This paper reviews recent research, literature and documentation relating to quality in universities in England and Wales and examines the challenges of embedding quality. The success in embedding quality is manifested by a university-wide commitment to a shared vision and a desire for continuous improvement. When implemented by a university, quality enhancement models such as Total Quality Management and the European Foundation for Quality Management that are commonly used in commercial and central and local government organisations need to be fitted in sympathetically with a university's culture and structures.To have greater success in achieving quality improvements and embedding a quality culture, it is argued that there should be a concentration on one of the core activities of universities; teaching and learning. A trained teaching profession is a prerequisite for teaching excellence and, once appropriate postgraduate study and reflection have improved teaching quality, it is then necessary to maintain and sustain these improvements so as to foster and embed a quality culture. Government and institutional commitment to the development and support of staff is essential if improvements in teaching quality are to be sustained. Structured Continuing Professional Development for new and more experienced staff will also help to ensure that further progress is made. The present largely ad hoc apprenticeship approach whereby knowledge and teaching methods are handed down by experienced to new staff can lead to the recycling of existing inadequacies and needs to be replaced by a professional, structured programme for all staff. This systemising of the development of learning and teaching knowledge, reflection, research and skill acquisition will improve and maintain teaching quality. There needs to be a careful consideration of the opportunity costs of the various options that could bring about the transformative change that is required. Opportunity costs gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of the allocation of scarce resources and are based on the premise that the use of particular resources in one way precludes their use in any other ways. The opportunity cost is what has to be foregone in order to carry out a specific course of action. The importance of transformative leadership is also explored in this paper. In order to embed quality, transformational leaders are required rather than just transactional managers. Such people are able to provide a guiding vision and gain commitment through their personal qualities of passion, integrity, curiosity and daring. Transformational leaders innovate and originate and focus on people rather than systems. They play an active role in raising expectations. The transformative leadership skills of all staff involved in the change process have to be of the highest order if behaviours, beliefs, values and basic assumptions are to be altered and a culture of quality created.Progress towards the achievement of this goal can be monitored by looking for the signs of a healthy learning organisation. A learning organisation is one where all the staff have the desire to learn and improve and are constantly and continually increasing their ability to achieve the results that they really care about. There is a shared vision and evidence of continuous improvement. The organisation trusts and respects its staff and fosters commitment rather than compliance. There is strong movement towards goal congruity with the closer alignment of the needs and goals of the individual with those of the organisation.Senior managers in universities face major challenges but by achieving the goal of embedding quality, their students will not only receive greatly improved university education but also, as a consequence, a country's economy and society will also prosper.