria that is likely to influence students in choosing a
university, recognition by the Ministry is the main factor that all the respondents want
from the university that they choose. Recognition is so important that without recognition
from the ministry, a student will find difficulties in getting a job in the government sector
and not only that but the degree will be not recognize in the countrys job
market.Whereas services offered is among the main criteria that I had choose to do my
research on. Generally all the respondents are quite happy with the services offered
because they rated it just above average but there is still room to improve because
students satisfaction is very important in the education industry. From this research I
would say that students from the private universities are more satisfied compared to the
government universities. Ministry should note this point to close the gap between private
and government universities.
According to the respondents, administration of the universities is average. Students from
University Putra Malaysia are dissatisfied with the administration and generally most of
their students rated the administration below average compared to the rest.From the
survey, lecturers from the Private universities satisfy their students and always there for
the students to government universities. A lecturer is the core of the education industry
because they are the moderators between the university and students. As we all know that
71
most of the government universities have the best lecturers in town but from this research
the students in the government universities are not satisfied with them.When it comes to
facilities, it again private universities have the upper hand over government universities
because the private sector have the fund to invest and mainly their funds are contributed
by the students through the higher school fees compared to the government universities.
The University Tenaga Nasional has the best facilities offered to their students compared
to the rest. Here we could conclude that Tenage Nasional Berhad the owner of the
university are a corporate body and a listed company so funding a project is not a
problem.
Support facilities like canteen (atmosphere), food (quality) and hostels are the main
problems faced by the students. Universities should bare in mind that the above support
facilities are basic need for a student. As what we know normally parents will check on
the above basic need before make a decision on which university to choose (normally for
private universities)Based on the research, students from the private universities are more
satisfied compared to the government universities. Mainly the four-factor service offered,
administration, lecturers and a facility are the core of this study and summary is based
unit. Basically all the universities have room for improvement because students wants and
needs always changes. In this industry, students are the King so it is the university
responsibility to satisfy them.
As stated earlier, the aim of this study was to analyze students satisfaction between
private universities and local universities using service quality theory. From the analysis,
it shows that private universities students are more satisfy compared to Government
University in the main factor of study such as service offered administration, lecturers and
facilities.
From the research finding and analysis, it can now be concluded that, higher educational
institutions in Malaysia need to establish system to monitor and control the quality of
education that they are providing to the students.The ministry of Education is fully aware
of the need to do so and it has taken certain measure towards that director: i.e. to create
and maintain a quality education system in Malaysia. In its step, it has created a Private
72
Education Department under its ministry and at the same time initiated the Nasional
Accreditation Board which is in charge of monitoring the Private Higher Institution in
Malaysia.
73
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ACTS
1. Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 555. International Law Book Services.
2. Lembaga Akredittasi Negara (Act 556). Nasional Accrediation Act. International
Law Book Services.
76
APPENDIX 1
Questionnaire
This survey is intended to study about students satisfaction between Private Universities
and Government Funded Universities in the Klang Valley.All information provided by
the respondent will be treated as private and confidential. The information in only for
academic purposes. I would appreciate 10 minutes of your time to answer the following
questions.
Thank You.
Section A
Your Background
GENDER
Male
Female
AGE
18 20
21 23
24 26
Above 27
Malaysian
Indonesian
Maldives
Chinese
Others (please specify):_____________________
NATIONALITY
Section B
Educational Background (Currently pursuing)
Pre-University
Diploma
77
Bachelors Degree
Masters / Post-Graduate
Name of University: ____________________________________________
Section C
Major Area of Study
Accounting
Business
Law
Marketing
Economic
Others ________________________
Please specify the title of your course currently being pursued______________________
1)
2)
3)
How long have you been studying in the said university?
Less than 1 year
1 2 years
More than 2 years
Who normally is your decision maker in choosing the university you study in?
My self
Friends
Family Members
Others _______________
Please rate the importance of the criteria that is likely to influence your decision
In choosing a university (1 = not important and 7 = very important).
a)
Friendly service
b)
Price of course
c)
Types of course offered
d)
Recognition by the Ministry
78
4)
e)
Equipment & Technologies choices 1
f)
Atmosphere (Comfort)
g)
Location
h)
Security
i)
Cleanliness
j)
Environment
k)
Others
Please rate the services offered in your higher institution.

a)
Friendly services
Very dissatisfied
b)
7
Very Satisfied
Politeness
Very impolite
Very Polite
79
c)
Pace of service
Very Slow
d)
Very Fast
Pace of providing feedback / action taken
Very Slow
e)
7
Very Fast
Quality of course content / syllabus
Very inadequate
5)
7
Very Adequate
Administration
a)
When the universities promises to do something by a certain time, it does

so
Strongly Disagree
b)
7
Strongly Agree
When you have a problem the university shows a sincere interest in

sloving it
Strongly Disagree
7
Strong Agree
80
c)
University performs the right the first time
Strongly Disagree
d)
Strongly Agree
Staff at the universities always willing to help you
Strongly Disagree
6)
7
Strongly Agree
Letterers
a)
Lecturers of the university give you prompt service
Strongly Disagree
b)
Strongly Agree
Lecturers of the university are always willing to help you
Strongly Disagree
c)
7
Strongly Agree
Lecturers of the university have knowledge to answer your question
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
81
d)
Lecturers always available for you to meet them
Strongly Disagree
e)
Strongly Agree
Lecturers give you your assignment marks promptly
Strongly Disagree
f)
Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree
7
Strongly Agree
Lecturers use teaching aids
Strongly Disagree
7)
Lecturers teach all that is in the course outline
h)
Lecturers come for lectures later or end the lectures early
g)
7
Strongly Agree
Facilities
a)
Your university modern equipments / teaching aids (i.e. power point,

transparencies etc.)
1
Strongly Disagree
7
Strongly Agree
82
b)
Your universitys physical centre is well equipment

1
Strongly Disagree
c)
Strongly Agree
Your university provides loans / scholarships
Strongly Disagree
d)
Strongly Agree
To what extent are you satisfied with the teaching methods used by the
lecturers in your programme?
1
Very dissatisfied
e)
7
Very satisfied
With regards to the books used in your course, are the books available in
the library?
1
Very insufficient
7
Very sufficient
83
8)
How do you find the following support facilities provided by the university?
Poor
1
Good
2
Library
Computer Lab
Canteen (Atmosphere)
Hostels
Sports Activities
Toilets (Cleanliness)
Food (Quality)
Staff (Overall)
9)
Which aspect do you think your institution should improve on?
__________________________________________________________________
THANK YOU.
84
APPENDIX 11
RELIABILITY ANALYSIS
UNIVERSITY 1
QUESTION
ALPHA VALUE
0.6
0.7
0.6
0.9
UNIVERSITY 2
QUESTION
ALPHA VALUE
0.8
0.9
0.6
0.7
85
UNIVERSITY 3
QUESTION
ALPHA VALUE
0.6
0.9
0.7
0.7
UNIVERSITY 4
QUESTION
ALPHA VALUE
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.9
86
APPENDIX 111
FACTOR ANALYSIS RESULTS
UNIVERSITY 1
QUESTION 4
QUESTION 5
FACTOR
QUESTION 6
FACTOR
4a
0.883
5a
5b
0.880
5b
4c
0.864
4d
0.768
4e
0.382
0.900
QUESTION 7
FACTOR
FACTOR
6a
0.313
7a
0.742
0.911
6b
0.268
7b
0.878
5c
0.918
6c
0.179
7c
0.401
5d
0.806
6d
0.223
7d
0.878
6e
0.229
7e
0.406
6f
0.299
6g
0.302
6h
0.270
87
UNIVERSITY 2
QUESTION 4
QUESTION 5
FACTOR
QUESTION 6
FACTOR
4a
0.93
5a
5b
0.911
5b
4c
0.734
4d
0.622
4e
0.511
0.771
QUESTION 7
FACTOR
FACTOR
6a
0.530
7a
0.669
0.800
6b
0.393
7b
0.444
5c
0.897
6c
0.492
7c
0.523
5d
0.857
6d
0.422
7d
0.631
6e
0.370
7e
6f
0.341
6g
0.405
6h
0.499
UNIVERSITY 3
QUESTION 4
QUESTION 5
FACTOR
QUESTION 6
FACTOR
4a
0.728
5a
5b
0.805
5b
4c
0.775
4d
0.821
4e
0.563
0.826
QUESTION 7
FACTOR
FACTOR
6a
0.257
7a
0.765
0.820
6b
0.374
7b
0.820
5c
0.780
6c
0.260
7c
0.692
5d
0.782
6d
0.261
7d
0.742
6e
0.372
7e
0.693
6f
0.333
6g
0.359
6h
0.340
88
UNIVERSITY 4
QUESTION 4
QUESTION 5
FACTOR
QUESTION 6
FACTOR
4a
0.786
5a
5b
0.836
5b
4c
0.932
4d
0.905
4e
0.504
0.626
QUESTION 7
FACTOR
FACTOR
6a
0.637
7a
0.55
0.856
6b
0.876
7b
0.574
5c
0.912
6c
0.930
7c
0.999
5d
0.869
6d
0.580
7d
0.564
6e
0.705
7e
0.430
6f
0.624
6g
0.653
6h
0.616
89

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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STUDENT

SATISFACTION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Digitally signed by Siti

Student's Signature: ______________________

Date: 14th December 2007

Student's Name: N.Sivarajah

Student ID: 1051200070

Chapter 2: SELECTED LITERATURE REVIEW

Chapter 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Most importantly, greatest appreciation to my parents, who have supported me from

(NST, 15 Aug 1992)

The Malaysian Education System

The Malaysian Education Policy

Private Education in Malaysia

Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996

Private Higher Educational Institution means an education an institution, including

(a) providing higher education

a private higher educational institution approved and registered under

other higher educational institutions-

a) Whether or not established under other written laws or

a university or university college established under this Act

a university or university college established under the Universities

other Universities and University Colleges-

a) whether or not established under other written laws or

b) whether within or outside Malaysia;

a professional body whether within or outside Malaysia leading to the

The Education Industry

Background of University of Malaya

Background off University Putra Malaysia

Background of University Tun Abdul Razak

Background of Universiti Tenaga Nasional

Academic programmes at undergraduate and graduate levels were on a twinning basis

To analyze differences in level of satisfaction of private and public university

To suggest possible modification that could be very important in maintaining and

Limitation and Scope of Research

Instruction, the Industrial

Connection Higher Education, 60: 388-403)

The Satisfaction Process

LINGKAGE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TO SERVICE

As noted by Oliver, 1993, satisfaction implies a feeling of fulfillment. Customer 1980) In

Satisfaction is a summary cognitive and effective reaction to a service incident.

THE HIERARCHY OF EFFECTS MODEL

LAVIDGE AND STEINER

According to Valarie S.Flokes, consumer expectancies play a central role in

WHAT IS CONSUMER SATISFACTION?

According to Kardes (1999), Consumer behavior is the study of human responses to

Cognitive can be defined as what is known as a perception towards product or services,

According to Dr.Mohamed Zairi (1994), a commitment to student as the primary

1. Identify (gaps, variations) from students feedback

2. Analyze (Instructional process)

3. Plan (through QFD, introduce action to improved quality)

5. Evaluate (customer satisfaction surveys)

1. It is built upon the competitive element of quality, reliability, delivery and

2. Once an organization acquires a poor eruption for quality, it takes a very

3. Reputation, good or bad, can quickly become national reputations.

4. The management of the competitive weapons, such as quality, can be learned

A working definition of quality might be: