Download or read book A Culture for Academic Excellence written by Jan E. Freed and published by Jossey-Bass. This book was released on 1997 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report provides a comprehensive review of quality principles in higher education and proposes that, when used holistically and systematically, the quality principles, also known as total quality management and continuous quality improvement, can create a culture for academic excellence. After an introduction, the first section explains the historical significance of the quality movement in relationship to business and industry. Next, the report defines quality as it relates to higher education institutions and then describes how the quality movement has evolved among postsecondary institutions. The components of an institutional culture are identified, ways to build a culture that supports the quality principles suggested, and each of the quality principles briefly explained. Stressed is the need for a change in thinking as a prerequisite to initiating the quality approach on a campus. The following eight sections present the eight principles or characteristics of effective organizations in detail. They are: (1) vision, mission, and outcomes driven; (2) systems dependent; (3) systematic individual development; (4) decisions based on fact; (5) delegation of decision making; (6) collaboration; (7) planning for change; and (8) creative and supportive leadership. The final section integrates lessons learned from practitioners committed to the quality principles.