Critical factors of service quality in a graduate school of Malaysia Noor Hazilah Abd Manaf, Khaliq Ahmad and Selim Ahmed Department of Business Administration, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate the service quality of a higher educational institute in Malaysia based on the seven dimensions, namely administrative service, tangibles, academic programmes, academic staff, delivery of teaching, assurance, and empathy of academic staff. Design/methodology/approach – This study surveyed 221 students of IIUM Graduate School of Management (GSM) based on the self-administrative research questionnaire. The research data were analyzed by using exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, independent samples t-test, and multiple regression analysis. Findings – Results indicate IIUM GSM students have positive and significant perception on administrative service, tangibles, delivery teaching and assurance, but they do not have significant perception on academic programmes, academic staff and empathy of academic staff. Research limitations/implications – This research only conducted in a graduate school of Malaysia and this result might not represent all Malaysian graduate schools. Originality/value – This study’s major contribution is that it focuses on the critical factors of service quality in a graduate school of Malaysia and measures the service quality according to the Malaysian contexts. Keywords Service quality, Education management, Student satisfaction Paper type Research paper Introduction The dichotomy between public and private education is a significant feature of the education landscape in some countries, Malaysia not excluded. Education, as an instrument of national development has often been regarded as the responsibility of the government on its citizen. Thus, in many countries, the provision of schools, colleges and universities are mainly public sector driven. Over the past decades however, in the case of Malaysia, liberalization of education saw many private universities and colleges being established with the aim of generating revenue from education tourism, as well as to stem the flow of Malaysians going abroad for higher education. While the twin objectives of profit and educational excellence is clear in the case of private institutions of higher learning (HEIs), the same cannot be generalized for public higher education. Although public higher education is well-regulated in the country and quality assurance is closely monitored by the Ministry of Higher Education, however, the case for profit is almost alien to a highly subsidised education so familiar to public universities in the country. The International Islamic University Malaysia, one of the 20 public universities in the country, is a highly regarded institution of higher learning both in the country as well as in the global front, particularly among the Muslim countries. As with other The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1756-669X.htm Received 24 July 2012 Revised 30 June 2013 Accepted 1 July 2013 International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences Vol. 5 No. 4, 2013 pp. 415-431 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1756-669X DOI 10.1108/IJQSS-07-2012-0006 Critical factors of service quality 415