Perceived Quality in Higher Education Service in Brazil: The Importance of Physical Evidence

Based on the theoretical reference framework from Services Marketing, where tangibles are taken as relevant in the services evaluation by users, this article analyses, in the specific case of a Medicine Course in a Brazilian higher education institution, how relevant the physical evidence is in the students´ perceived quality evaluation of this service. A survey research was conducted with a convenience sample made up of 209 Medicine students and the results show that, as far as quality perception is concerned, people - notably faculty - are more important than the tangible assets. This finding challenges the methodology used by the Brazilian Education Ministry – MEC to qualify Medicine courses, that considers physical facilities more relevant than people.