AS is the case in many areas of society, quality issues have come into focus also in higher education. One expression is that there are a number of institutions in higher education where a Total Quality Management (TQM) perspective has been adopted. However, most of these examples are found in non-academic activities. This article discusses the possibility to achieve improvements in teaching and learning from the adoption of a TQM perspective. The discussion will be based upon an analogy with one particular development common in trade and industry, namely the transition towards process orientated structures, and towards less reliance on screening, rework, and scrapping of non-conformances. The basic argument is that a similar change in higher education accompanied by the adoption of a TQM perspective comprising elements as focus on customer needs, process orientation and continuous improvements could result in improvements in teaching and learning.
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