AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
INTEGRATION OF ESG 2015 AND ISO 9001:2015 STANDARDS IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION
ORGANIZATION (CASE STUDY)
a
JAROSLAV JAMBOR,
b
MARTINA DŽUBÁKOVÁ,
c
JOZEF
HABÁNIK
a
The School of Management, Bezručova 64, Trenčín, Slovakia,
jjambor@vsm.sk
b
University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia, Dolnozemská
cesta 1, Bratislava, martina.dzubakova@euba.sk
c
Alexander Dubcek University of Trencin, Študentská 2,
Trenčín, Slovakia, jozef.habanik@tnuni.sk
This paper is published under project number 001RnUAD-2-3/2016, TnUAD quality
assurance system certification pursuant to ESG 2015 and ISO 9001: 2015 standards.
Abstract: The article describes our approach to creating quality management system in
higher education, integration of ESG 2015 and ISO 9001:2015 requirements and
experience with positive synergies of these standards. In 2015, both standards
underwent revision that contributed to their mutual compatibility and more efficient
improvement in study programme quality. The system is open to further integration
of standards in the field of education. Objective of this article is to share experience
with systemic development of quality of higher education and contribute to discussion
about utilization of ISO 9001 in education and potential approaches to creation of
quality systems in compliance with requirements related to quality of education in the
European Higher Education Area.
Keywords: Internal Quality Assurance System of Higher Education, ESG:5015, ISO
9001:2015, Quality of Education, Integration of Quality Standards in Higher
Education.
1 Introduction
The year 2015 brought significant changes to the basic standards
of quality management, specifically in the form of ISO 9001
standard. The standard was released on 15 September 2015 and
published on 23 September 2015. According to the IAF
(International Accreditation Forum), the transition period of 3
years ends on 15 September 2018. The standard is a part of
managerial ISO standards built on a shared parent structure.
Two thousand and fifteen was also an important year for
Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European
Higher Education Area (ESG). Increased demands for skills and
competences in Europe require that higher education institutions
respond to the situation in new ways. Original text from 2005
was updated to reflect progress in quality assurance, as well as
other Bologna action lines, such as qualifications frameworks,
recognition of qualification and promotion of the use of learning
outcomes with a shift towards student-centered learning and
teaching (Ostrovský, 2013). The ESG were adopted by the
Ministers responsible for higher education in the European
Higher Education Area in May 2015 in Yerevan, who at the
same time committed themselves to their implementation into
the national education system
(Hrnčiar, 2012).
1.1 ISO 9001:2015 and ESG 2015 compatibility
Revisions of ISO 9001:2015 and ESG 2015, part Internal
Quality Assurance, brought these standards closer and made
them more compatible. Moreover, ISO 9001 provides the ESG
standards with adequate support system of effective quality
improvement. On the other hand, the ESG provide terminology
and requirements that better define the subject of the education
system, goals and strategic framework in the area of higher
education. (Table 1). At the same time, it is expected that in
compliance with Article 87a of the Act on Higher Education, the
content and requirements of ESG 2009 become part of
accreditation criteria as is the case with the current system of
accreditation.
The third and fourth part of ESG 2015 include standards and
guidelines for external quality assurance and quality assurance
agencies. ISO requirements for external quality assurance
process and operations of certification bodies (certification and
accreditation) are part of ISO 17021 Conformity assessment --
Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of
management systems and ISO 17011 Conformity assessment --
Requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity
assessment bodies, that accredit conformity assessment bodies
(International Accreditation Forum, 2015). Under current
regulation, the scope and frequency of external assessment under
ISO 9001 scheme is more rigorous and frequent for both school
(certified organization) and assessment bodies (Table 1).
Table 1: ESG 2015 and ISO 9001:2015 comparison
INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE
ESG 2015
ISO 9001
Policy for quality
assurance
Policy. Scope and processes of
the quality management system.
Leadership. Organizational
roles, responsibilities and
authorities.
Planning, risks and
opportunities actions. Quality
objectives and planning to
achieve them. Planning of
changes.
Learning resources and
student support
Support. People. Infrastructure.
Environment for the operation
of processes. Monitoring and
measuring resources.
Organizational knowledge.
Teaching staff
Competence. Awareness.
Communication. Documented
information.
Design and approval of
programmes
Operational planning and
control. Requirements for
Education. Design and
development study programs.
Control of externally provided
processes.
Student-centred learning,
teaching and assessment
Education provision.
Student admission,
progression, recognition
and certification
Release of Education.
Control of nonconforming
outputs.
Information management
Public information
Monitoring, measurement,
analysis and evaluation. Internal
audit.
On-going monitoring
and periodic review of
programmes
Management review.
Improvement. Nonconformity
and corrective action. Continual
improvement.
EXTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE
Accreditation of
institution / study
program
once every 5-6 years
Certification and surveillance
audit
Once a year
Evaluation of the
Agency
Once every 5 years
Accreditation and surveillance
audits
Once a year
EA Evaluation
European Accreditation
Among the main benefits of using ISO 9001 is the ability of
organizations to steadily provide products and services that meet
customer requirements, applicable requirements of regulations
and regulatory requirements, increase customer satisfaction, risk
management and opportunities to achieve goals (Richnák and
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