Quality

Quality is always a core issue for universities and colleges. Maintaining and improving quality is always a core value in my consulting, as it has been in my administrative and research experience. 

I believe in the value of the continuous quality improvement philosophy and methods pioneered by W. Edwards Deming over 50 years ago. I adhere to the philosophy, which includes commitment to customer or client needs and satisfaction, systems as the fundamental drivers of (or impediments to) quality, fully engaging the talents of all personnel at all levels, and data-driven, evidence-based decision-making.

Thanks to University of Kansas professor emeritus Larry Sherr, I had the opportunity to learn, speak, and write about how those ideas relate not just to the private sector but also to higher  education. Larry and I co-authored a book on the subject, published in 1991. I have been a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examiner. Some universities use these ideas, more often in administrative or financial affairs than university-wide. For more information, go to the National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education.

Quality: Transforming Postsecondary Education –  A book about applying Total Quality principles to higher education, co-authored with Larry Sherr, published in 1991

Contagious Ideas from Health Care  – Article about health care approaches that can apply to higher education, with a focus on quality improvement methods, published in Trusteeship, 2009