Purpose: In recent decades, higher education institutions have been encouraged to develop their own internal management systems as a response to perceived quality challenges in the sector. These quality management (QM) systems have often been found to mainly reflect external accountability requirements, with less focus on coherent study programme…

Distance education permeates the field of professional and continuing education to such an extent that quality assurance (QA) is a topic no distance educator or administrator should avoid. Quality assurance is an issue not just for continuing education but also for higher education generally. Given the disruptive impact of distance education and…

Purpose: The common approaches to quality assurance (QA), as practiced by most post-secondary education institutions for internal quality monitoring and most QA authorities for external quality monitoring (EQM), have been considered by many researchers as having largely failed to address the essence of educational quality. The purpose of this…

Describes Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques implemented at Waukesha County Technical College (Wisconsin). The CAUSES program focuses on customers, accountability, understanding, self-improvement, education, and searching. Describes application of TQM to the fixed-asset team project. Four figures are included. (LMI)

This article examines the total quality management (TQM) concept as it is applied to higher education campus facilities. Each of the fundamental principles of TQM are examined as follows: customer-centered orientation; leadership; improved communication; continuous improvement; accountability; and quality of life. (GLR)

Quality is fast becoming a policy priority in states and localities around the country. As a result, formal and informal networks of youth organizations are seeking and developing strategies to help them assess and improve performance. This report takes a close look at efforts underway in three networks and provides a preliminary framework for…

The seven papers in this monograph focus on defining and assessing quality. The paper are: (1) "Reflections on Design Ideals" (E. Grady Bogue), which addresses some "governing ideals" of collegiate quality; (2) "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Investment and Quality in Higher Education" (Sven Groennings), which sees…

Although the Total Quality Management (TQM) system offers an admirable goal and offers promise of organizational improvement, the process it recommends is not a panacea and may only forestall the conflict inevitably arising from decision making, individual accountability, and organizational change. The approach is being abandoned by some. (MSE)

Views academic libraries through the lens of the assessment and accountability movements. Illustrates how a research library at the University of Rochester (Rochester, New York) has created an assessment environment in an effort to focus on educational impact. Discusses principles of good practice, and formal and informal evaluation. (AEF)

This paper discusses the role of quality assurance in New South Wales school systems, which was created from the restructuring of traditional centralized bureaucracies. The emergent structure is comprised of devolved networks of schools operating within decentralized state systems. The purposes of these school systems are to enhance network…

Presents a model of quality assurance for colleges and universities, distilled from key concepts in the literature about quality assurance and higher education culture and practice. The model has continuous quality improvement in student learning at its center, and includes elements of institutional values, faculty evaluation and development,…

This article defines total quality philosophy, its transformations and significance for study quality in higher education institution. It reveals the concepts, principles and problems of study quality management and provides overview of implementation of study quality management at today's European universities. The experience of two European…

Discusses a study of training and development in noneducational, profit companies that found total quality management the main training topic. Participant evaluations measured training effectiveness. Employees participated in training for personal satisfaction and increased capacity. Private sector trainers expressed concern about the lack of…

Drawing from the experiences of Rio Salado Community College (Arizona) in implementing Total Quality Management, discusses common barriers to change (e.g., time, aversion to change, and pitfalls of change); leadership failure as a cause of failure in TQM implementation; and the importance of constancy of purpose, employee empowerment, and…

Indiana's Comprehensive Action Plan (I-CAP) provides a framework for program excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement in adult education. The action plan includes guiding principles and benchmarks for quality programs. Adult education programs are evaluated annually on these 10 established principles of program quality: educational…