How Do EMU Students Choose their Universities: Importance-Performance Analysis

Higher education has been a very competitive service sector and quality has become an important concept in this competitive industry. Therefore, measuring service quality in higher education has attracted a lot of attention recently. This study identifies the factors that are important to students in the stage of choosing their higher education institution and measures performance of their university on various attributes of quality. More specifically the service provided by EMU as perceived by its students will be measured and the factors that are important in the decision m king of students‟ choice of joining EMU will be identified. The Importance – Performance analysis is used to analyze data. The study indicates a service gap in EMU, that is the importance attached to the EMU service quality ttributes is gre ter th n the respondents‟ perceived perform nce for all of these attributes. This study revealed that efforts to improve service provided by EMU should be concentrated on the tangibility dimension. Students are not satisfied with the physical appearance of building and class rooms as well as with campus in general. More facilities for accommodation, food and recreation should be created. Reliability of service provided is also not performing well. Students are not confident that money they spent on the degree reflect quality of education service offered. And, finally, empathy is the dimension that requires further attention. Foreign students are not satisfied with provided support services. Keywords:service quality, higher education, Importance – Performance analysis, North Cyprus.