ABSTRACT
The growth of distance learning in higher education has been gaining market share. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced this trend. Enrollments are increasing sharply while fierce competition is a threat to distance learning institutions. To conquer and retain distance learning students, it is necessary to offer quality services and products, seeking innovation and continuous improvement to meet their needs. However, studies that analyze the application of the principles and practices of TQM (Total Quality Management) in distance higher education are still scarce. From this perspective, this study seeks to identify practices that increase the presence of TQM principles in distance higher education institutions. The qualitative research was carried out with managers from 64 teaching centers of one of the largest distance learning institutions in Brazil. The pillars of TQM considered in this study are leadership, staff, students, technological resources and continuous improvement. This study contributed to the literature by identifying practices to expand the presence of TQM principles in distance higher education adopted by the studied institution and its teaching centers. Management contributions are also presented. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.