Quality Assurance System in Higher and Technical Education

Total Quality Management [TQM] approach emphasizes quality assurance, by providing quality inputs. It has made a change in performance of organizations around the world. TQM enables to develop self-assessment culture, so essential to be progressive on sustained basis. Quality improvement involves the statistical tools, consumer research, goal setting, teamwork, problem solving, Human Resource Management, and strategic planning. This paper reviews different aspects of quality assurance, steps involved in implementation of TQM and Organizational frame work for implementation.

Need and Importance: As many as 130,000 students in the year 2009 went to USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, for higher education. The trend is increasing. It is because education in India, of the quality in foreign, is simply not available. Each student has to spend around Rs. 15 lakhs per year. Yet they are going. We need to make introspection to build our institutions qualitative and competitive by world standards. This is essential to avoid brain drain and to achieve the dream of becoming a developed nation by 2020. India can fulfill the aspirations of younger generation, if and only if, it leads in quality, in research, innovation, IPR, patenting, and hi-tech start ups etc.

Both the students and industry have become quality conscious. They are willing to pay necessary cost. People expect more, but universities are not able to give. They put blame on shortage of finances. Truly they are not and expending resources, unproductively. Many institutions have five star infrastructures but the academic culture is obsolete. For example, the capacity utilization of installed facility in most of the institutions is too low. Most of them open in the morning at 10 and close at 5 in the evening. The counterpart institutions in developed countries open at 8 in the morning and close at 11 in the night. The libraries remain open twenty-four hours, round the year. Indian institutions are spending money, effort and time but fruitlessly. It is because there is almost a complete lack of scientific approach in Governance, which is the theme of this article.

Total quality Management approach emphasizes quality assurance, by providing quality inputs. It has made a change in performance of organizations around the world. Japanese economy became a powerhouse by using Total Quality Management. Dr. Deming one of the pioneers is practically worshiped in Japan. World best institutions are using TQM and by virtue of which they have reached high standing. It is necessary for the governing boards to prescribe TQM. They should provide visible unwavering support for implementation, Alignment of all the people in the organization to world-class vision is necessary. The curricula need to be made matching with the requirement of tomorrow and day after.

There are professors and staffs who like to contribute in a full way to improve. But there are circumstances, which prevent them from reaching their full potential. What kind of circumstance? TQM identifies them. It is for policy makers sitting in AICTE/UGC, with out any delay, to initiate steps for installation of quality assurance cell. Accreditation will become meaningful only if the cell for quality is set up.

2.    Imperatives of TQM: Quality can be improved by external agencies like AICTE/UGC through inspections. It has however, to be supplemented by internal efforts, with in the institution. It is here that quality assurance plays a key role. Having resources, enthusiasm, and common sense is good but adopting scientific quality assurance method is essential. The students in both private and public institutes deserve the best possible quality, so as to fulfill the national dream of becoming a super power. It is the duty and professional responsibility of governing boards, trustees to provide best possible education.

Professors and administrators have to be competent by international standards. They ought to have professional commitment and an obligation to employ world best practices. The competitive imperative stems from competition prevailing in education. Best students and best faculty can be attracted only if the institute is professionally managed. The institutes only there by can remain on top.

Institutes have to be accountable to government and society. TQM enables them to become more accountable. The cost of ignoring the quality assurance is too high. It is in terms of letting the nation lag behind in world brain race, resulting in low standard of living. The institutions tend to lose best teachers, best students, and reputation.

TQM can't be purchased. It has to be practiced step-by-step and developed by conscious efforts. This cannot happen overnight. It does not provide instant success. It will throw up new difficulties and challenges. It is a slow process, but the benefits are long term. TQM enables to develop self-assessment culture, so essential to be progressive on sustained basis.

3.    Principles of Quality Management: Quality assurance believes in "prevention is better than cure." Eating good food is essential for good health. With this logic the method prescribes control on inputs. Traditional Quality Control concept is obsolete. It is the lack of application of scientific systems that hold up quality and not the shortage of resources. Efficiency of the systems is at the roots. Institutions where systems are good, people tend to work efficiently. Bad systems are found to cripple the innovative people.

Quality is systems improvement. It is the systems, which matter.
Systems improvement is not a one shot affair. It is an unending journey.
It requires a deliberate and persistent attempt in a systematic way.
Quality does not come by chance or by accident.
People are not the problems but the systems.
Quality is every one's job, from top to bottom.
Quality is continuous improvement, [Kaisen] i.e. working slowly and steadily, like tortoise that won the race.
Quality comes when the leaders are passionate.
Quality comes through strategy of better Human Resource Development.
Quality is empowering professors.
Quality is fear reduction in the minds of employees.
Quality is recognition and reward.
Quality comes through better teamwork.
Quality is measurement of input, output by using statistical methods.
Quality is systematic problem solving.
Quality comes through opinion surveys for understanding customer needs by statistical methods. Quality comes through Benchmarking, i.e. by comparison preferably with world best. What the counterpart institutions else where in the world are doing, and how are they doing? What do the teachers in best institutions do? Are they passionate about teaching and research?

Quality comes when every one does work in correct way, right in the first instance. It requires hard work, but essentially smart work.

Quality is meeting or exceeding the customer needs. If you do not satisfy the customers some one else will. If institutions do not offer better education students will go somewhere else.

Inspection does not improve quality. It hurts.

Quality improvement involves the statistical tools, consumer research, goal setting teamwork, problem solving, HRM, and strategic planning.

Quality goes beyond Accreditation. Accrediting agencies, program reviews, standing committees, local inspection committees, and control minded governing boards and well intension task force all alone by themselves will never be able to improve quality. Most of these quality causing mechanisms view quality from inspection perspective, which is defeated scientifically.

Inspections do not result in decrease of the number of defects. In fact they increase. Accreditation measures quality, like the thermometer. Impressing pre requisites of quality on the minds of people, government and people's representatives is necessary. If quality is important it must be well articulated, so that legislators make it obligatory.

 Organizational Frame Work for Implementation

It requires creation of a cell in the institution.
It requires a team of leaders to develop vision.
It requires office of quality assurance.
It requires implementation team.
It requires internal and external networking.
It requires advisory team.
It requires support form top.
It requires planning.
It requires design of questionnaire and feedback from customers.
The word total in TQM stands for, total number of systems, total number of persons, activities, customers, stakeholders, and inputs and out puts.

4.    Satisfy all the customers and quality follows:
Some of the customers are listed below
Students.
Faculty
Alumni
Industry.
Staff.
Government
Society etc.
Aim of the institute should be to satisfy each and every customer with out an exception. The institute has to respond to multi customer environment. Developing happy customers is a sign of quality. TQM leads to making the institute preferred.

The leadership of an organization must, by word and deeds convey the message that customer satisfaction, through a process of continually improving quality is the responsibility of every member of the organization. Inappropriate systems create problems, regardless of person or persons. Therefore systems should be attended with utmost care. Incentives should be given to remove deficiencies. Remove the barriers that rob the people of pride of their work. Do not ignore any one, for ignoring is demoralizing. Make sure that expectations are clear and well understood. This creates a positive environment. The expectations must become tangible and ubiquitous. It is impossible to feel ignored if some one is paying attention.

Quality circle is a mechanism to involve all from bottom to top. Small groups of people analyzed and evolve solutions to current problems. Solving problems in such a way that they do not continue to occur is the essence of TQM. Reacting to crisis, known as "fire-fighting approach" is not good. A little praise goes a long way for most of the people, to keep them prideful. Individuals are like flowers, which need watering regularly, without which they wither. People become mediocre without encouragement and by abandonment. If maintained prideful they deliver quality.

There were two stonecutters. One was emotionally involved in building a temple. He was found doing a fine job. The other stonecutter was rather sour, disgruntled. He was also involved in building the temple. But he was not doing his job as fine as the other. He was seen unhappy because he did not know the noble cause for which he was working.

Systematic approach to quality management is necessary. This is given by TQM. Institutions need a new approach to managing human and fiscal resources. Quality management is not one-shot affair but an ongoing journey. Increased funding will not improve quality, if we do not allocate resources wisely. This demands TQM. If we do not use funds to promote distinctiveness, and if we are not able to create customer satisfaction, the investment is unproductive.

5.    Dimensions of service quality

i.    CCESS: Maintaining customer driven office hours is desirable. Providing efficient telephone, e-mail service provides easy access. Effective communication with customers is important.

Keeping Customer informed: Explaining in writing what services will be provided by the institution, what are the costs and visions of the institution in long range and short range. Assuring the customer of the intentions of the organization is essential.

ii.    Competence: The institution should spell out and justify how it is competent, having the necessary skills and knowledge. It should demonstrate its excellence in its teaching job through statistics of results. Appropriate indicators should explain the research capabilities.

iii.    Courtesy: Politeness treating students with dignity and honor. Extending equal treatment to all is desirable.

iv.    Credibility: Honesty, trust worthiness, having fair policies in recruitment of deserving candidates.

v.    Reliability: Consistency of performance and dependability. Getting rid of incompetent employees, reducing billing errors.

vi.    Responsiveness: returning phone calls, replying letters, resolving complaints on time are the usual weaknesses.

vii    Security: Freedom from risk, danger, doubt, assuring physical safety, protecting individual's privacy.

viii.    Tangibles: Physical evidence of service, maintaining campus grounds, acquiring appropriate technology deserves greater attention.

ix.    Knowing the customer: Providing individual attention, and developing means to listen obtaining feedback at regular intervals.

x.    Customer Focus: Institutions must change their attitudes in favor of customers.

There can be no culture of quality without consistent and persistent distributed leadership though out the organization.

6.    Autonomy is Essential: As institutes needs considerable degree of autonomy, and flexibility so that it has the freedom to teach and freedom to research, without political or any other kind of interference, so that creativity and imagination are encouraged, and so that resources including the time and energy of faculty staff and students are used effectively. The institute also needs the involvement of state as a force for meeting the public needs, as a force for change, and as a force for accountability. The problem therefore is not to eliminate the state's role but to perfect it.

As a leader do you hear the customers?
Do you issue only circulars or obtain feedback? Feed back loop is essential.
Do you meet employees formally and also informally?
Do you conduct customer surveys, to assess how satisfied they are?
Do you simply talk on quality or engage in deeds?
Are the curricula fit for tomorrow and day after?
Do you change the minds of employees with new ideas every time you meet?

7.    Vision Statement: Vision statement ought to be stimulating, unifying, guiding, and distinctive. It is the foundation on which the "house of quality" is built.

What is the unifying distinctive vision? It is a vision, which touches the hearts of people inviting their emotional involvement. It provides organizational rallying force. It evokes a meaning with reference to the institution proper. It allows an institution to enjoy a unique position in the higher education environment.

Vision statement communicates key values for today as well as for the future. Vision statement provides a sense of purpose, for which the institution exists.

Vision Statement of a typical world-class institute, says -

It needs to be recognized internationally.

The institute wants to be the world best place to study and work.

It intends each student to learn at least one additional language, to have three months experience in foreign country, show tolerance towards culture, beliefs and faiths of others.

The institute wants faculty to have international experience and to increase international research projects by 50% in coming five years, and to involve students in each of them.

The institute wants to know, what clients ten years from now expect, and to excel their expectations.

The institutes want to solve problems and meet challenges by a team, regardless of their level of jobs.

Institute aims at producing leaders, pioneers in technology.

It intends to produce start-ups in high technology. Raise the target from 20 to 40 in coming two years.

The institute today obtains 150 patents every year. It intends to raise the target to 200 in coming year.

It wants to discover newer technologies for the welfare of human kind.

It intends to expand its net to countries in Asia, and China.

Existing vision statements in most of the institutes in India are meaningless, because connecting links between vision and operating systems are missing.

The top people must articulate quality in speeches, and weave if with public relations. The top management should make their institute unique by becoming outstanding.

Every one needs to connect his duties and responsibilities with others.

 8.    Solving Problems: Each president's office is a magnet, which attracts problems. The buck stops there. Solving problems is not the answer to improving the quality. The solution lies in understanding and continuously improving the processes that give rise to problems.

Take processes in hand for improvement first which are easy. One should attempt difficult processes in the course of time. Do not attempt all at a time.

7.1 85: 15 Rules

85% what goes wrong in an institution is due to poor systems. Only 15% fault is attributable to individuals.

The process is incomplete without closing the loop, known as feed back loop.

The responsibility for quality in higher education does not lie at the top alone but with every one in the organization.

Empowering people with in the organization to improve quality is essential. If you do not empower people to improve quality, you can loose both the customer and employee.

If you do not empower people, you encourage and reward sloth ness.

If you do not empower people you will become inundated with bureaucrats and manuals.

The organization becomes a collection of under achievable.

Quality Management needs to be viewed from others point who receive higher education services, and not from the viewpoint of those who provide.

Make a five-year quality improvement plan.

Motivation alone is not enough to generate change.

It essentially requires academic freedom to maintain a distance from a whole host of evils, both real and imaginary.

The implementation team will prepare a Quality Manual.

Quality Policy, Quality Procedure, Quality audit be conducted every year.

 steps involved in implementation of TQM

Conduct awareness programs.

Make a survey of expectations of the customers, and assess how satisfied they are, through well-designed questionnaire.

Discuss the results of survey openly.

Prepare vision statement with the involvement of all.

Identify the processes, and systems in the institutions and outside.

The systems are for example.

 Internal systems for:

Admission,
Teaching theory and practical
Examination,
Practical training, Recruitment of faculty and staff
Promotions
Pension benefits
Dealing with unions
Finance and Account system
Purchase system
Campus maintenance
Hostels etc.

 External systems:

Interaction with industry,
Interaction with international institutes,
Industry,
Research,
Commercial exploitation of findings of research.
Links with university,
Links with government,
Fund raising etc.
Each of the process needs thorough examination.
Questions need to be raised,
How well is existing process doing?
Why does the process exist?
How does it compare with the processes else where,
Preferably with world best institution?
Who benefits from the process?
Does the customer benefit?
What are the inputs and outputs?
What is their quality?
What are unfulfilled expectations?
What incentives are needed?
Do you celebrate success at each step?
What are opportunities and strengths?
What are the threats and weaknesses?
Have you prepared vision statement in joint meetings?
Have you conducted interviews with the people who are benchmarks?
Each system has

a.         Inputs
b.        Processes and
c.        Outputs

For improving the system one has to make analysis, benchmarking, and use of "Planning-Development-Control-Action [PDCA]" cycle, on continuing basis for each of inputs, process, and outputs. Histograms, flow charts, pie chart, and other statistical methods are strongly suggested. Decisions should not be based on intuition but necessarily on statistics.

To summarize

The future of our children and grand children is bright only if the institutions are professionally managed by using TQM.

TQM is essential for survival and growth. If they do not do so forth with, the governance of education in India will be labeled outdated and inefficient. Indian education may go in the hands of foreign universities. Implementation of quality management systems should be done preferably with the help of a consultant. This ensures success.

Professors and staff should be trained and empowered.

TQM is made compulsory in England for all organizations, which draw financial aid from Government. Should this be a hint for India?

TQM enhances capacity utilization. Cost per unit of out put is reduced. Economic rate of return from investments is increased.

Indian academic community should take an initiative.
There is none from India in the 100 world best universities. MIT, Wisconsin, and Oxford, Cambridge is all using TQM, and so they are world class. Many institutions in India are spending money far in excess but due to lack of TQM approach they do not excel.Implementation of TQM does not require money; it results in saving.

The members of legislatures, governing boards should immediately take a drive to I Use TQM.

Should the National Knowledge Commission prescribe TQM? Yes.

The responsibility for using TQM lies with the policy makers sitting in the governing boards, AICTE and UGC.

9.    References:
1.     R. P. Mohanty, R. R. Lakhe, (2004) Handbook of Total Quality Management, Jaico Publishing House.

2.     Edward Sails, Does TQM Have A Role in Education. The Journal of Engineering Education, October 2005 Volt XIX No 2

3.     P. Prema, (2004) Quality Assurance in Professional Training of Teacher Educators: Challenges and Strategies, University News, Volt 42 No 32, August 09-15

4.     M. Aruchami, (2004) Quality Imperatives in Higher Education, University News Volt 42 No 05 February 02-08.

5.     Romesh Verma, (2004) Quality and Relevance in Education, University News Vol 42 No 10 March 08-14.

6.     Prem Vrat, (2005) Quality System for Excellence in Engineering Education, University News, Vol 43 No 39, September 26 October 02.