Object-Oriented Approach: Applying ISO 21001 at Vietnamese Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

To evaluate whether an educational institution has quality or not, requires standards that reflect all the requirements of the complex relationships operating within the educational institution. At the same time, this standard must be recognized by all nations for it to apply widely. It is in this context that the ISO 21001:2018 series of standards was published. This standard mentioned three areas of activities that an educational organization must pay attention to: training, scientific research, and community service. They are also the main activities that the educational accreditation standards refer to. To meet the requirement of quality guarantee and enhancement, a higher education institution has to apply quality assurance norms in general and quality criteria on management systems. Putting the ISO 21001 quality standard into practice is the choice of Vietnamese educational institutions to ensure they meet the requirements for improving management system quality. There are a set of quality system standards for educational organizations to satisfy their specific needs. Not following the traditional approach as they apply other ISO standard systems, Vietnamese educational institutions have chosen an object-base approach, where the beneficiaries are related to the management system of the university. They then approach the PDCA cycle to build and implement an ISO 21001 quality management system. We found that, according to this orientation, the implementation processes might be ensured given that the quality thresholds set by the university are met in order to satisfy the demands of the learners and related stakeholders. The paper aims to analyze the approach of Vietnamese educational institutions in implementing ISO 21001 standards, and at the same time identify advantages and disadvantages in developing policies in the quality management system at educational institutions. The paper also gives recommendations that can be adjusted by management at other higher education institutions to improve quality assurance activities towards sustainable development.
 Keywords: ISO 21001:2018, quality assurance, quality management system, PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act), sustainable development