[A Customer Oriented Approach to Measure and Improve Quality Management in Higher Education]

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Acknowledgement

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

RATIONALE1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION2

Objectives of the study:3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW4

Quality Management4

Quality and Perspectives5

Quality Enhancement Vs Quality Assurance5

Quality Assurance in Higher Education6

Total Quality Management (TQM)6

Pillars of Quality Management7

Quality Management in Higher Education8

Advantages & Disadvantages9

Quality Management Cycle at Higher Education- Frame Work10

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY12

Material and Methods12

Total Quality Management (TQM)14

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS & DISCUSSION17

higher education customer18

research19

service price19

physical evidence20

critical awareness21

cultural and organizational transformation22

customer identification23

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION24

REFERENCES26

RATIONALE

Customer orientation is a key idea in TQM, and students are primary customers for higher education institutions. Measuring students' perceived quality and satisfaction is essential for continuous improvement of study programmes, teaching and support services. The purpose of this paper is to develop and apply a cross-study and cross-institution model of students' perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty. The modelling approach is inspired by recent moves towards creating the European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI). The basic model is a structural equation model with latent variables, linking student satisfaction to its determinants, and, in turn, to its consequence: loyalty. During the spring of 1999 data were collected among students at the Aarhus School of Business, and the process of student satisfaction formation is estimated. The model fits well, and the findings enable to better understand students' satisfaction and its drivers. The generic model and associated measurement instrument can reliably and consistently be applied for different studies and institutions, and will provide useful information for comparisons between study programmes and institutions against continuous quality improvement.

Chapter 1: Introduction

The importance of education for the development of excellence, expertise and knowledge leading to overall development in economy cannot be undermined. This has necessitated a sound strategy for the development of higher education in almost all countries of the world. Establishing leadership in the world is possible only when we have a developed system of higher education in which efficiency remains the sole criterion to evaluate performance. The system of higher education is found efficacious in making available to the society a dedicated, committed, devoted and professionally sound team of human resources to decide the future of any nation. This is possible only when the principles of quality management are inculcated in the system of higher education.

Total Quality Management (TQM) is inevitably common factor that will shape the strategies of higher educational institutions in their attempt to satisfy various stakeholders including students, parents, industry and society as a whole. The paper is a theoretical attempt to explain the application of TQM in tertiary education. It deals with issues pertaining quality in higher ...