CHAPTER 2
Management Systems for Educational Organizations
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 164 national standards bodies. Here, I would like to share the briefing notes of ISO 21001, posted by the ISO. ISO 21001 provides a common management tool for organizations providing educational products and services capable of meeting the needs and requirements of learners and other customers. It is a standalone management system standard, aligned with other ISO management system standards (such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, etc.) through the application of high-level structure. ISO 21001 focuses on the specific interaction between an educational organization, the learner, customers, and other relevant interested parties. It specifies requirements for an Educational Organization Management System (EOMS) when such an organization:
• Needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide, share, and facilitate the construction of knowledge while conforming with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Aims to enhance the satisfaction of learners, other customers, and personnel through the effective application of its EOMS, including processes for improvement of the system.
TO WHOM DOES THIS STANDARD APPLY?
All requirements of ISO 21001 are generic and intended to be applicable to educational organizations that provide, share, and facilitate the construction of knowledge through teaching, training, or research, regardless of type, size, and the product and service provided. The standard, therefore, applies to the management system of any organization utilizing a curriculum to provide, share, and transfer knowledge.
WHY IS ISO 21001 IMPORTANT?
There is a critical and continuous need for educational organizations to evaluate the degree to which they meet the requirements of learners and other customers in order to improve their ability to continue to do so.
ISO 21001 focuses on the specific interaction between an educational organization, the learner, and other customers. Current educational processes are becoming increasingly focused on co-creation where the traditional customer– supplier relationship is refined into a collaborative partnership. This standard will give guidance on how to deliver quality in this challenging new environment.
Education differs from many other sectors in that a successful educational process maximizes the chance that a learner will succeed, though it cannot guarantee that outcome. The effort and capability of both the learner and educational organization are crucial variables for the educational process to be successful. Learning involves the internalization of knowledge, methods, and skills. The educational organization stimulates this internalization and provides the framework, input, processes, and learning resources for it to take place. However, it is the effort and capability of the learner that ultimately determines the success of the educational process.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM ISO 21001?
Although learners and educational organizations worldwide are the main beneficiaries of this new management system standard, all stakeholders (i.e., everyone) will benefit from the output of standardized management systems in educational organizations.
Educational organizations that will benefit from the standard include preschools; primary, elementary, middle and high schools; colleges and universities; adult education institutions; special education schools; vocational education and training schools; tutoring or coaching centers; training organizations; education/training departments; consultants; and nonformal educational service providers. This is true regardless of the funding source, which can be public (subsidized), private (commercial), self-sufficient (internally generated revenue), or not for profit (sponsored).
Finally, all interested parties involved in determining requirements will benefit from this International Standard (teachers, parents, government, NGOs, trade unions, etc.).
WHAT BENEFITS CAN ISO 21001 PROVIDE?
The potential benefits to an organization of implementing an EOMS based on this International Standard are:
• Better alignment of objectives and activities with policy
• Enhanced social responsibility by providing inclusive and equitable quality education for all
• More personalized learning and effective response to all learners, in particular those with special education needs and distance learners
• Consistent processes and evaluation tools to demonstrate and increase effectiveness and efficiency
• Increased credibility of the educational organization
• Ability to demonstrate commitment to effective quality management practices
• Development of a culture for organizational improvement
• Harmonization of regional, national, open, and proprietary standards within an international framework
• Widened participation of interested parties
• Stimulation of excellence and innovation
The following pages will highlight some countries who have scored highly on quality education systems.