Standardising Management Systems for Educational
Organizations – implications of ISO 21001 for European
Higher Education Anthony F. Camilleri
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Introduction to ISO
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Introduction to ISO
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a global platform
for creating
consensus
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a global platform
for creating
consensus
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ISO 21001 is a
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM STANDARD FOR
EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
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ISO 21001
• specifies requirements for a management system for
educational organizations when such an organization:
– needs to demonstrate its ability to support the acquisition and
development of competence through teaching, learning or
research, and
– aims to enhance satisfaction of learners, other beneficiaries,
and staff through the effective application of its EOMS,
including processes for improvement of the system and
assurance of conformity to learners’ and other beneficiaries’
requirements.
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ISO 21001 is
BEING DEVELOPED BY ISO PC288/WG1
140 EXPERTS FROM 34 COUNTRIES
It is currently a final draft international
standard – due to be published in early
2018 subject to member approval
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Management Systems
What the organization does to manage its processes, or
activities in order that its products or services meet the
organization’s objectives, such as
– satisfying the learners’ requirements
– balancing requirements from other stakeholders
– complying to regulations, or
– meeting educational objectives
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Management Systems
• Large organizations, or ones with complicated processes, could not
function well without management systems.
• In the fields of education, multiple national and regional standards
have regulated parts of these management systems
• Educational organizations around the world have been applying ISO
9001 to their quality management.
• ISO 21001 make a comprehensive set of these successful
practices available for all educational organizations
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Management System Standards
• All Management Systems use a harmonised High-Level
Structure in line with the ISO Directives
• Examples of Management System Standards
– ISO 9001: Quality Management
– ISO 14001: Environmental Management
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High-Level Structure
1. Scope 6. Planning
2. Normative References 7. Support
3. Terms and Definitions 8. Operation
4. Context of the Organization 9. Performance Evaluation
5. Leadership 10.Improvement
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Processes
• ISO 21001 concerns how an organization goes about its
work.
• Processes affect final products or services.
• ISO 9001 gives the requirements for what the
organization must do to meet learners' and other
beneficiaries' requirements.
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Processes
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ISO 21001: Principles
• Focus on the needs of Decisions For each principle,
learners and other • Relationship- the standard
beneficiaries Management provides:
• Visionary Leadership • Social Responsibility - Definition
• Engagement of People • Accessibility & Equity - Rationale
• Process Approach • Ethical Conduct - Key benefits
• Improvement • Data Security & - Suggested actions
• Evidence-Based Protection
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Key Difference recognition of role of
educational organizations’
social responsibility
focus on: satisfaction
customer of
learners and other beneficiaries
satisfaction (government, labour market,
parents & guardians)
ISO 9001 ISO 21001
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Purpose of ISO 21001
ISO 21001 allows an organization to understand and realize the needs and expectations of interested parties.
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COMPARING ISO 21001 WITH THE ESG
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Policy for Quality Assurance
Policy must: - Intellectual property management
- Be created, monitored and - Satisfying legislative & regulatory
reviewed by top management requirements
- Involve the setting of objectives - Take into account:
which will allow the organization - Needs and expectations of
to realise its vision in line with its stakeholders
mission - Latest research in pedagogy and
content
- Include Commitments to:
- Be communicated
- Continual improvement
- Social responsibility www.knowledgeinnovation.eu
Student Centred Learning
ISO 21001s first principle is a “Focus on Learners and
other Beneficiaries”.
It states that Educational Organizations should actively
engage learners in their own learning.
teaching is defined as working with learners to assist and
support them with learning
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Teaching Staff
ISO 21001 covers all internal and external staff
Organization must: employment)
- analyse its staff needs and show - Provide training for ongoing
how it uses recruitment to reach competence development
them - Provide ongoing performance
- determine competence- review of all staff
standards for all staff
- check that staff meet those
competence standards (both at
recruitment and during
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Student Admission, Progression, Recognition &
Certification
ISO 21001 provides specific sections with detailed
requirements for each of these processes:
• admission of learners
• identification and traceability of learners throughout the
organization
• award of certificates for assessed learning
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Learning Resources
ISO 21001 considers resources
The organization must determine and
for: provide the necessary:
- Learner engagement & - Human resources
-Facilities
satisfaction -Buildings
- Staff engagement & -Equipment
-Organizational Knowledge & Learning
satisfaction materials
- Other beneficiary satisfaction -Monitoring & Measuring Resources
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Information Management
• ISO 21001 provides significant additional guidance over the ESGs as to:
– which policies, processes and procedures to document and maintain
– which records to retain
• ISO 21001 has over 50 references to documented information which must be
maintained or retained
• It further has a section on how to maintain / retain this information and a further
section on data privacy
• Additionally, an entire informative annexe gives examples of measures and tools
which can be used in collecting and managing information
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On-going monitoring and periodic review of
programmes
• In ISO 21001, monitoring and periodic review happen at
the level of the organization and not merely at the level of
programmes
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Monitoring in ISO 21001
• Monitoring includes: • Review includes:
– Monitoring of satisfaction of
stakeholders – Internal Audit (which includes
– Handling of complaints & review of programmes)
appeals – Annual Management Review
– Collecting feedback on:
• effectiveness of programmes
of the organization’s
• organization’s over impact on management system to
community address deficiencies
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Continual Improvement of Programmes
At every level of the organization, whenever monitoring or
reviewing detects a non-conformity with any requirement
in the management system, the organization must record
such non-conformity and record its proposed action in
response to this (corrective action or dealing with
consequences).
Additionally it must make continual improvements that are
not a result of non-conformities.
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ISO 21001 Operational Requirements
include specific requirements on:
• Programme design & development
– Learning outcome design & development
• Curriculum design & development
• Assessment design & development
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Public Information
• Communications have the • Institution must communicate:
purpose of: – Institutional policy and strategy
– Obtaining the opinion or consent – Design, content and delivery of
of stakeholders (consultation) – Leaners’ performance data
– Conveying information – Learner and other feedback,
(marketing) including satisfaction surveys &
– Coordinating processes within an complaints
organization (management)
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Cyclical External Quality Assurance
• Certification is not a requirement of ISO 21001
• The organization can implement and benefit from an ISO
21001 management system in accordance with the
neutrality principle, meaning that it is designed to be used
for:
– First party certification (self-assessment)
– Second party certification (external assessment by consultants)
– Third party certification (by an approved accreditation body)
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Conclusions
ISO 21001 brings together
Global best Principles &
practice on Values of the
Management ESGs
Systems
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Why Implement 21001 – European HE
According to ESG:
“The (QA) policy translates into practice through a variety of
internal quality assurance processes that allow participation
across the institution. How the policy is implemented,
monitored and revised is the institution’s decision.”
ISO 21001 provides a comprehensive standard on how to do so.
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Paldies
Thank-you for your attention
Questions?
Anthony F. Camilleri (anthony@kic-malta.com)
Presentation available from: http://www.slideshare.net/anthonycamilleri/
Anthony F. Camilleri | 12th European Quality Assurance Forum
24/11/2017 | University of Latvia, Riga www.knowledgeinnovation.eu
