ISO 21001 – Certification of Educational Organizations

Many educational organizations are in competition with one another, regionally or even on a national basis. TÜV NORD CERT offers certification according to ISO 21001 so you can appeal more effectively to your target group. The certificate signals to prospective clients that the quality of your educational services meets internationally recognised standards.

ISO 21001 is primarily focussed on the needs of learners – but at the same time the standard addresses instructors and also the social and economic context of your organisation. In terms of content and concepts, the standard considers themes which are relevant for all educational establishments, regardless of the specific educational services on offer.

Guidelines for successful implementation of the standard in practice are also included.

The ISO 21001:2018 certificate is an effective instrument which inspires trust and helps to:

• make your organization more competitive within the context of its educational mandate, vision and objectives
• demonstrate effectiveness and efficiency based on consistent procedures and suitable evaluation tools
• provide evidence of international Best Practice solutions in the field of education management
• stimulate excellence and Innovation.

Benefits for the provider

• Successful certification provides evidence of high quality service
• Greater success when tendering for public sector contracts
• Better initial position for approval according to the German regulation for the promotion of vocational training (AZAV)
• Access to international markets
• Process optimisation (P-D-C-A)
• Clearly defined and documented processes
• Development of internal quality capability
• Motivation of staff and active staff participation in the change and development processes

Benefits for the learner

• Transparency/comparability of services on offer
• Transparency/comparability beyond national borders
• Reliable quality
• Information on criteria used for evaluating the services
• Optimised processes
• Better learning environment
• Adequate and high-quality educational resources and trainers with suitable skills and experience

Benefits for international cooperation

• Common quality level based on unified standards / shared quality understanding
• Fair Competition
• Internationally comparable benchmarks for quality development

Basis for development of further specific requirements for international cooperation in the education sector

Who can benefit from ISO 21001?

• All organizations and companies concerned with vocational training and lifelong learning (from nursery education up to post-doctoral level)
• Higher education establishments, such as academies and universities
• Providers of company in-house training and further training
• Users of all kinds of teaching and learning methods

Status of accreditation

The ISO 21001 standard is accredited since spring 2022.

 What are the prerequisites for certification?

In order to achieve certification, the requirements of the standard have to be fulfilled with regard to both the educational services and the management system.
Areas covered include:

• Context of the organization
• Leadership
• Risk, communication and personnel management
• Development, planning, control and implementation of educational concepts and services

Monitoring, measurement, analysis, evaluation and improvement

Certification by a competent body such as TUV India means that educational organizations of all sizes can demonstrate that they:

• fulfil the requirements of the very latest educational management standard, ISO 21001:2018
• are capable of consistently providing educational services which meet client needs and comply with legal and official requirements
• focus strongly on increasing client satisfaction 
• understand risks and opportunities and can therefore achieve continual improvement of their services.

• Inquiry & offer preparation
• Commissioning of TUV India
• Audit Stage 1: determination of certification maturity
• Audit Stage 2: certification audit
• Certificate is issued