This study attempted a comprehensive, critical assessment of Total Quality Management (TQM) initiatives in higher education. A survey of 25 institutions (including community colleges, private four-year colleges and universities and public colleges) with experience with TQM was developed and used. The survey utilized , attitude scales designed to…

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…

External and internal forces are driving institutions not only to create departments and positions that specialize in planning, quality improvement, and institutional research but also to link them within a systems context.

The performance model of administration, not a resource model, is what is needed for colleges and universities to thrive in an environment of budget cuts and lowered public trust. Continuous improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of operational processes demonstrates quality management principles such as those embodied in the Total…

Stung by a negative accreditation review, Los Angeles City College established an administrative position and a planning process that is successfully creating a culture of continuous improvement. At the core of this success is a "plan-act-check" reinforcing systems loop that links planning, budgeting, and institutional research. (Contains 2…

Explains how total quality management efforts have gone astray in higher education and how they can be salvaged. Argues that the individual reigns supreme and core issues, such as building a coherent curriculum, are rarely addressed. Looks at what the institution measures and how individuals use their time. (RJM)

Three university programs of continuous quality improvement, based on the Total Quality Management approach, are described. The institutions are the Georgia Institute of Technology; Pennsylvania State University; and University of Maryland at College Park. The report attempts to look beyond the mechanics of the programs to discover what is being…

Based on a survey of Quality Management (QM) practitioners at 21 colleges, this study presents the 10 most difficult implementation hurdles to QM in higher education and a set of hurdle-clearing strategies. The hurdles are: (1) lack of time to implement QM; (2) perception that QM is something for janitorial and housing staffs but not applicable to…

Total Quality Management is a comprehensive system for developing organizationwide participation in planning for and implementing continuous improvement in critical processes. In colleges, trustees can be central to the success of the method through their commitment and the development of supportive policy and procedures. (MSE)

Total Quality Management is described as a means for developing institutionwide participation in planning and implementing a continuous college improvement process and is contrasted with more traditional student outcomes assessment. Examples of using this approach to effect process improvement, comprehensive ownership and responsibility,…

In 1991, International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation announced its commitment to work with higher education to accelerate the teaching, research, and use of quality management practices in college and university operations. Besides cash and equipment awards being offered, IBM proposed partnerships with IBM facilities to include loaned…