TQM is dated. Is it now poorer than it was 5 years ago? Do you mean by dated that you think that you won't be able to publish your thesis? What are the criteria for the model you want other than it is not TQM? Best wishes, David Booth

Professor David Eugene Booth. Thank you for your response and query. Let me try to be clearer. In my dissertation, following the use of a mixed method design to develop and apply a new scale to measure service quality at a tertiary institution, I recommended that the institution should seek to improve student satisfaction and develop a holistic, Total Quality Management approach to managing the improvement of its academic and non-academic student services. In response I was advised that TQM is a dated term with limited applicability for holistic development. Based on the age and focus in the literature by schlars on other models to manage improvement I placed this question seeking the wisdom and guidance of my peers. Thank you

Hi Gersha. Re your reply to David, your proposition re using TQM and your proposal to look at both academic and non-academic services looks good. However while your advisors are correct in that TQM is not new, the 'Total' in Total Quality Management is not that different from 'holistic'! Malcolm Baldrige model is also quite old but may be useful. There are many applications of the European Excellence model In higher education too. Whichever approach you use, you need an inclusive approach establishing students' concerns, requirements and expectations and work with students, staff, managers and other stakeholders to brainstorm how to improve student satisfaction, along with other aspects of a successful tertiary body.

Professor Max Moullin, thank you. You response has given me added clarity and focus. Much appreciated.

Actually what I did for my previous universities is to integrate the MBNQA criteria and assessment approach with the national accreditation criteria requirements to be a localized while at the same time internationalized framework. For assessment we use the MBNQA evaluative factors of ADLI and LeTCI for Process and Results. This approach held out well and was recognized by the CHE of Thailand and successful accreditation three times and also got strong recognition from KSU accreditation exercise twice. In summary, it was a strong and sustainable framework that international accreditation members did not challenge but brought good comments as it demonstrates both process/results CI and Innovation. All these started from 2003 to 2020, and is still fundamentally strong. My advise is all QA frameworks are fundamentally similar and do not waste time re-creating the wheel.

Thank you Professor Teay Shawyun for your response.

I am not familiar with some of the acronyms you referenced but what I gather you are saying is that you incorporated the accreditation standards from both your regional and local EQA bodies into the management of your institution's continuous improvement plan. This approach is indeed valid and well supported. I also agree that QA frameworks share similarities regardless of where they originate due in large part to the international network of EQA's fostered by INQAAHE and similar bodies. Thank you for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated.

You might look at a big government funded project with which I was involved, and led by Prof Dato Dr Noraini Idris when she was at UPSI, which investigated the teaching practices and approaches by university lecturers, and aiming to develop more effective methods and styles of teaching. When I was there it was uncovering some very relevant results which, if implemented, would have very positive outcomes for the students. My sense is that these could be excellent if applied the current COVID environment.

Prof Dato Dr Noraini is now President, National STEM Association, President, Indonesia – Malaysia -Thailand Growth Triangle, UNINET STEM

Thank You for these suggestions, Professor Andrew Blackburn et al. I have now completed my PhD thesis and all relevant corrections with the assistance of all the contributions from Researchgate scholars and an excellent book that was recently published, and extremely relevant to my study topic and research context. I would recommend it here to those interested in quality improvement and quality enhancement in the Caribbean higher education context. It is Gift, S.G. (Ed.). 2021 Caribbean Quality Culture: Persistent Commitment to Improving Higher Education. Mona: UWI PRESS.