A Quality Evaluation in Higher Distance Education Services : Servqual Scale and Factorial Analysis

Society, business and technology change rapidly, that is why the perception of learning has to be changed in order to keep up with the competitive environment. At present therehas been a significant change in higher education and in the learning process in general, with the help of information and communication technologies (ICT) and, especially, due to the Internet. In this context it is highlighted the EAD (Distance Education). This in turn has presented expansion in the market and also convenience to the student, because he chooses the time and where he wants to study. This research has the objective of evaluating the quality (through the scale SERVQUAL and the gap model) of the EaD in an institution located in RioGrande do Sul. Also the research proposes to refine a research instrument, to make it more accurate, using the factorial analysis. The results pointed out that in the analyzed Institution there are gaps (gaps) to be filled. And the factorial analysis proved useful for the refinement of the research instrument. This made it possible to have greater homogeneity among the variables of each dimension. Therefore, the research proves useful both at the academic and business level