The Malcolm Baldrige Quality guideposts provide a comprehensive model for systematic quality improvement and innovation in colleges and universities.

The president of Rio Salado Community College (Arizona) reports both quantitative and qualitative evidence that that institution's investment in Total Quality Management has yielded a variety of benefits including reduced printing costs, increased job satisfaction, and an altered campus culture. (DB)

This article presents a family of organizational performance measures that enable decision makers at institutions of higher education to weigh the returns on investment in Total Quality Management. The enrollment management process is used to illustrate the use of six performance measures. The importance of a thorough knowledge of organizational…

The Maryland Center for Quality and Productivity at the University of Maryland has developed a methodology that enables the management team of an organization to define its critical performance dimensions. A set of metrics is offered to help colleges and universities assess whether quality management is improving their performance. (DB)

This article describes the cost-of-quality model used at El Camino College (California), which formally measures the costs associated with process improvement activities. A case study illustrates use of the model in evaluating a new process for reimbursing faculty and staff attending conferences. (DB)

This article urges leaders at institutions of higher education to analyze the decision to pursue a Total Quality Management improvement strategy in the same way as any other strategy--as a return on investment. Evidence of costs and benefits of TQM from industry and campus is summarized, and barriers to a "return on quality investment" mindset are…

A professor at the Air Force Academy (Colorado) recounts that institution's 3 years of experience with total quality concepts. The model that guided initial quality education and training activities is described and evidence of progress reported. He concludes that the right kind of investment in quality is well worth the cost. (DB)

The chief financial officer (CFO) of St. John Fisher College (New York) analyzes the costs associated with the implementation of quality management at St. John Fisher and outlines one way to determine whether the investment is yielding an acceptable internal rate of return. (DB)

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)

Some universities have responded to the need for leadership and staff development activities as a result of, or as part of, the quality improvement movement. The principles of the Total Quality Management approach are as germane to the academic institution as to business but may need some adaptation to the academic culture. (MSE)

This chapter provides an overview of the literature on organizational learning and the learning organization, sets out key concepts in each area, and reviews the way that organizational learning and the learning organization have been applied within higher education.