Book Description
This report brings together European experience on the interpretation and implementation of ISO 9000 in education and training (ET) environments. Chapter 1 discusses the importance of quality concepts in ET and summarizes key concepts of total quality management (TQM) and its relevance for ET. Chapter 2 introduces the ISO 9000 standards. It explains the relationship with quality assurance and TQM and gives an overview of the main principles of the standards: structure of the ISO 9000 family, underlying principles, main components, and certification process. Chapter 3 looks at the context for applying ISO 9000 in an ET environment. It examines the rationale behind adopting the standards: reasons for seeking certification, expected benefits, and different considerations by type of ET organization. Then, it highlights the main interpretation problems, explains the terminology, and proposes a more logical rearrangement of the paragraphs of the standards. Chapter 4 includes a detailed discussion and interpretation of every paragraph of ISO 9001. Practical suggestions for implementing the requirements are provided throughout the text. Chapter 5 discusses implementation issues. It indicates the minimum requirements before launching a certification exercise, summarizes positive and negative messages emerging from implementing the standards in ET institutions, and gives a qualitative overview of the benefits resulting from successful certification. Chapter 6 presents overall conclusions, one of which is that it will be the market which will decide whether the cost of ISO 9000 certification is worthwhile, whether its benefits will outweigh the drawbacks, and whether any other national or international quality scheme is more appropriate. (Contains 60 references.) (YLB)
