The Influence of Institution Reputation, Service Quality and Satisfaction on Students’ Loyalty Towards Kolej Poly Tech Mara

The democratization of higher education in Malaysia has driven a flourishing number of higher education institutions to expand in tandem with student education demands. Apparently, in higher education institutions, particularly private institutions, achieving student satisfaction to secure student loyalty is imperative. Inconsistent re-enrolment, student dropouts and decreasing student enrolment increase the pressure on private institutions to compete. Therefore, persistence in the value of an institution's brand name and student satisfaction in education services become the essential issues for private institutions to resolve. Hence, using a quantitative research approach, this study sought to assess the relationship between institution reputation and service quality on student loyalty and to gauge the mediating effects of student satisfaction on the relationship between institution reputation and service quality. Respondents were the final year diploma students from eight (8) campuses of Kolej Poly-Tech MARA. A total of 404 questionnaires were distributed to the selected respondents using a stratified sampling method, and 252 were usable and used in the subsequent analysis. Seven (7) hypotheses were developed and tested using SPSS and SmartPLS software. The Reciprocal Theory was referred as to the underlying theory in this study. Empirical results suggest that service quality and student satisfaction have a significant positive effect on student loyalty. However, contrary to the theoretical proposition, institutional reputation shows insignificant influences. The result indicates that student satisfaction mediates the relationships between institution reputation and service quality on student loyalty. The present study expands the theoretical knowledge regarding the associations between institutional reputation, service quality, student satisfaction and student loyalty in educational institutions. The results also provide valuable strategic information for higher education institutions' management for formulating appropriate strategies to ensure student satisfaction and loyalty, especially from the perspective of private higher education institutions.