Continuous Quality Improvement: Transforming Advising Using a META Approach

Abstract

I n providing information needed to initiate personal quality improvement efforts in working with advisers, the authors discuss key continuous quality improvement (CQI) themes and introduce four META principles (i.e., measurement, empowerment, teamwork, and advisee focus). Specific advising scenarios and possible measurable outcomes demonstrate applications.Recently the media have extolled total quality management (TQM) in American business (Barrier, 1992). Begun in Japan following World War I1 as a revolutionary approach to management, TQM principles have been adopted by U.S. corporations during the last decade in response to Japanese productivity. Educators also r e p o r t successful use of T Q M strategies to t r a n s f o r m p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y schools (Schmoker & Wilson, 1993).American higher education has been a relative newcomer to the quality movement because, as some authors acknowledge, T Q M strategies seem incompatible with the culture of the academy. Sher-r a~i d Lozier (1991) note that the TQM emphasis o n management can connote "centralization and authoritarianis~ri," which "typically elicit resounding displeasure on the college o r university campus" (p. 4 ) . However-, TQM's reliance on statistics and data-driven decision making-the research tools of academesuggest the potential f o r a good fit between TQM and higher education. On man): campuses (e.g., Penn State) the term continuous quality improvement is preferred to TQM, as CQI implies an ongoing and dynamic system geared toward excellence.T h e impetus for adopting CQI on our nation's campuses stems from the belief that CQI approaches can help deal with such challenges facing higher education as declining enrollments, legislative and consumer demands for accountability, and increased competitiveness (Banta, 1993). CQI offers important contributions to a positive institution-employee relationship through a reliance o n work teams to solve problems and improve quality.CQI approaches have only begun to reach the academic advising arena. Even in well-respected and highly rated advising programs, room for quality enhancement exists. Spicuzza (1992) suggests that a customer service model-central to the CQI concept-is appropriate for academic advising. In this model the provider's behavior and attitude are crucial to achieving client satisfaction.