Purpose: To illustrate the applicability of "kaizen" in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: "Kaizen" process was used for ten courses contained in a part-time executive MS degree program in management. Findings: "Kaizen" was found to be an effective process for improving graduate business school courses and the value proposition for students. Research limitations/implications: Further opportunity to quantitatively correlate "kaizen" results with student satisfaction. Practical implications: "Kaizen" can help higher education institutions compete more effectively against both traditional non-profit and newer for-profit sources of higher education. Originality/value: Presents insights, lessons learned, and critical reflections from the first known application of "kaizen" in higher education for this purpose. (Contains 2 tables a 3 notes.)