Deming’s Quality Principles Applied to a Large Lecture Course

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Abstract:

The quality movement is sweeping American industry. Rarely has a management philosophy so entirely captured the imagination of the corporate leaders and workers alike. Throughout the nation, terms such as Total Quality Management (TQM) direct the entire activities of manufacturing companies and service providers. The Baldridge Award given annually to the best companies in a number of categories illustrates the importance of this movement at the highest government levels. The modern quality movement began primarily in post war Japan with the direction of W. Edwards Deming, an American consultant. Only in recent years has American industry, recognizing the necessity of quality for international competition, adopted Deming’s approach with enthusiasm.

University education has been slow to recognize Deming’s principles. Although individual professors teach the approach to students, most faculty and administrators are unaware of Deming and his impact. This paper describes an effort to apply the quality principles in a specific educational context, particularly for a course having a large lecture section with teaching assistants leading discussion sections. There are a number of such courses in the Engineering College and throughout the University of Texas.