Total Quality Management (TQM) is a poor fit with higher education and can only be made to fit by major reshaping either of TQM to a more appropriate methodology (and hence not TQM), or of higher education to an image of organisation that fits TQM. The paper revisits longstanding concerns about multiple aspects of TQM from a critical systems perspective. The discussion points to the importance of purpose, language, values and boundary judgements and images of organisations in the determining the transferability of concepts and methods for quality between organisational types. The language, concepts and tools of TQM, while superficially attractive, on closer examination do not match the substance of higher education. It is likely be far more fruitful to explore the development of locally appropriate systemic approaches to improving quality in and of higher education.