COMMITMENT TO QUALITY EDUCATION SERVICES THROUGH ISO 9000: A Case Study of Romania

The past several years have known a tremendous growth in the number of universities adopting education improvement programs. This level of involvement of schools in education improvement programs suggests a broad and fairly understanding among universities of the need to excel in the highly competitive global marketplace. To enhance their competitiveness, many schools turn to high quality level of education and research so as to increase their reputation. Also, many engage in improving the quality of their internal systems so as to gain operational effectiveness as well as strategic position. The paper discusses a model of quality management system for higher education. One of the main objectives of paper is to highlight the challenges facing the school during implementation of the ISO 9001 standard and the benefits of successfully implementing such quality system can bring to higher education. Based on the experience of a Romanian business school, the paper provides a framework for systematic interpretation of the integration of ISO 9001:2000 into higher education. The requirements and factors for the successful attainment of ISO 9001 certification are discussed. Advantages and possible pitfalls of such a development are also addressed. Results demonstrate that the effective and efficient implementation of a quality management system is ensured whether the following variables are engaged: commitment of top management towards quality and process improvement; awareness of faculty and staff, as well as students, regarding the importance of quality and implementation of required changes; identifying processes and designing communication system; focusing on learning, teaching, training, and research enhancement; documenting quality management system and controlling documents; performing internal audits, undertaking corrective and preventive actions, keeping quality records; and commitment to the continual improvement of results.