Once a product is made or a service rendered, the only way to improve it is to do it over. On the other hand, if the process is properly designed and functional, quality is built into the result. Inputs are a favorite proxy for quality in higher education. Inputs are important indeed, but they do not create or measure quality. Design, processes, and outputs define appropriate inputs.
Proper inputs maximize the system, while improper inputs limit the system.
From the perspective of improving quality, an institution is a collection of processes. Knowing why a process exists is the first step to improving it. Often the purpose of a process was long ago forgotten, and the process has taken on a life of its own. For example, many campuses continue to require the dean's signature on a student's registration card, although often the dean no longer even sees the card, much less provides the advisory or regulatory service that the signature was intended to represent. In addition to having a reason for existence, all processes also exist to meet the needs of the people they are intended to serve.