Russian profile universities students' educational services quality perception and satisfaction assessment

Assessment of the perceived quality and satisfaction of students with educational services is an urgent and significant issue for universities. Both of these categories largely determine the competitive positions of higher education institutions. The purpose of this article is to assess satisfaction with the quality of education received at universities with different rating positions in academic rankings and to identify the most significant factors that affect the perceived quality and the student's desire to recommend the university to potential applicants. The research was conducted at two Russian profile universities, ranking differently: Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (MSMU) and Russian State University of Tourism and Service (RSUTS). SERVQUAL method has been applied to evaluate and assess educational services quality perception and satisfaction with the services received by students. According to the results, the students of both universities are mostly satisfied with the received educational services, whereas the students of Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (MSMU) have shown to be less satisfied. This result may occur due to higher expectations of MSMU students. Evaluation of different factors, affecting perception of educational services quality and satisfaction of students, revealed the following pattern: the same factors have various impacts on the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University students and students of the Russian State University of Tourism and Service. Results of the study may be beneficial for the universities to revise their operational activities in order to increase students’ satisfaction and, consequently, to increase loyalty of customers receiving services in higher education.