Master of Science in Quality Systems Management

The curriculum for the Master of Science in Quality Systems Management degree program can be completed in one year (three semesters, twelve courses, 36 credits) and is delivered entirely online to meet the needs of the working professional Master degree student.

The program is designed in an integrated-storyboard format developed after extensive consultation with diverse focus groups of prospective employers, organizational leaders and quality practitioners. A distinguishing feature of the program is the substitution of the conventional master’s thesis with a team-based, work-related project of significant professional relevance to the learner and his employer or company (the Master’s Business Project or MBP). The National Graduate School also has a partnership with Juran Global that allows for successful graduates of the Master of Science degree to receive a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt upon completion of their program at no extra cost to the student!

In order for a student to graduate, the project’s supervisor or “Champion” must validate and formally attest to the school that results have been achieved. In the tradition of the oral thesis defense, students publicly defend their results before an audience of faculty and invited experts.

In the contemporary manner of programs for experienced, working adult professionals, the school emphasizes and monitors student study teams, which routinely spend at least as much time outside of class as they do in class.

• Semester 1 provides a foundation in quality to guide students through the remainder of the curriculum. Topics include an overview of performance-based management systems, best practices, value stream mapping and a systems approach to strategic planning.
• Semester 2 helps students gain enhanced skills through a linked series of courses related to and supportive of MBP results. Topics include the DMAIC model, Six Sigma, and lean thinking applications.
• Semester 3 provides practical methodologies for applying quality systems principles to assess organizational achievements.

Purpose of the accelerated Master of Science in Quality Systems Management degree program

• To provide students, particularly working adults and other nontraditional students, with a business-related graduate education that will empower them to make rapid contributions to private, public and military sector organizations;
• To engage students in a rigorous, exciting, challenging, theoretical and practical learning experience in a specialized curriculum that is uniquely centered in both management sciences and quality systems, predicated on a teamwork approach and which incorporates a business project that requires measurable results;
• To provide students with the resources needed to interact with others clearly and effectively;
• To impart knowledge and demonstrate to students the aligned relationship of a quality systems management theme to ethical behavior;
• To subject the body of knowledge known as quality systems management to a process of continuous improvement derived from the application of that knowledge in the workplace and responses to research in the field.

The program is offered only in a cohort format.

The mission of The National Graduate School of Quality Management (NGS) is to provide educational programs which advance knowledge in the area of Quality Systems Management (QSM), to facilitate the codification of QSM “best practices,” and to create innovative models with significant, enterprise-wide or national significance and application. NGS programs demonstrate performance-based achievements of its mission at every degree level through the degree “project” which must show tangible results to the NGS faculty and the employer or sponsor. We have required that students demonstrate their knowledge and the application of that knowledge in practical, work-related projects since 1993. The National Graduate School of Quality Management (NGS) is a professional practice institution with a primary focus:

• To provide working adults with higher-level knowledge and understanding of the concepts, principles, and tools of quality-based systems management for performance excellence.
• To graduate individuals with behavioral, analytic, customer service, and leadership skills to achieve tangible and measurable results for organizational performance excellence.
• To raise the overall understanding of quality-based systems management in the public and private sectors nationwide.
• To develop proponents and educators of quality systems management able to further understanding and application of the concepts, principles, and tools.

The educational objectives of The National Graduate School of Quality Management programs are:

• To provide students, particularly working adults and other non-traditional students, with a business-related higher education that will empower them to make rapid contributions to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
• To engage students in a rigorous, exciting, challenging, theoretical and practical learning experience in a specialized curriculum that is uniquely centered in both management sciences and quality systems sciences, predicated on a teamwork approach and incorporating a business project that requires measurable results.
• To provide highly qualified faculty who are practitioners with professional work experience as well as appropriate educational credentials.
• To provide students with the resources needed to interact with others clearly and effectively.
• To impart and demonstrate to students the aligned relationship between leadership management and a quality systems theme to ethical behavior.
• To facilitate degree offerings on an accelerated basis, consistent with managing curriculum delivery to the capacities of working adults.
• To furnish students with methods of inquiry.
• To subject the body of knowledge known as quality systems management to a process of continuous improvement derived from the application of that knowledge in the workplace and responses to research in the field.
• To seek and track achievements and evaluations of respondent alumni and sponsoring employers to assess the program’s viability.

Accreditation

The National Graduate School of Quality Management is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education. Accreditation of an institution of higher education by the New England Association indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of institutional quality periodically applied through a peer review process. An accredited college or university is one which has available the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through appropriate educational programs, is substantially doing so, and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Institutional integrity is also addressed through accreditation. Accreditation by the New England Association is not partial but applies to the institution as a whole. As such, it is not a guarantee of every course or program offered or the competence of individual graduates. Rather, it provides reasonable assurance about the quality of opportunities available to students who attend the institution. Inquiries regarding the accreditation status by the New England Association should be directed to the administrative staff of the institution.

SCHEV

The National Graduate School is certified to operate by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV): Private & Out-of-State Postsecondary Education State Council of Higher Education for Virginia James Monroe Building 101 N. 14th Street, 9th Floor Richmond, VA 23219 (804) 225-2600