Sustaining service facilities in a Research University

Abstract

954Higher educational over the world is facing intense challenges due to the need to transform and revolutionize the quality of services provided. Higher learning institutes in Malaysia are now under pressure to offer quality services in order to compete with others that have taken measures to improve and upgrade their educational facilities. Quality service facilities have become one of the important support features that play an integral part in students’ selection of an institution to pursue higher education particularly at the international level. Moreover, it can also assist an institution in its attempt to uphold and generate a significant trademark for its survival in this competitive education industry. This survey is conducted to determine the international postgraduates’ perceptions towards service facilities, such as classroom, accommodation, recreational centre and other support facilities in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). A total of 255 international postgraduates participated in this study using a questionnaire adapted from Hamidah, Zainab, Shoki, Rosnah, Hafilah and Norzarina [1]. Data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 for percentages and means. This paper discusses the findings of the study and provides recommendations on how to improve the service facilities in UTM.