KEY FACTORS IN ACHIEVING EDUCATION QUALITY

Ashraf S. Youssef, Ph. D.

Mechanical Engineering Department, National Research Center
Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.
E-mail:a_youssef68@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Most educational organizations seek quality to improve their outcomes. Quality students are
becoming essential objectives for all. The main objective for the education process is to
graduate a student who has the ability to be a thinker, creative, and solve problems. For this,
there are many quality standards which are internationally recognized and create the
necessary conditions to improve quality in education. Some of them are general such as ISO
9000:2000, and Baldrige Education Criteria. Others are related to specific disciplines such as
ABET (criteria for accrediting engineering programs) standards, and AACSB (accreditation
criteria in Business education). In this article, three standards were chosen to be presented and
key factors that all educational organizations should take into consideration if they are looking
to achieve quality whatever the quality system chosen to implement.

KEY WORDS: Quality, Education, Total involvement, Performance measures.

1. INTRODUCTION

Recently education leaders in many countries have started to recognize the potential of
implementing quality concepts in educational organizations due to global competitiveness.
Most of them considered education as a national security case. All aspects of living in a nation
will be affected by the education system. For this reason, researchers and quality professionals
have started to transfer quality concepts from industrial and commercial businesses to
educational spectrum. In this article the author summarizes criteria for selected international
standards and demonstrates key factors which play a major role in achieving quality.

Quality is creating an environment where educators, parents, government officials,

community representatives, and business leaders work together to provide students with the
resources they need to meet current and future academic, business and societal needs [1].
Goldberg and Cole [2] reported the story of an American school that won the Texas quality
award based on the Baldrige educational criteria, and analyzed the outcomes and implications
for continuous improvement. They listed three levels of application of quality management in
education, 1) the management process of the school, 2) teaching quality to students, and 3)
learning process. They concluded that, decision makers must be willing to make systematic
changes in education. In the same view, Montano and Utter [3] presented a case study of
applying Total Quality Management (TQM) at Lamar University. They worked with a
campus operation where processes were already efficient and morale was high. They asked to
discuss the feasibility of a quality improvement effort centered on the process of selecting
students for admission. They performed SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and
Customers) analysis, Deming quality cycle and Flowchart of the Process to determine process
and service quality improvements. They concluded that, when the educational institution
management decides to implement TQM, it should start small before going institution wide.
Moreover, Evans [4] introduced an informal model that described the key linkage in the
Baldrige award criteria for performance excellence in education. He stated that, the Baldrige
award framework suggests critical linkages among fundamental management process of
leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, information and analysis, human
resource development and management, and process management. These linkages are leading
to improve business results. Cobb et al, [5] stated that, the baseline objective for supporting
continuous improvement efforts in education should maintain a competitive advantage in the
marketplace. They presented success stories about the partnership between industries and
universities and concluded that, this partnership can form problem solving teams to improve
quality in education. In addition to that, Sayle [6] listed opportunities for quality professionals
which they can make a good contribution in increasing quality for those areas. He stated that
there is a huge opportunity to show how better process management and management process
could improve an education sector that directly determines that nation’s prosperity and
security.

The objective of this article is to discuss three standards which are related to educational
organizations and present the key factors that should be taken into consideration when
implementing any of the quality systems in educational businesses.

2. QUALITY STANDARDS IN EDUCATION

Three internationally recognized standards are discussed in this section. One of them is ISO
9000:2000 whish is valid for all businesses and organizations. The second one is Baldrige
education criteria which is suitable for all educational organization. The third one is ABET
standard which is designed for engineering and technology education.

ISO 9000:2000 [7] is one the International Standards issued by the International Organization
for Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a Quality Management System (QMS) and is
valid to be implemented in all organizations. The latest version of ISO 9000 was issued in
year 2000. It consists of 5 clauses that contain 23 requirements. The main five clauses are 1)
QMS Requirements, 2) Management Responsibility, 3) Resource Management, 4) Product
Realization, and 5) Measures, Analysis and Improvements.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was established in 1988. The Award is named
for Malcolm Baldrige, who served as Secretary of Commerce from 1981 until his tragic death
in a rodeo accident in 1987. His managerial excellence contributed to long-term improvement
in efficiency and effectiveness of government. The Baldrige award is given by the President
of the United States to businesses: manufacturing and service, small and large, and to
education and health care organizations that apply and are judged to be outstanding in seven
areas (criteria): leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement,
analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and
results. The latest version of educational criteria for performance excellence was published in
2005 [8].

ABET, is a recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science,
computing, engineering, and technology. It is a federation of 30 professional and technical
societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in
the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for over 70
years. ABET currently accredits around 2,700 programs at over 550 colleges and universities
in and out of the U. S. Over 1,500 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET
activities. The latest revision of ABET was published in 2004 [9]. ABET has 8 criteria: 1)
Student, 2) Program educational objectives, 3) Program outcomes and assessment, 4)
Professional components, 5) Faculty, 6) Facilities, 7) Institutional support and financial
resources, and 8) Program criteria. Table 1 represents a general comparison between the three
standards.

Table 1 Comparison between ISO 900, Baldrige, and ABET standards

ISO 9000 Baldrige (Education) ABET

Purpose Any organization Any Educational Engineering and
Organization Technology
Education Programs
Scope International U.S. U.S./International
Level Department Organization Educational Program
Criteria 5 Clauses, 23 7 Criteria 8 Criteria
requirements
Result Compliance Excellence Award Accreditation
Certificates Certificate
Validity 3 Years 5 Years 5 Years
The careful investigation of the previous three international standards can lead to the
following three common quality concepts which are becoming general trends for the most
quality standards. These three concepts are:
1. Process-Based approach model, all new revision of quality standards uses Deming Quality
Cycle to link all criteria/elements of the standards in a logical model.
2. Customer Focused, the customer is the boss in those quality standards. The main objective
of the quality standards is to achieve full customer satisfaction.
3. Continuous Improvement concept, there is no limit of quality. It measures the ability of
organization in achieving its goals. There is always a way to improve.
Key factors in achieving quality is extracted from most of the quality standards, and
represented in the following section.

3. KEY FACTORS IN ACHIEVING QUALITY

In any educational organization, there are some essential factors which all organizations
should take into consideration to achieve quality even if they do not have any potential to
implement a quality standard. Theses factors are:

1. Develop a mission and vision. All educational organizations should develop their own
mission and vision based on the type of organization (Public or Private). A good vision is
SMART (Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, and Time-Based) vision. Moreover,
the organization vision should be translated into proper objectives and action plans. All
recourses should be available to implement these action plans. A Mission example could
be “To produce world-class learners by building a connected learning community”

2. Promote a quality culture within the organization. Educational leaders should establish
awareness programs in their organizations for all the partners (teacher, staff, students and
their parents) in the educational system. The main objective of the program is to create
and improve a quality culture within educational organization. The importance and impact
of achieving quality in education should be addressed. In order to do this, leaders should
 assess the students and employees culture and start from their cultures and beliefs. Total
involvement message should be delivered to all partners and how far each partner can
affect the quality. Figure 1 shows all the elements which are affected in educational
quality. Moreover, leaders can promote positive family relationships through workshops
and seminars to emphasize the role of family and community.

Learning aids
Teachers and Facilities Student
Qualifications Effectiveness Culture

Delivery Style Cost Advisory System

Quality
Student
Qualifications Market Needs Mission/Vision Parents
Hiring System Monitoring Strategic Plans Society

Support Staff Curricula Educational Environmental

System

Figure 1 Cause-and -Effect diagram for Quality Student

3. Implement a process-based approach. Educational organization should start their

business from constituent (market) needs and all activities which are related to educational
process should be integrated to achieve the mission and the vision for the organization. A
Deming quality cycle which consists of (Plan “a change or a test aimed to improve” – Do
“carry out the change or the test” – Study “the results” – Act “adopt the change”) is a
good approach for implementing a continuous improvement process in education.
Continuous improvement is one of the quality standards’ pillars. Figure 2 depicts Deming
quality cycle. In this approach, a dual role for student as a worker and a customer could
also be considered.
 Act Plan

Study Do

Figure 2 Deming Quality Cycle

4. Design Performance Measures. In effective educational organizations leaders should

identify a system for monitoring and assessing organization performance. The following
performance measures could be covered: student performance, teachers’ performance and
financial performance. For example, GPA in selecting courses like Math, English and
physics, attendance rate, teaching hours rate for each course, and average class size could
be measure of quality of student and average teachers experience years, percentage of
teachers with Bachelor’s degree and percentage of teachers with Master’s degree could be
measures of teachers’ qualifications, and productivity index could be used as a financial
measure. Baldrige scoring system gives 45% weight from total score for the performance
measures. Paul [10] listed area of challenges of effective schools research. He said that, as
a new research agenda should investigate new indicators of school effectiveness, and
leaders of schools should be aware of statistical tools. Performance measures are a good
vehicle to manage organization by facts and to measure how far an organization has
achieved its goals and objectives. The importance of establishing performance measures
was listed by Keith and Laurie [11] as follows:
a. create a closer linkage between schools and management systems,
b. develop process and strategies that improve management practice,
c. enhanced target setting and review procedure, and
d. it is a good tool for managing by facts (used for personal development, performance
monitoring and reward).
5. Establish a Quality Control Unit. The responsibilities of a quality control function are to
monitor and maintain a system, make suggestions for improvement, measure business
performance, and report directly to educational leaders. Management support of this
function is a very important concern to do its work properly and accurate.

4. CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, three international standards which are related to education were presented.
Common quality concepts were extracted and listed. The main three quality concepts are use
process based approach, customer focused, and continuous improvement. Moreover, five key
factors which all educational organization should take into consideration if they are truly
seeking quality were discussed. At the end, performance measures are very important factor
and it needs more investigation and research to develop good indicators for educational
performance. A Balance Score Cared (BSC) could be a good tool to develop for these
indicators.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to thank Prof. Adel A. Aly and Dr. Souhaila Almutawa for their valuable
comments from Kuwait University.

REFERENCES

1. Arcaro, J. “Quality in education: An Implementation Hand-book” Deleray Beach, Fla.: St.

Lucie Press, 1995.

2. Jacqueline S. Goldberg, and Bryan R. Cole, “Quality Management in Education:

Builiding Excellence and Equity in Student Performance” Quality Management
Journal, Vol. 9, No. 4, 2002, pp 8-22.
3. Carl B. Montano, and Glenn H. Utter, “Total Quality Management In Higher
Education: An Application of Quality Improvement in a University”, Quality
Progress, August 1999, pp 52-59.

4. James R. Evans, “Critical linkages in the Baldrige Award Crieteria: Research Models
and Educational Challenges” Quality Management Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1997, pp 13-
30.

5. Richard Cobb, Michale B. Marker, and Johnny W. Mulkey “Guidelines for TQ

Partnerships Between Industry and Universities”, Quality Progress, September 1998,
pp 81-85.

6. Allan J. Sayle, “Opportunities Are Everywhere”, Quality Progress, April 2005, pp 33 –

38.

7. American National Standard Institute (ANSI) (2000), ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9001-2000

Quality Management Systems – Requirements.

8. 2005 Educational Criteria for Performance Excellence, Baldrige National Quality

Program, National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), USA

9. Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) (November 2004),

Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs.

10. Paul Le Mahieu “New Challenges to Explore in Effective Schools research” The
Education Digest, February 1986, pp 21 - 23.

11. Keith Jennings and Laurie Lomas “Implementing Performance Management for Head
teachers in English Secondary Schools: A Case Study” Educational Management and
Administration, Vol. 31, No. 4, October 2003, pp 369 – 383.