Together with ISO 29991, ISO 29993 and ISO 29994, ISO 21001 is to be regarded as a replacement for ISO 29990.

The ISO 21001 standard is aimed at all types of educational institutions that do not fall within the recognised formal areas of primary and secondary education and diploma, bachelor's and master's degree programmes.

ISO 21001 focuses on learners, learning outcomes, learning services and the competence of education providers. Accordingly, high demands are placed on the management of educational institutions in terms of strategy, corporate assessment, financial and risk management and internal audits.

Summary

ISO 21001 describes requirements in the following topics:

• Environment of the organisation: 
  Understanding the environment in which you operate and what expectations interested parties have of the educational organisation.
• Leadership:
  The benefits and impact of the offer should be at the centre. The management creates an environment that enables the achievement of objectives. Goal-oriented management of the educational organisation that ensures an economical, efficient and effective learning service.
• Planning:
  Risks and opportunities must be identified, evaluated and measures derived from them in favour of achieving the objectives. Teaching should enable learning and learning success.
• Support:
  Competent staff are the key to success. Trainers have a high level of technical and methodological-didactic expertise. Infrastructure, operating and teaching resources are suitable for achieving the learning objectives.
• Teaching:
  Continuous optimisation of processes, educational offerings and teaching through evaluations and feedback. Transparent presentation of the educational programmes, the educational institution and its guiding principles
• Evaluation:
  The impact of educational performance should be evaluated. Through a systematic approach, the organisation gains a realistic picture of its performance and considers measures to achieve the set goals.
• Improvement:
  Those who stand still do not get better. Mistakes are learnt from in an open culture.

Development

The standard evolved from ISO 29990, and the replacement of ISO 29990 better reflects the complexity of the education market.

The standard was published at the end of May 2018.

ISO 21001:2018 - Educational organisations - Management system

ISO 29991:2014 - Language schools
ISO 29993:2017 - Educational programmes
ISO 29994:2021 - Distance learning

The standards can be applied in combination.

We have an ISO 29990 certificate, now what?

Existing certifications according to ISO 29990 can be maintained until 17 December 2021 at the latest.
Re-certification to ISO 29990 is possible until 17 June 2020 at the latest.

As this is a new standard, the recommended change to ISO 21001 takes place with certification (stage 1 + stage 2 audit) in accordance with ISO 21001.

Utilisation & Benefits

The creation of this educational standard provides an internationally comparable quality model for professional practice and service delivery, as well as a common reference for education providers and their clients to plan, develop and deliver education and training and to promote development. Thanks to the international recognition of the standard, organisations and individuals are supported in selecting a suitable learning service provider worldwide that meets the needs and expectations for the development of competences and skills.

The ISO 21001 certificate gives a training organisation a competitive and market advantage.
The prerequisite for the fulfilment of official requirements is created.
The certificate provides impetus for quality development through preparation for certification, self-evaluation, offer documentation, the on-site audit, the audit report, the annual interim audit and the renewal of ISO 21001 certification every three years.
The certification process promotes the institution's own quality awareness, its commitment to continuously working on quality and making this visible to the outside world.