[The following article appears in the February 1995 edition of
_TQM_in_Higher_Education_, pages 1 and 2.]

        A CONSTANCY OF PURPOSE DRIVES A COLLEGE'S QUALITY EFFORTS

     Dowling College (NY) did not set out to incorporate TQM
principles into its culture. In fact, some would consider the
birth of TQM at the college to be an agonizing experience.
     When President Victor Meskill arrived at Dowling 18 years
ago, he found a small, financially-troubled, liberal arts
college. Meskill knew that in order to turn it around, he had to
overcome the way of thinking that had originally gotten the
college into its predicament. And he knew that any change would
be painful.
     Despite the financial worries, the faculty liked things the
way they were--and Meskill ended up with a faculty strike on his
hands.
     Michael Mogavero, dean of Dowling's business school, credits
Meskill's leadership and his adoption of TQM principles for
restoring the health of the former Suffolk campus of Adelphi U.
     "A quality process starts with leadership," says Mogavero.
"The school has run in the black for each of the past 17 years
... and enrollment has grown dramatically over that time."
     And, it's a place where TQM is ingrained into every aspect
of the college's operations--from strategic planning to serving
the students--which seems logical given the fact that Dowling
offers an M.B.A. in TQM.

PARTNERSHIPS ARE KEY

     This constancy of purpose is spelled out in Dowling's
"Explicit Ideology"--sometimes referred to as the "10
Commandments." Here is the ideology:

     At Dowling College We:
     1. Foster an environment where everyone grows.
     2. Focus on our chosen future.
     3. Maintain the quest for excellence.
     4. Treat everyone with whom we interact with respect, and
     meet his or her needs the first time.
     5. Take action to correct any problem that comes to our
     attention--never say "It's not my responsibility!"
     6. Use any style to get a job done well, as long as it is
     ethically, morally, and legally just.
     7. Treat every issue as if it were being considered for the
     first
     time.
     8. Know our competitors in order to strengthen our
     uniqueness.
     9. Seek to gain access to resources for mutual benefit, in
     lieu of owning them.
     10. Consider a missed opportunity a disaster.
     
     The college thrives on partnerships which touch every aspect
of the school's operation. For example, Dowling was one of the
first higher education "firms" (as Mogavero calls it) in the
country to outsource such non-academic units as human resources
for clerical staff, academic and student computing, security, and
counseling, in addition to its cafeteria and bookstore.
     A rather unusual situation, but as Mogavero explains: "As an
institution, you have to ask yourself 'Do you have the best
people making the best decisions in those areas?' I believe our
energies are best spent on building the academic base of the
institution. Everything else is integral, but peripheral."
     The outsourced departments assume responsibility for the
functions and Dowling builds TQM principles into the contracts of
the companies.
     Partnerships have extended into the unionized faculty ranks
as well. Dowling financially rewards faculty who contribute to
the college's goals. If enrollment increases by more than 4% each
year, the faculty get a l/2% bonus (up to a maximum of 1 1/2%)
for every percent over 4%.
     Average class sizes at Dowling are 19 students, and none are
larger than 40. For every unit increase in class size (from 19-20
students), the faculty get a 1% increase in their base salary.
     For classes where the number of students exceeds a pre-set
enrollment cap, Dowling pays the faculty (collectively, into a
fund to be evenly split) for overloads. This allows the school to
move closer to 100% of its capacity.
     "We're a school of limited capacity," says Mogavero. "Our
faculty don't offer superfluous courses and this helps them
better manage enrollment," adds Mogavero. "Everybody wins."
     But financial rewards aren't the only way the college
partners with the faculty. With a five-year strategic planning
process, faculty are the external environmental task force for
us," says Mogavero. The planning mechanisms empower the faculty
and allow them to initiate projects.
     The college tries to eliminate the frustrations that occur
when initiatives get turned down. "Through the five-year planning
process, we short-circuit what won't fly early on," he adds.
"There are very few surprises."
     Rather than being restrictive, the process is actually
freeing. "If a faculty member says we have an opportunity to give
a class at the World Trade Institute, we'll do it," says
Mogavero. "The more an individual strengthens his or her
initiatives with sound data, the greater the chance the plan will
move forward."
     He adds: "We in higher education have always operated under
the assumption of doing a major study of markets before beginning
programs. But by studying it too long, the opportunity often
passes you by. You can develop a program, start it, test it by
doing, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. The downside risk
and value of the assessment is often more costly that the
opportunity risk.
     "Faculty become empowered to govern their own future. If you
change the culture so that failure is equated with not trying
something new then a lot of creativity is unleashed."

SERVING THE CUSTOMERS

     Dowling also uses partnerships to serve its primary
customers--the students. "We offer the programs that students
want at the time they want and at the places they want," says
Mogavero. This means an all-day Saturday executive MBA program,
evening and Sunday classes for other part-time students, as well
as an MBA in aviation management offered at the two-year College
of Aeronautics and classes at the World Trade Institute.
     What other colleges and universities don't understand about
TQM, says Mogavero is that "customer satisfaction doesn't mean
giving every student an 'A'. It means breaking down every
obstacle toward the real mission of educating students."
     It means asking for only a fraction of the semester's
tuition from students who have tuition remission programs at
their companies. The day the grades are finalized, Mogavero faxes
them to the students' employers so that the students can get
reimbursed. The students then finish paying for the previous
semester and apply some on the next semester, limiting their
financial liability.
     "We also commit what most in academe would consider a mortal
sin," says Mogavero. "No higher educational institution with any
self-respect would traditionally give internship credit for
someone doing an internship within their own company."
     Dowling's focus on satisfying its customers allows the
employer's human resource office to develop a cross-functional
assignment for that student.

AN ARRAY OF OPINIONS

     That's a case where everyone wins, says Mogavero--the
company gets a more well-rounded employee, it elevates the
employee in the eyes of the human resource department within his
or her own company, and of course, Dowling wins by "being in and
of society"-the latest addition to its ideology. Mogavero hastens
to add that faculty ensure that the students aren't doing their
traditional job and receiving credit.
     How do faculty feel working in a college that acknowledges
itself as a business and treats its students and faculty as
customers? "There's an array of opinions," admits Mogavero.
"There are some that recognize the importance of a successful
business environment that frees up people to explore new ideas
and transmit them from a position of strength.
     "Others are continuously guarding the purity of academic
knowledge and research and want to be sure they measure the
outcomes of the college or university to safeguard that purity."
     However, Mogavero points out that the traditional TQM model
is theoretically the academic model--hire for expertise and
empower the employee. "The irony is that many in higher education
oppose it [TQM]."
     While much of the TQM philosophy sounds like Deming,
Mogavero points out that the college doesn't subscribe to any one
particular school of thought. "There's a lot of truth in all the
theories," he says. "A good pragmatic institution builds strength
from its diversity."
     "Good management tries to extract from a diverse population,
specialized areas of expertise--especially in a tenure
environment--to redirect the energies of the people to actuate
the potential within themselves."
     For more information, contact: Michael Mogavero, Dean,
School of Business, Dowling College, Idle Hour Blvd., Oakdale
Long Island, NY 11769; Ph: 516/244-3355; Fax: 516/244-5098.