This paper attempts to deal with the elusive nature of quality in quality management, using a case study to examine quality control measures implemented in an academic context and to show an emergent framework for quality enhancement. This paper introduces the concept of the ecology of quality assurance and examines efforts to maintain and advance quality through a systems approach in which interrelated subsystems contribute to a dynamic ecosystem of quality control. A framework is developed to demonstrate and evaluate a quality assurance system, pointing the way forward for quality enhancement and reflecting the central dynamics of quality assurance and enhancement. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)