21001 – Educational Organizations Management
The ISO 21001:2018, Educational Organizations Management Systems (EOMS) is based on the ISO9001:2015 Quality Management Systems but it provides a specific interaction between an educational institution, the learner and other customers. This standard is intended to help education providers to understand the needs and expectations of their learners and other beneficiaries and demonstrate greater credibility and impact. Educational organizations will benefit through delivering a more impactful and relevant learning experience that is aligned with the organization’s own mission and vision. Learners will benefit even more because the education service they receive can be more personalized and suited to their needs, ultimately leading to better learning outcomes.
ISO 21001 will help in building a stronger education sector and will provide positive effects to all interested parties.
ISO 21001:2018 specifies requirements for a management system for educational organizations (EOMS) when such an organization:
- Needs to demonstrate its ability to support the acquisition and development of competence through teaching, learning or research;
- 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 the requirements of learners and other beneficiaries.
- All requirements of ISO 21001:2018 are generic and intended to be applicable to any organization that uses a curriculum to support the development of competence through teaching, learning or research, regardless of the type, size or method of delivery.
- ISO 21001:2018 can be applied to educational organizations within larger organizations whose core business is not education, such as professional training departments.
- ISO 21001:2018 does not apply to organizations that only produce or manufacture educational products.
Principles for an EOMS:
This EOMS entails the following management principles:
- Focus on learners and other beneficiaries;
- Visionary leadership;
- Engagement of people;
- Process approach;
- Improvement;
- Evidence-based decisions;
- Relationship management;
- Social responsibility;
- Accessibility and equity;
- Ethical conduct in education;
- Data security and protection.
The potential benefits to an organization of implementing a management system for educational organizations (EOMS) based on this document are:
- Better alignment of objectives and activities with policy (including mission and vision);
- Enhanced social responsibility by providing inclusive and equitable quality education for all;
- More personalized learning and effective response to all learners and particularly to learners with special education needs, distance learners and lifelong learning opportunities;
- Consistent processes and evaluation tools to demonstrate and increase effectiveness and efficiency;
- Increased credibility of the organization;
- A means that enables educational organizations to demonstrate their commitment to effective educational management practices;
- A culture for organizational improvement;
- Harmonization of regional, national, open, proprietary, and other standards within an international framework;
- Widened participation of interested parties;
- Stimulation of excellence and innovation.