what is ISO 29990?
ISO 29990 is a standard for educational and training service providers' quality management systems. For the conceptualization, implementation, and delivery of the specified programme, ISO 29990 provides a unified model for a quality and professional mode of operation, as well as a consistent reference point for both learning service providers (LSPs) and their clients.
Future landscape of ISO standards for education
ISO 29990 has been on the market for several years and was published in 2010 to provide a common reference for learning service providers in the design, development, and delivery of non-formal education and training. ISO 29990 is made up of aspects that deal with the services provided by the implementing organisation as well as management system elements that support its operations. Thousands of companies and government agencies use the standard, which is adopted in more than 50 nations. ISO later produced ISO 29993 to offer minimum requirements for learning services, recognising the complexity and variety of the worldwide market for learning services. Simultaneously, ISO 21001 was developed to give the education industry its own management system standard.
With standards dealing with learning services on the one hand and standards dealing with management systems on the other, organisations will have more freedom. This new set of standards will provide educational and training providers with new options and chances to mix and match as they see fit. In this paper, figures are used to provide an overview of the standards that are accessible in the subject of learning services. This paper, created for the benefit of all interested organisations and their stakeholders, summarises the key features of these various standards. It also shows how to apply the various standards depending on your organization's unique condition and requirements.
What standards does ISO have for services provided by educational organizations?
The following service standards are currently in development or are available.
Despite the fact that their titles refer to "beyond formal education," the majority of the standards they contain are also applicable in formal education.
- Learning services beyond formal education- Service requirements, ISO 29993:2017, is a standard that focuses on educational services n general.
- Language learning services outside formal education, ISO 29991:2014- Requirements is geared towards companies that offer language training as a stand-alone or in conjunction with other courses.
- ISO 29994, Learning services outside formal education - Distance learning requirements (under development). The preceding standards can be used in conjunction with the following new standards, which are currently being developed and will cover various aspects of learning services.
- Assessment of learning service outcomes - Guidance (ISO 29992) (under development). This standard focuses on the evaluation of learning outcomes.
- Learning services outside formal education - Terminology (ISO 29995) (under development). The goal of this standard is to make learning services words and definitions easier to understand.
What standards does ISO have for the management of educational organizations?
The ISO standard that follows focuses on management systems in the education sector:
Educational organisations, ISO 21001 - Educational organisation management system - Management system requirements with usage guidelines, which specifies management system requirements designed with the specific needs of a variety of educational organisations in mind. It is straightforward to use in conjunction with other ISO management system standards since it follows ISO's "high level framework" for management system standards.
Examples of different use cases
An educational organisation can choose which standards to implement based on its goals, strategies, circumstances, and external obligations (such as rules or contractual agreements). As a result, different combinations of standards can be used:
- As a result, various combinations of standards can be used: ISO 29993 alone when the organization's sole focus is on learning services,
- ISO 29993 and ISO 21001 (or another management system standard) in place of ISO 29990,
- ISO 29991 alone when the organization's sole focus is on language learning services,
- ISO 29991 and ISO 21001 (or another management system standard), and so on.