Purpose: The applicability of total quality management (TQM) to higher education instruction is controversial. The purpose of this paper is to help clarify the application of TQM to higher education instruction by identifying and analyzing the dual roles played by both students and instructors. The authors also offer an improvement to the instructor evaluation process designed to eliminate some of the negative effects of the duality of roles. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper discussing some of the shortcomings in previous discussions of the applicability of TQM to higher education instruction. In addition, it introduces the concept of the dual roles of students (customers/grade-seekers) and faculty (suppliers/retention-seekers), and analyzes their relationship to, and effect on, the evaluation of the educational process through the interaction of these dual roles. Practical implications: This paper helps understand more fully the student/instructor roles and will contribute to a better understanding of the applicability of TQM to higher education. It offers a methodology to enhance the faculty evaluation process as a measure of instructional quality and offers actions that will strengthen the knowledge-seeking motivation of students. Originality/value: This paper offers a more thorough analysis of the roles of students and faculty than previous discussions of the TQM in higher education. The value of this paper is the identification of two pairs of contradictory roles played by both participants in the instruction process which complicates an understanding of the concept of quality and applicability of TQM to higher education. (Contains 3 figures.)