A crucial factor for the success of quality management is support from academic staff. However, previous research indicates 'academic resistance' to quality management. This article analyses the present state of academic resistance in Finnish universities, the reasons behind it and quality managers' strategies to handle it. The data come from…

The need for private higher education in South Africa is reflected by the explosive growth of newly registered private higher education institutions. This is coupled with a need for corporate quality management of service quality for students and academics. This article elaborates on service quality from a corporate sociotechnical perspective. The…

Quality management in higher education is generally discussed with reference to commendable outcomes such as success, best practice, improvement or control. This paper, though, focuses on the problems of organising quality management. It follows the narrative of the seven deadly sins, with each 'sin' illustrating an inherent trade-off or paradox…

This paper develops a theoretical framework that could facilitate the application of the Autovalutazione, Valutazione periodica, Accreditamento (AVA) method in Italian universities, trying to simplify the use of this approach, and to cover the existing gap between Italy and others European academic institutions. The new competitive environment in…

This paper provides a unique perspective on the student learning outcome assessment process as adopted and implemented at Qatar University from 2006 to 2012. The progress of the student learning outcome assessment and continuous improvement efforts at the university and the initiatives taken to establish a culture of assessment and evidence-based…

When evaluating the EUA Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP), Nilsson "et al." emphasised the interest in creating a data bank on good practices derived from its reports that would contribute to disseminating examples of effective quality management practices and to supporting mutual learning among universities. In IEP, evaluated…

At the beginning of the last 20 years so-called "quality revolution" it was expected from most of the established national quality agencies that internal quality systems and the development of an internal quality culture would emerge automatically in the HEI from the external quality impact. The author argues that a better balance must be found…

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…

Various total quality management (TQM) approaches are explored and some core elements specified. Generic problems of TQM and those relating to higher education are analyzed. It is argued that while there are some aspects of TQM that are applicable in the collegiate setting, the specific approach is inapplicable in higher education. A new…

South Africa has embarked on a process of education renewal by adopting outcomes-based education (OBE). This paper focuses on the linkages between total quality management (TQM) and the outcomes-based approach in an education context. Quality assurance in academic programmes in higher education in South Africa is, in some instances, based on the…

Outlines strategies used by one Australian university for systematic quality improvement, including development of a quality management plan, devolution of responsibility for quality advancement to faculties and schools, and improving documentation of quality-assurance procedures and outcomes. Topics discussed include leadership, committees,…