Author(s): Rashmi Mishra, Rajendra Kumar Jain and Abhishek Mishra
With the COVID-19 pandemic, many education institutions have shifted to the online mode of teaching. With the virus waning in most parts of the world, traditional institutes are attempting to balance online and offline pedagogical mechanisms to optimize their resources. The study aims to propose a conceptual model relating institutional and learning management system (LMS) service quality to higher education institute (HEI) brand equity. This work examines the existing literature on Service Quality (SERVQUAL) framework and its applications across various contexts, including higher education, and leverages it to propose a conceptual model, in conjunction with qualitative interviews, which explains the engagement and satisfaction of online students from the education services of such institutes. This work argues that two primary dimensions of service quality – institute and LMS – are important in driving student engagement, satisfaction, as well as the brand equity of a HEI. Through a systematic literature review and depth interviews, this work proposes instructor quality, administrative staff quality and online course quality as components of institute quality. Further, it proposes various aspects of the LMS, like site organization, responsiveness, reliability, user-friendliness, fulfilling personal needs, and efficiency, as factors that shape student learning experience and satisfaction.