ABSTRACT
Higher education, like most businesses and organizations today, is increasingly concerned about the quality of its goods and services. There is increased competition for a shrinking pool of students and those students (customers) are becoming more sophisticated and demanding. While some organizations make products that are largely tangible, higher education's product is largely intangible. As a result, assurance of quality can be more difficult than in traditional manufacturing industries. Further, unlike tangible goods, the higher education product cannot be returned if the customer is dissatisfied. The money-back guarantee is virtually unheard of. The process of total quality management (TOM) must be a goal of higher education, if higher education is to survive in the twenty-first century.
