How to Improve Teaching Quality

When higher education adopted total quality management in the 1980s, changes were made primarily in business and service departments. Some curricula were revised, and a few instructors made changes in what they did in their classrooms, but most continued to teach the way they had always taught. This research is specifically concerned with the applicability of TQM to teaching, as opposed to academic or research program structure and administration. The authors first consider how an instructor can improve the quality of instruction in an individual course, and then they explore the more difficult question of how an academic organization (a university, college, or academic department) can improve the quality of its instructional program. In both cases, the potential contribution of quality management principles to teaching improvement programs is examined, in light of the cultural differences between industry and the university.