Evidences of service quality from an emerging educational hub, Qatar

This study examined service quality at a university in a unique context, Qatar, utilising the SERVQUAL model. The universities in the Middle-East region are staffed by expatriates from all over the world on contractual terms. There is no tenure system, which can have possible impact on job commitment and job satisfaction of these expatriates. As such, service quality at universities as perceived by students and the consequent student satisfaction with university services can be affected. A sample of over 200 students assessed service quality along the dimensions of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Results indicated students' perceptions of all the five dimensions of service quality were lower than their expectations. The biggest discrepancy was observed in the dimension of reliability followed by responsiveness and the lowest was found in tangibility. Implications are discussed.