The Teacher Education Accreditation Council's (TEAC's) "Guide to Accreditation" is primarily for the faculty, staff, and administrators of TEAC member programs. It is designed for use in preparing for both initial and continuing accreditation. Program personnel should understand and accept all the components of the TEAC accreditation process…

Online learning is growing rapidly as states and districts are creating new online schools, and existing programs are adding new courses and students. The growth reflects the spreading understanding that online courses and programs can serve a wide variety of students and needs. These include: (1) Creating opportunities for small and rural school…

The Pew National Dental Education Program has attempted to provide a focus for redirecting the mission, programs, and work of dental education. Its objective was to assist dental schools in long-term change in response to the needs of the public and to play a leadership role within the profession. (MLW)

The University of Michigan sponsored a 2-day, institution-wide exposition of quality management efforts, which included 64 exhibits staffed by university employees. The underlying principles, planning stages, evidence that the expo was successful, lessons learned, plans for similar future efforts, and ways to obtain further information about this…

After seven years of conducting the National Association of College and University Business Officers' benchmark program, designed to establish standards for institutional administration, the association reviews the lessons learned and the challenges ahead in higher education. Representatives of four participating universities offer their…

An experimental program at the University of Woollongong (Australia) identified a quality management framework, developed indicators of institutional performance, created a database for user-defined information needs, and provided access to information at all institutional levels. The project explored use of performance indicators and demonstrated…

The evolution of an award-winning Total Quality Management (TQM) program for administrative and academic staff development at Oregon State University is chronicled. Special attention is given to application of TQM for faculty and corporate interaction, instructional improvement, and curriculum development. Special challenges for implementation of…

Adaptation of the Total Quality Management approach to organizational improvement at Oregon State University involved creation of 10 pilot finance and administration teams and implementation of a 10-step problem-solving process. The approach has improved staff morale as well as client services. (MSE)

At Case Western University (Ohio), medical students critically analyze the quality and cost of asthma care in the community by studying patients in primary care practices. Each writes a case report, listing all medical charges and comparing them with guidelines for asthma care. Several recommendations for improved care have emerged. (MSE)

The Georgia Southern University admissions office implemented Total Quality Management (TQM) principles to control the quality of information management. It is suggested that, although TQM is used best on an institutionwide basis, it can also be useful in improving quality, reducing cost, increasing productivity, and achieving competitiveness on a…

Responding to a budget deficit, St. John Fisher College (New York) used quality-management tools to address critical budget issues and initiate a strategic program. Because the process used consensus-building tools, committee members felt they had been given equal input into resource allocation decisions and the process provided a sense of shared…

The British experience with nationwide research quality assessment exercises and newly-introduced measures to improve research program accountability is described. Consequences for institutions of higher education and for the system as a whole are examined, using the University of Glasgow (Scotland) as an example. Utility of performance indicators…

A University of Vienna (Austria) staff development program that emphasizes the professionalization of university teaching and management is described. The approach integrates personnel evaluation, quality assessment, and staff development, which is also linked to institutional mission and identity. A benefit of the staff development seminars has…

A Total Quality Management (TQM) approach to enforcing an admissions rule was taken in one master's degree program in lieu of punishing students for infraction. Prevention became possible only after TQM techniques revealed the causes of rule violation. Follow-up shows no new rule infractions for several academic terms. (MSE)

Syracuse University (New York) has found that the focused, collaborative approach to institutional administration embodied in Total Quality Management is beneficial. It requires allocation of adequate time and resources, observation of others, communication, addressing high-need areas first, and willingness to adapt, but it may bring resistance…