Journal of Management Info Vol.1, No.3 (2014) 1-9 Copyright © 2018 Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 1 Journal of Management Info (JMI) ISSN:2313-3376 www.readersinsight.net/jmi Service quality in higher education: Study of Turkish students in Malaysian universities Amran Rasli* 1 , Mansoor Nazir Bhatti 2 , Nadhirah Norhalim 3 , Tan Owee Kowang 4 1,2,3,4 Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia * Corresponding author: amrasli@gamil.com Abstract The Article attempts to analyze service quality in higher education institutions of Malaysia. Study used Gap Model presented by Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988) to identify difference between expected quality and perceived quality in higher education institutions of Malaysia. Study focused to identify gaps of Turkish students in Malaysian universities Five basic dimensions of service quality measured through SERVQUAL (Instrument for service quality measurement). These dimensions are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. A stratified sample of 41 Turkish students has been selected from top five public universities in Malaysia. Results showed negative service quality gap in higher education institutions of Malaysia from Turkish students’ perception which indicated perceived service quality is below than expectations of Turkish students in Malaysian universities. ARTICLE INFORMATION Received: 25 March 2014 Revised: 25 July 2014 Accepted: 25 August 2014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31580/jmi.v3i1.9 Keywords: Service Quality, Gap Model, Instrument, Perception, Expectation, Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy. © Readers Insight Publication Introduction According to UNESCO (2009) and Naidoo (2009), the numbers of students who are studying abroad in the past decades have been growing from 150,000 to 2.8 million since 1955 to 2007. This phenomenon can be seen as an emerging perspective of internationalization or “massification” of education to increase the higher institution’s influence, visibility, and/or market share at the international level (Gibbons, 1998; Denman, 2005) which inevitably opened up many options for students to study abroad (Markovic, 2005). This phenomenon is also impacting Turkish students. According to Edufairs (2013) Turkish students have a tendency to study abroad in order to improve their English and Foreign language skills as well as the lack of space in domestic universities. In addition, the expensive tuition fees in private Turkish universities (up to 25,000 USD per year) and poor foreign language preparation in domestic schools mean that Turkish students are inadequately prepared for an international job market after graduation. It is a common perception that education acquired abroad is prestigious thus giving students an edge over their fellow colleagues in the domestic job market (Leggott and Stapleford, 2007) and can ensure a better starting position and salary when applying for jobs at home. Finally, for some Turkish students, like other international students as well, studying abroad can give valuable life experience and expand their worldview. Malaysia, as a developing country in South East Asia, is equally affected with the challenges of globalization and internationalization of education. Two of the strategies to response to these challenges from the Malaysian government have been to allow international students to study in public higher education institutions (Acuma Incorporated, 2009) and to improve the quality of tertiary education in Malaysia (Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, 2006) to turn Malaysia into an international hub and centre of excellence in education. In addition, according to (Johari et al., 2002), the engineering education model developed for Malaysia is expected to be capable of achieving global recognition and accreditation for excellence in engineering practice as well as educating future leaders. The attractiveness of the engineering programs offered by most of the public Malaysian universities is further enhanced with accreditation from international bodies for the engineering courses. The number of international students in Malaysia is crucial for the national economy, particularly if considered as provider of higher quality education in the global market. In other words, higher education in Malaysia where English is widely used in teaching due to the legacy of the British Empire, has the potential to be a major revenue earner through the offering of world class academic programs (Jimenez, 2007). The targets identified include developed nation such as China, as well as developing nations such as Iran, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Middle East, countries which are attracted by Malaysia’s first-rate higher education, relatively low tuition fees, its harmonious multicultural society, political stability and the widespread use of English. The Internet facilities in Malaysia become the main Government’s initiative and to be utilized as a catalyst for developing the nation’s socio-economic status, education, healthcare and other services (Harris, 2007). Therefor most of the Universities in Malaysia highly committed in implementing the e-Learning throughout the campus as part of the program to accommodate the teaching and learning trend and demand. The establishment of a National Institute of e-Learning under the auspices of Ministry of Higher Education is the step in providing guidance in the formulation of e-Learning policies and in coordinating and monitoring the implementation of e-Learning (Hanafi Atan, Mohamed Amin Embi and Supyan Hussin, 2011). Accordingly, the aim of the Ministry of Higher Education in Malaysia is to attract 80,000 international