Implementation of EFQM excellence model self-assessment in the UK higher education sector - lessons learned from other sectors

Owing to pressures from a range of stakeholders for a wider and improved range of services from the Higher Education (HE) sector in the UK, linked with a simultaneously increasing pressure on resource utilisation, universities are currently facing the challenges of reorienting their approaches to be more customer-focused and conducting their activities in a more business-like manner. A consortium of UK universities is currently implementing the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model as a means for addressing these issues. The focus of this paper is the implementation of EFQM excellence model self-assessment in the UK HE sector. This paper describes the specific issues in implementing the model in UK HE, with a particular focus on the choice of self-assessment methodology, and compares and contrasts these with self-assessment issues in the wider public sector. The early signs are that EFQM excellence model self-assessment can help to produce a more customer-oriented culture in HE institutions, providing that the lessons learned from the wider public sector are put into practice.