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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate and report students' perception of service quality in a university by examining the perceptual context of service quality with respect to students' loyalty behavior, image of the university and culture/values. Design/methodology/approach: A research framework is developed for quality assessment with three hypotheses. A questionnaire with 65 instruments was used for gathering the required data for the analysis. The questionnaire was sent through email to all engineering students. The analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, gap analysis and hypotheses tests. Seven dimensions of service quality were identified: the original dimensions of the SERVQUAL, namely, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles. Two additional dimensions image and culture/value were added for the research to understand perceived service quality and loyalty. Findings: The results provide a significant positive correlation between service quality and student's loyalty. It also shows that there is statistically significant relation between the image of the institution and the perceived service quality, and culture/values of the students in the institution and perceived service quality. Research limitations/implications: This study used data collected from a survey in the university in a given period. Practical implications: The findings indicate that to provide quality education, meeting students' needs, wants and expectations of services quality should be carefully understood and addressed. Management also needs to consider factors such as corporate image and culture/value, as they have the ability to heavily impact the type of services provided by the institution. Originality/value: The findings presented in this paper fill the gap in the current literature by providing empirical knowledge on the quality of service assessment and customer satisfaction in the higher education context. The study is the first of its kind in Qatar's context and provides opportunities for higher institutions to focus more on current students' services. This can lead to an increased brand value representing one of the premier institutes of higher education in the Middle East Gulf Region.

This research proposes a multi-period multiple parts mixed-integer linear programming optimization model for the trade-off analysis of spare parts supply through computer numerical control (CNC) manufacturing and additive manufacturing (AM). The multiple spare parts have different characteristics such as volume, shape size, and geometry complexity. The model focuses on minimizing lead times and thus reducing downtime costs. Scenario analyses are developed for some parameters to assess the robustness of the model. The analysis shows that the mix between AM-based spare parts and CNC-based spare parts is sensitive to changes in demand. For the given data, the findings demonstrate that AM is cost-effective with spare parts having high geometry complexity while CNC-based manufacturing is economically feasible for spare parts with low geometry complexity and large sizes. The proposed model can support decision-makers in selecting the optimal manufacturing method for multiple spare parts having different characteristics and attributes. The paper concludes with limitations and future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]