Evaluation and Comparison of Educational Service Quality Gaps from the Perspective of Students at Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences Using the SERVQUAL Model

Background and Objectives: The quality of educational services is a key factor influencing student satisfaction and academic success. A gap between what students expect and what they experience may reflect structural issues in the educational system. This study aimed to assess and compare this service quality gap between two faculties—Health and Nursing—to support targeted quality improvements.
Methods: This study included 147 students from the Faculties of Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using the validated 27-item SERVQUAL questionnaire covering five service quality dimensions. Reliability was previously confirmed in national studies (Cronbach’s alpha: 0.887 for perceptions, 0.842 for expectations). Data analysis was performed in Stata 14 using paired t-tests to assess gaps between perceived and expected quality.
Results: Across both faculties, a negative gap was observed in all five dimensions, indicating that students’ perceived quality was consistently lower than their expectations (p < 0.001). The most significant gap was identified in the “Assurance” dimension (-0.74), while the smallest appeared in “Responsiveness” (-0.61). Although the overall quality gap was larger in the Nursing faculty (-0.79) compared to the Public Health faculty (-0.57), the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.001). A significant difference between faculties was only found in the “Tangibles” dimension (p = 0.002).
Conclusion: This study highlights a meaningful gap between students' expectations and their perceived quality of educational services. These findings suggest that strengthening areas such as “Assurance” and “Tangibles” could be a practical step toward enhancing the educational experience in medical universities.