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The GAP Model Analysis of Indian Higher Education

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Introduction
Higher education scenario in India It is most evident by the fact that India is lagging behind in higher educational services as it comprises only 6-7% students as against 16% in most of the developing countries. Of this 7% elite academia, 87% of it is concentrated in three faculties of arts by 42%, science by 20%, and commerce by 21%, and remaining 13% is absorbed by professional faculties like medicine and engineering though the number of universities and students is increased from just 17 and 3.5 lakhs in 1947 to 350 and 1 crore respectively in 2007. As well the dependence on government funds has increased from 57% to 82%, while the percentage of plan expenditure on higher education total education has fallen from 22% in fifth five year plan to 6% in eleventh five-year plan (2007-12). The universities of India can be classified in various categories like Central universities, State universities, deemed universities, private universities, agricultural universities, national institutes of importance and open universities, as shown in table 1. Realizing the urgent need of revamping the Indian higher education system the Ministry of Human Resources Development has proposed to establish 8 new Indian Institutes of Technology, 7 Indian Institutes of Management and 30 Central universities under the 11th fiveyear plan. Of these 30 Central universities, 14 would be of world class type.

SI No. 1 2 3 4 5 6

Type of Universities in INDIA Central Universities Open Universities Agricultural Universities Deemed Universities (34 government and 86 private) State Universities Private universities established by state legislatures

No. (31st April 2011)

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Foreign universities having branch campuses in India Total

In the changing scenario of globalization and privatization, the education can not remain aloof. The government has taken a stand not to bear additional expenditure over the present 10% budget on higher education, whose output is just 6% of total Indian education. It started allowing private institutions to impart education permanently on non-grant basis. In other words, higher education is slowly moving from its era of highest subsidy to low subsidy through participative route i.e., initiation of self-supporting courses, distance education courses, and allowing many unaided affiliated colleges. Supreme Court judgment in 2002 on higher education On 31-10-2002 the supreme court of India delivered benchmark judgment that:
1. Higher education is a private good but not public good, and hence private institutions

are a necessity;
2. Primary education is a fundamental right but not higher education; 3. Admissions be on merit or marks of the qualifying common entrance test or examination; 4. Autonomy and liberty in the management of the private institutions.

Impact of WTO-GATS on higher education in developed countries It is estimated that by 2025, 70% of the demand for international higher education will come from China, India and other East and South Asian countries, while demand from USA and the European countries will be slowed down. Since the launching of the GATS (General agreement on Trade in Services) by WTO (World Trade Organization), USA has become the worlds largest exporter of higher education services, making it the countrys fifth largest service sector export. The USA and the UK account for 80% of global market in higher educational services. This data makes it evident that developed have taken the marketing move for their higher education services. The agencies that are working for this purpose are: USAs Information Centers, UKs British Councils, Australias International Development Program, and Germanys Academic Exchange Service. The University of Phoenix, Americas largest private postsecondary institution and a profit-oriented corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Universities 21, a network of universities from seven countries (USA, Australia, UK, China, New Zealand, Canada, and Singapore) started providing tailor-made higher educational programs targeted at specific markets. Reaction from educational establishments has come in the form of frequent review of syllabus, diversifying of structures and introduction of novel ways of delivering the service. Part-time
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courses, self-supporting courses, evening courses, in-service courses, distance learning programs, online courses, twinning agreement and franchising arrangements are some of the new trends that have revolutionized the traditional form and structure of education. These examples are indicative of the quick responses to the globalization of the educational services on the part of the developing nations. Impact of WTO-GATS on Indian higher education Educational service is one of the twelve groups of services which are to be negotiated under the GATS of WTO. India being one of the founding members (153 countries in July 2009) in WTO, it has to accept latters condition (Article 13 of GATS) of successful international trade of educational services with minimum restrictions, tariff and regulation. Bill was passed in the parliament to permit to start private universities including foreign universities or their franchisees in India from 01-4-2005 onwards. At present more than 100 foreign universities, mostly from UK, USA, and Australia are marketing their higher education in India in different forms of their presence distance education, collaboration with local universities and research and development organizations, and lateral entry into their universities located in their countries. Many Indian students are already getting foreign degrees, doing professional courses at local branch campuses of the following foreign institutions in India: UK-based Wigan and Leigh College; Indian School of Business tie-up with Kellogg, Wharton, and London Business School; Western International University, Arizona; NIIT tie-up with ITT Educational Services, USA; and Tata InfoTech tie-up with Hertfordshire University, UK. There is no doubt that Indian higher education will be guided and controlled primarily by GATS and secondarily by UGC, HRD, and AICTE, NBA, MCI, etc in the near future. Only IIMs, IITs, NITs, and IGNOU could take up the initiative to react actively and positively to the agreement with GATS. For instance, IGOU has taken the lead in providing flexibility of time, place and product, and price to the international community by making the presence of its 94 programs in 31 Asian countries. It has collaboration with many open universities in SAARC, regional, national and international organizations like COL, WIPO, WHO, and World Bank. Keeping in view the emerging trends in the international arena of higher education, India has to realize that it is the high time for it to reorient and transform itself from protectionist to participative manager by adopting services marketing concept in improving the quality of higher educational services (by adopting various tools and techniques, where GAP model analysis is one such tool) to be offered in India and abroad, which otherwise shall be sidelined and lose its survival due to cut-throat competition in the international market, as was promulgated by GATS Doha 2006 and Geneva 2009 ministerial meets. GAP model analysis of service quality in Indian higher education GAP model analysis of quality, developed by Zeithaml, Bitner, and Parasuraman of USA (1988), can be better utilized in order to have introspection and to diagnose the syndromes that the Indian higher education system has been suffering from, and to suggest remedial measures

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and strategies for preventing or minimizing the specific syndromes, and for revamping the various strategic elements of system. This entire article is structured around this model. The actors that are noted in its original model are named differently for our purpose in this article. The student is substituted for a customer (service taker), while the university is substituted for a marketer (service provider). As is advocated by Booms and Bitner an effective marketing of educational services includes the effective management of the following 7Ps (the words starting with bold letter P) of services marketing mix:

Product: It includes degrees awarded and their syllabi, paper exemptions, brand name of their degrees and its history, placement facility, lateral entries, grading given by NAAC, recognition by UGC, AICTE, MCI, NBA or HRD, demand and supply conditions of the degrees offered, etc. Price: It includes admission and term fees structure, fee concessions and exemptions, college affiliation fee, exam fees, etc. Place: It includes selection of affiliated colleges based on their strengths and weaknesses, and evaluation of affiliated colleges, study centers (in case DDE courses) based on their performance, and the control desired on affiliated colleges and study centers. Promotion: It includes media propagation, CRM, public relations with government, UGC, NAAC, State Councils of higher education and research organizations, press meets, and public awareness programs. People: This P includes professors, students themselves, other students, and non-teaching staff for which the universities have to plan and implement the number of teaching and non-teaching staff, their qualifications, recruitment and selection, procedure, their training and rewards, and conducting research on needs and wants of students and professors; educating the students about their role and responsibility, and communicating the cultural values with the students; number of students, their background and interest and aptitude for the course in which he is studying. Physical evidence: This P includes design, aesthetics, functionality and ambient conditions of the class rooms and buildings, equipment in the labs, library facilities, dress code of students and professors, and non-teaching staff, annual reports and calendars of the university, visiting cards of the staff, computer labs, gym, hospitals, banks, post offices, co-operative stores, etc. Process: This P includes type of the service--standardized or customized, number of steps involved in the service processsimple or complex, and the level of involvement by student, professor, and non-teaching staff in the service delivery.

The student perceptions are subjective assessments of actual service experiences. Student expectations are the standards of or reference points for performance against which educational service experiences are compared, and are often formulated in terms of what a student believes should or will happen.

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The success of student expectations consists of marketer-controlled factors (such as pricing, advertising, sales promises) as well as factors that the marketer has limited ability to affect (innate personal needs, word-of-mouth communications, and competitive services offered by competing universities). In a perfect world, expectations and perceptions would be identical. GAPS in the service quality But in practice, these concepts are separated by some discrepancies within the universities that inhibit delivery of quality education. These are:

Provider (University) gap 1: Not knowing what the student expects. Provider gap 2: Not selecting the right service designs and standards. Provider gap 3: Not delivering to service standards. Provider gap 4: Not matching performance to promises. Customer (Student) gap 5: Not knowing what the .university delivers

Services Perceived Services Delivery UNIVERSITY Perceptions GAP External Universities Past 5 Expected Service Driven Student Needs STUDENT Industry Suggestions 1 2 3 Experiences Communications ofby University Service Designs by Students student expectations GAP and standards set to Students by Universities

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Figure 1 GAP Model of Service Quality in Higher Educational Services

The basic objective of the university is to develop the strategies in such a way that it can influence the students expectations and perceptions so that all the four gaps that take place due to differences in expectations and perceptions can be filled up. Let us diagnose the specific causes for each of the gaps as shown in fig.1. University Gap-1 Services expected by students minus Universitys perception of students expectations Causes for Gap 1:

Inadequate research on market research on what the student, and industry need and want from the university. Even if there is any research on this objective, it is not focused on quality of the services offered in the university. Lack of interaction between university and students, and between university and industry. Insufficient communication between students and professors, professors and administrators, and students and administrators. Too many procedural layers between the front-end employees (professors and nonteaching staff) and board of management, such as many redundant layers and sub-layers through head, principal/dean, registrar, and vice chancellor in order to have link by the students, teachers and non-teachers. Lack of customer relationship management (CRM) with the students
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The GAP Model Analysis of Indian Higher Education

University Gap-2 Universitys perceptions of students expectations minus student- driven service designs and standards Causes for Gap 2:

Lack of student-driven service standards. Vague, undefined design of the services to be provided to students, scholars and teachers. Absence of process (delivery of services) management to focus on student requirements. Absence of formal system for setting service quality. Inadequate administration commitment towards the services. No systematic process for the development of new courses to be offered so as to sustain the competition from other established public or private universities from regular or distance mode services. Failure to connect course to the students and scholars.

University Gap-3 Student-driven service designs minus service delivery Causes for Gap 3:

Ineffective recruitment and selection of professors and non-teaching staff. Role ambiguity and role conflict among professors. Inappropriate evaluation and compensation system for professors. Lack of empowerment, team-work, collaborative research, etc. Failure to smooth peaks and valley of demand for certain courses. Over reliance on government funds for running the courses. Students lacking knowledge of their roles and responsibilities.

University Gap-4 Service delivery minus external communications to students Causes for Gap 4:

Ineffective CRM to manage students expectations about services from the universities. Failure to educate students about their roles and responsibilities. Over or under promising about the quality of education (placements, lab, teaching, etc) through cues for physical evidence. Insufficient communication between teaching and non-teaching staff. Differences in the policies and procedures (structure of syllabi, examination schedules and model papers, infrastructural facilities) among affiliated colleges, regular, and DDE courses.

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Student Gap-5 Students expectations of service minus students perceptions of service Causes for Gap 5:

The first impression that the students get while interacting with the administration and professors over phone or in person during admission in to the university campus. Response of professors and staff (employees) to their failure in service delivery; to student needs and requests; to problematic students; and spontaneity in delivering memorably good or poor service to students. Student assessment of service quality dimensions, such as reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles of university education.

Service quality dimensions

1. Reliability: Ability of the professors and staff to perform the promised service

dependably and accurately.

2. Assurance: Knowledge, courtesy, and ability of the professors and staff to inspire trust

and confidence among the students about their placement.

3. Responsiveness: Willingness of the professors and staff to help students and provide

prompt service.
4. Empathy: Caring and individualized attention given to students by professors. 5. Tangibles: Appearance of physical facilities equipment in the labs, LCD, OHP,

computers, internet, dress code, non-teaching staff, answer sheets, question papers, records, attendance sheet, project reports, letter heads, and other written materials. Marketing triangle of higher education services The strategies that could be followed by Indian universities can be broadly divided into three groups in terms of type of marketing: 1. External marketing strategies 2. Internal marketing strategies, 3. Interactive marketing strategies

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Figure shows that external marketing strategies, internal marketing strategies, and interactive marketing strategies are to be developed within the encounters (interactions) that take place in between the university and the students, the university and the professors and staff, and professors and staff, and students respectively.

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