Practice what you teach TQM in the classroom

An entire industry has grown up to improve quality in the private sector, in government, in non-profit agencies, and in education. To our knowledge, very little has been done to incorporate quality concepts into the delivery of educational services. We report on a project in which a total quality management (TQM) team was formed as part of a graduate elective course in managerial accounting. The team adapted quality concepts to improve the quality of classroom instruction. The project resulted in significant changes in instruction. The students were “empowered” to affect their course, and responded with constructive recommendations. The TQM team gained “hands on” experience in designing and implementing an actual quality improvement project. The particular changes from this experience are unique to this course, but the process of applying continuous improvement efforts to course delivery can be applied across a wide range of curricula.