ISO 21001:2018 – Educational Organizations Management Systems
People who are familiar with ISO standards tend to think that they only apply to businesses and large corporates. However, ISO activities aren’t exclusive to these areas. In 2018, the international organization for standardization announced a new standard, ISO 21001, which is dedicated to Educational Organization Management Systems. It became the first ISO standard devoted solely to the educational sector to benefit educational institutions and learners.
What is ISO 21001?
ISO 21001 specifies the requirements for the management systems for educational organizations (EOMS) when the institution:
- Wants to demonstrate its ability to support the development of competence through research learning or teaching.
- Seeks to satisfy learners, staff, and other beneficiaries through the thorough implementation of EOMS, which include processes for system improvement and conformity to the requirements of different beneficiaries and learners.
Requirements of ISO 21001 are tailored to support organizations that use a curriculum to develop competence via teaching, regardless of the size or method used to deliver the lesson. This ability enables the standard to be used in an educational organization that exists in larger organizations. An example is a cooperation that has a training department.
Why was the standard created?
Education varies significantly from one learning institution to another. Unfortunately, this also means that in some instances, learners may not get the best level of education. The EOMS attempts to address this problem by emphasizing the concepts of educational management best practices. It entails the following characteristics:
- A learner-centric approach is valuable.
- Quality education depends on well-trained teachers
- Facilities and adequate resources are provided
- Curriculum and facilities are relevant to learners.
- A gender-sensitive design is used.
- Family and support from society are available.
- A conducive and safe learning environment.
ISO 21001 also recognizes the role that technology plays in the education system, from giving special needs children personalized attention to streamlining homework.
Benefits of ISO 21001
As the standard intends to ensure the highest quality of education, organizations who choose to have the EOMS and be audited according to the requirements of the standard will have the following to gains:
- Delivery of current, more effective educational services while attending to each learner based on their abilities, including persons with disabilities.
- ISO 21001 ensures that the best quality of education is available to students while improving the safety and productivity of those involved.
- Educational facilities have a competitive nature. Organizations that use this standard get a head start and gain credibility with parents and society at large.
- EOMS provides educational organizations opportunities for continuous improvement and sustainability by giving them a better position to appraise and realize new chances.
- An organization that uses EOMS automatically complies with all educational, legal requirements in their area of operation as well as within the international framework.
- ISO 21001 gives educational institutions the ability to be highly adaptive to enable guidance for learners in a wide variety of areas, innovating creativity and developing problem-solving skills.
Takeaways
Being a relatively new standard, only a few educational facilities have implemented it. Hence, it’s too soon to make a judgment, but one thing is clear, it is indeed a worthy endeavor to try and improve education for all.
