Products
Quality Guidelines
Description of the type of product
Coping with education requirements has become a core problem of economic development. Most countries are experiencing an increase in the demand for services in the field of adult education, especially as regards vocational training and career-related courses. This is happening against a background of ever-increasing knowledge needs and a recognition of the need for life-long learning, which in turn underscores the growing importance of transnational cooperation to ensure the cost-effectiveness and variety, not to mention the quality of education offers.The transnational nature of education and the cross-border mobility of workers require comparable procedures in the Quality Assurance systems used in basic and advanced training. Existing Quality Management systems in educational institutions, like the ISO 9001:2000 used by education providers, the EFQM model, and the QM STAGE MODEL (PAS 1037:2004), contain no rules on foreign commitment by education providers.
The QUALITY GUIDELINES expand the QM STAGE MODEL defined in PAS 1037:2004 for business-oriented organizations providing basic and advanced training to include orientations and requirements for a quality-based design of transnational education processes, including structures/potential and results (education offers/ services). This will promote transparency for national and international users.
Content and results of the product
Transnational education entails crossing cultural, linguistic, legislative, national and often intercontinental boundaries. It is an extremely complex task to adapt and harmonize different systems that operate with different premises and different points of reference. Intercultural competence combined with transparency of education offers, processes and results, as well as accepted minimum standards, helps make transnational education more effective.The QUALITY GUIDELINES
- are aimed at improving the learning-oriented framework for international educational cooperation and creating a solid basis for mutual trust, thus contributing to the merging of the European education systems;
- are intended to ensure that a proper balance is found between the legitimate interests of the parties involved in transnational educational cooperation;
- supplement the QM STAGE MODEL to provide a frame of reference for the Quality Assurance and evaluation of transnational education projects, cooperation arrangements, and qualifications/certificates;
- make a contribution to “consumer protection” for learners, employers and other stakeholders by promoting the transparency and binding nature of learning offers as well as the recognition of skills and qualifications; and
- promote transnational cooperation in vocational education by helping to remove obstacles to vocational and geographical mobility and opening access to life-long learning.
Target groups
Education service providers, students/traineesType of use
Users of vocational training will be provided with a QM system which has a distinct transnational orientation. QUALITY GUIDELINES will be directly integrated into quality assurance measures, thus expanding quality standards within a region or a branch and improving the education specific QMs for diverse industries.Preconditions for application
Interest in quality management und quality assurance.Transferability
Generally applicable for competitive oriented education service providers. Can be adapted to other education institutions.Availability
A direct commercial usage is planned for the publications of QUALITY GUIDELINES, which means that the focus of this dissemination activity is on the end user, without excluding other potential users. For reasons of sustainability though it is necessary to also provide supporting QM tools and QM information for both end users and potential users on a transnational basis. A relevant marketing plan will be developed and submitted to the commission towards the end of the product development, in keeping with the general orientation.Employment in practice
QUALITY GUIDELINES are normative requirements for a vocational training quality management system, which connects a far-reaching self assessment with an external certification ability. The QUALITY GUIDELINES will be based on a Stage Model. The STAGE MODEL defines levels of a sustainable quality development in education and describes on the respective stages the requirements necessary. The STAGE MODEL follows the process based approach of developing, introducing and improving the effectiveness of quality assurance, aiming at an increase in customer satisfaction by meeting the customers' requirements. The STAGE MODEL serves as a reference model for quality management systems in organizations active in competitive oriented vocational training and further education. It is a widly used quality management system. A variety of tools support to introduce and further develop the quality management system.Acknowledgment and certifying
The STAGE MODEL became a standard for certification of organizations active in competitive oriented vocational training and further education. In cooperation with the DIN German Institute for Standardization the STAGE MODEL was developed and published as PAS 1037:2004 "Requirements relating to quality management systems for business-related education and training establishments: QM stage model".ISO standard for non-formal education and training
In 2006 DIN German Institute for Standardization applied successfully for the establishment of a Technical Committee for educational services in the framework of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The first subject in work of the committee is to develop a standard "learning services for non-formal education and training - Basic requirements for service providers", on the basis of the STAGE MODEL.References
Today main institutions for certification as for instance DQS, DQS Polska, TÜV and DEKRA certify organizations active in competitive oriented vocational training and further education in accordance with PAS 1037:2004.
Download the QUALITY GUIDELINES here:
