Quality management in higher education institutions (HEI)

Abstract

Introduction
The need for quality management in education goes back to the 1880s when it was realized that
standards need to be put in place to ensure that educational institutions graduate competent degree
holders (who have been trained in accredited programs) This is now seen necessary to standardize
higher education to meet the expectation of society & to respond to cross-border employment (1, 2)
Quality assurance models were adopted by HEIs, mainly relying on industrial models which were
not entirely suitable for HEI due to the complexity of the product/s & processes involved in higher
education (3) This paper focuses attention on the day-to-day requirements for a feasible and practical model of
quality management in institutions of higher learning. It is a fact that many universities & colleges
today have established such units, but the variation in their conceptual framework, structure and
functionality vary from the very sophisticated, high power, expensive model, to the rudimentary &
often inadequate units of quality management.
It is important that financial, physical & human resources should be made available. If these are
not met, the implementation of quality assurance will be difficult or impossible. The proposed
model is formulated in as simple terms as possible; pointing out the main components, processes
& guidelines. For this model of quality management to succeed, it is important to ensure leadership commitment
at the highest level. The focus on delivery of education and services should be clear and made
known to all levels of stakeholders.