Total Quality Management of Distance Education (Hardbound - 2010)

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 University—all 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 book’s appeal to regulators and administrators of education. Besides, it will immensely help the faculties of distance learning institutions.

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 Bachelor’s 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 topics—TQM, HRM and Distance Education. She is an active researcher in the field of HRM, Distance Education and TQM.