Working Paper No. 13
Wither TQM: Has Higher Education Interest Peaked? Ten Boston Area Colleges One Year Later

David H. Entin

Abstract

 This is a follow-up to an earlier paper examining the extent to which ten colleges and universities in the greater Boston area were pursuing total quality management (TQM). The author has found that five of the ten  institutions initially pursuing this particular management paradigm are no longer claiming to be implementing TQM.

The article looks at the progress made in the intervening period and why five institutions appear  to have abandoned TQM. Most common use of TQM is in administrative units and business departments/schools which more approximate the private sector where TQM originated. Several examples of applying TQM in both  administrative and academic settings are cited, including curriculum development, classroom instruction, and academic administration. Obstacles to TQM are identified, particularly academic administrators and faculty.

Important issues investigated are the role of the president, presence of quality coordinators or councils, and fiscal crises. Major reasons for slow progress in higher education include insufficient understanding  and use of TQM tools and concepts, adoption primarily to achieve cost-cutting objectives, and the culture of academic institutions, especially faculty collegial governance.

Spring 1994

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