Purpose: This paper aims to propose and examine the relationship between students' perception of service quality and dimensions and their academic achievement. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the resource-based view, a conceptual relationship between service quality and dimensions and academic achievement is proposed and tested with a sample of 380 STEM university students who attended secondary schools in a region of Spain. Findings: Service quality and four of its dimensions (i.e. empathy, reliability, responsiveness and assurance/confidence) could contribute to students' academic achievement. The expected effect of tangible elements on academic achievement was not supported by the data. Results were controlled for student's personal factors that have proven important in explaining academic achievement in previous studies (i.e. need for cognition, need for emotion and self-efficacy). Originality/value: Previous research has extensively studied factors affecting students' academic achievement. However, the direct relationship between service quality and student's academic achievement has been rarely proposed and examined. Service quality has been mostly viewed as a precursor of student satisfaction and loyalty. This research views service quality as a school higher-order capability that supplements students' capabilities.