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Divided into four sections, first describes the institutional context and why the University of Wolverhampton decided to become engaged in a TQM initiative. Next describes how the university, discovering the TQM approach to be attractive but difficult to target, moved towards BS EN ISO 9001. There is a brief discussion of the pros and cons of each. Outlines some of the fundamental aspects of designing a quality management system, especially understanding the nature of the product and the importance of its design. Finally discusses the costs (which are difficult to assess accurately), and benefits of the exercise to the university, which have been considerable and which will be used as a foundation for the continuous improvement of quality. Also includes a short discussion of the relationship between BS EN ISO 9001, HEFCE quality assessment and HEQC quality audit.

Outlines the present state of play in the development of the new quality agency and considers some problems of attempting to define “quality” and “standards”. Considers these and methods of quality assurance in the context of consumerism. Compares present HEFCE methodology with a number of well‐known approaches to “quality” and “continuous improvement”. Discusses how the new agency might learn from these and embrace more robust methods post the year 2000.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some key aspects of quality in education in the light of over 30 years practical experience of doing quality assurance (QA).

Reflection on three concepts, which are still the subject of debate, namely: “quality”; “total quality management (TQM)”; and “autonomy”.

As this is not a research paper, it presents no findings. There are some research implications, if only to deter researchers from digging up old ground. More research into the diversity of and interactions between cultures in academia might prove useful.

There are lessons to be learnt from the past. Doing quality improves quality. Talking about it or trying to impose it does not. Managers and leaders need to reflect more carefully than is their wont on the purposes and procedures of QA in education.

This paper makes a contribution to the debate about quality in education in universities and schools and suggests that a clearer understanding across the education system of the scope and purpose of QA, the nature of TQM and the limitations of autonomy might lead to better embedded and more effective continuous improvement.

The common approaches to quality assurance (QA), as practiced by most post‐secondary education institutions for internal quality monitoring and most QA authorities for external quality monitoring (EQM), have been considered by many researchers as having largely failed to address the essence of educational quality. The purpose of this paper, although not meant to be exhaustive, is to review some of these approaches.

The paper reviews the relevant issues concerning total quality management, performance indicators and EQM, the three common approaches to the QA of post‐secondary education have been reviewed.

While from a pragmatic perspective these approaches have their respective reasons for existence, they can all be criticized as lacking rigorous theoretical foundations and being mainly driven by demands of satisfying external agendas (e.g. to enforce institutional accountability or compliance) instead of academic considerations (e.g. to facilitate student learning). As a result, a mismatch between the rhetoric and reality of educational quality has become a common experience of most practitioners, not only in western contexts from which these approaches were originated, but also in other cultural contexts that have adopted them uncritically. It is undeniable that the overall quality culture within most post‐secondary education systems worldwide, as currently manifested, tends to favor the institutional aspects rather than the student aspects of the quality issues, and tends to lean more on the accountability‐led view rather than the improvement‐led view of quality assurance.

The paper sheds some light on the quality debate in post‐secondary education.

This paper aims to describe the development of WorkOut, an Internet-based program designed to help young men overcome the barriers towards help-seeking and to build the skills they need to understand and manage their own mental health. Information and communication technologies (ICT) hold great potential to significantly improve mental health outcomes for hard-to-reach and traditionally underserved groups. Internet-based programs and mobile phone applications may be particularly appealing to young men due to their convenience, accessibility and privacy and they also address the strong desire for independence and autonomy held by most men.

In this paper, we describe the design process itself, and the strategies used for multi-disciplinary collaboration. The initial evaluation process and results are also described which consisted of three distinct phases: website statistics; one-on-one user testing; and pilot interviews.

The results suggest that WorkOut has the potential to attract young men. However, further work is needed to ensure that users remain engaged with the program.

The difficulties encountered and lessons learned provide an insight into the factors that should be considered in the design and evaluation of future ICT-based strategies within the mental health domain, as well as their potential applicability to clinical and educational settings.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the early career values and individual factors of objective career success among graduates from a top-tier French business school.

The authors conducted a quantitative analysis of 629 graduates classified in three job markets according to income: the traditional business market, the alternative market and the high-potential business market. The graduation dates span a period of 12 years before the 2008 Recession.

The findings suggest that membership of each job market is associated with distinct early career values (when choosing/leaving the first job). Moreover, the authors confirm that the presence of a mentor, international experience, job-hopping and gender, all affect objective career success.

The paper discusses implications for business career development and higher business education.

The originality of this study lies in the identification of the individual factors of objective career success among French business graduates and the links between objective career success and early career values.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between quality education and human resource management practices of faculty supervisor’s support, job autonomy and working condition in the private universities. Specifically, how does the working atmosphere in the private universities in Bangladesh play a mediating role in the links between faculty supervisory support and job autonomy toward excelling quality education?

To answer this question, a theoretical framework using the strategic contingency theory as its basis was established. Data (n = 515) were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The findings of the study indicate that faculty supervisor’s support and working condition have significant positive relations with quality education and the working condition has an important mediating role in the links between supervisor’s support, job autonomy and quality education in the private universities in Bangladesh.

First, the study used faculty as respondents from only 19 private universities in Bangladesh where more than 100 universities are in active operation at present. Second, the study included only top-ranking private universities and ignored other low-grade local private universities ranked by the university grant commission and they should be included in the study. Third, this study did not include public universities in the survey. Fourth, only two antecedents to the working environment toward quality education were included. Finally, this study collected data only from the faculty of the school of business and economics for examining their opinion.

From an academic and practical perspective, as a cumulative body of study on the relationship between different HRM practices and quality education, this paper will be better able to advise concerned authorities of higher education intuitions on the elements they need to address to ensure quality teaching and learning in their institutes.

Several factors that directly and indirectly influence quality education through pleasant working environments appear to the surface. Thus, to create a vital working condition in private universities, academic leaders or authorities should be aware to make some improvements.

The study reveals a paramount finding that can help academicians and authorities of private higher education institutes.