TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

Distance learning is growing at a fast pace in all parts of the globe. While its most dramatic growth has been in South East Asia, it has made significant headway in North America, Europe and Australasia. India has also witnessed a sizeable expansion of distance learning during the past two decades or so. This growth has opened the floodgates of opportunities for students to have access to higher education and embark on rewarding careers. The concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) was developed by business houses and industries to establish standards and techniques that ensure quality of products or services through continuous improvement rather than through final inspection. Government and academic leaders also recognize that improving the quality of distance education on a continuous basis is crucial to make the students capable of meeting the challenges that lie ahead. Consequently, educational institutions throughout the world are being influenced by the TQM concept. Athabasca University, the Open University of Malaysia, the University of Southern Queensland and the UK Open Universityall apply TQM to their operations. The book brings together the knowledge, perspective, and practical experience of educators from across the globe to explore diverse approaches to quality in distance education. It provides an up-to-date, international exploration of quality in distance learning by assembling new knowledge and framing key issues for policymakers and practitioners in both developed and developing nations. The inclusion of quality assurance issues and introduction of TQM practices has increased the books appeal to regulators and administrators of education. Besides, it will immensely help the faculties of distance learning institutions.

Book Contents

Acknowledgments; PrefacePart A Total quality management Concept and Applications1. The Quality Movement; 2. Total Quality Management; 3. Total Quality Management and Continuous Improvement; 4. Total Quality Management in Education; 5. Quality Scenario in Distance Education; 6. Total Quality Management of Distance Education; 7. Making Total Quality Management A Success; 8. Quality AccreditationPart B GLOBAL Practices and Experiences9. Quality Practices at Open Universities AustraliaAnn Deden; 10. Quality Management at Open University of Hong KongTodd C.Y. Ng and Danny S.N. Wong; 11. Quality Management in Course Development and Delivery at the University of the West Indies Distance Education CentreDianne Thurab-Nkhosi and Stewart Marshall; 12. Quality Practices and the UK Open UniversityRichard Lewis; 13. Quality Assurance and Assessment System in Distance Education Stepwise Actions and Pragmatic Experience of Universitas Terbuka, IndonesiaAminudin Zuhairi, Dewi Padmo, Kristanti A. Puspitasari and Agung S. Putra; 14. Quality in Flexible, Online and Distance Education at Deakin University, AustraliaDale Holt and Stuart Palmer; 15. Quality Management System at the Open Polytechnic of New ZealandRowan Anderson, Axel Laurs, Caryl-Louise Robinson and Sally Rawnsley; 16. Role of Distance Education Council in Promoting Quality in the Distance Education System in IndiaManjulika Srivastava, Nalini Lele and Bharat Bhushan; Bibliography; Contributors

About The Author

Nayantara Padhi, B.Sc (Botany Hons.), M.A. (Industrial Relations and Personnel Management), Ph.D. (Total Quality Management), Post Graduate Diploma in Distance Education and Bachelors Degree in Law and University Grants Commission NET holder, is an Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management in Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India. She has published two books and contributed a number of articles in different national and international journals on the topicsTQM, HRM and Distance Education. She is an active researcher in the field of HRM, Distance Education and TQM.