University of Wolverhampton: Becoming an ISO 9000 University

August 1, 1994, was a red-letter day most of U. of W. employees will never forget. That day, the university became the “first university in the UK, and perhaps the world, to gain ISO 9000 registration for the entire organization.” The core business of the university is “the design and delivery of learning experiences with provision for research and consultancy services.”

The British Standards Institute spent four days at the university in June 1994 to assess U. of W.’s systems after which the university was recommended for registration. This occurred after three days of corporate effort involving the university’s quality assurance personnel and overall staff. This effort was undertaken in addition to the normal external accreditation programs the university usually pursues. The requirement was a great deal of additional work. However; it was believed that if the internal systems were well documented, this could actually facilitate working with the external accrediting bodies. Thus ISO registration, in the long run, could simplify the lives of the university staff. However; this wasn’t the main objective for pursuing ISO9000. There existed a strong desire to provide a “rational and documented” system base for the pursuit of total quality in a large – by UK standards – and complex organization.

The system reflects the activities of the university. Among the diverse activities and topics that had to be documented were the articles of government, the financial regulations, the health and safety requirements, the university charter, and many other items. Ultimately, these items were incorporated into the quality system. For the university, “the quality system that works not only defines what you control absolutely, but how you deal with what controls you.” This includes all of the procedures, rules, laws, regulations, permissions, and vetoes that exist within a university system.

Used correctly, ISO 9000 improves systems. However; this doesn’t mean that quality in improved, per se. Wolverhampton employees believe that the quality of administrative services have improved in serving students and general public. On the teaching and research side, however, no evidence indicates that quality has improved for this organization.

The information-gathering process was rather expensive. It required commitment from the top. Wolverhampton had this commitment. Another important attribute was simply hardheaded commitment to a goal by those involved in the process. The ISO 9000 system is now open and well known. According to Wolverhampton employees, it was well worth the trouble.

Discussion Questions:

1. The U. of W. cites benefits relating to ISO 9000. What do you view as the benefits of ISO 9000 adoption and implementation?

2. More generally, what are the strengths and weaknesses of ISO adoption in academic institutions?

3. Would ISO registration be a useful tool for your college or university? Is there anything unique about your university that would make ISO 9000 more useful here?