A number of Pakistani universities operate their quality assurance work inside a formal Quality Management System (QMS) certified to ISO 9001:2015, alongside the HEC framework. The two are complementary: the HEC framework governs academic standards, while ISO 9001 governs the discipline with which processes are documented, followed, audited and improved.
What a QMS consists of
- Quality manual — the scope of the system, the process map and the policy.
- Quality policy and objectives — a signed statement of intent, broken into measurable yearly objectives.
- Documented procedures — written procedures for each controlled process, with owners.
- Forms and records — the evidence each procedure generates, under document control.
- Document control — version numbering, approval, distribution and withdrawal of obsolete copies.
- Internal audit programme — planned audits against the documented system.
- Corrective action and continual improvement — root cause analysis, action, verification.
- Management review — periodic top-management review of the system's effectiveness.
The PDCA cycle
ISO 9001 is built on Plan – Do – Check – Act, the same cycle that underlies the HEC quality framework: plan the process and its objectives, carry it out, check the result against the objective, and act on the gap. Certification is maintained through periodic surveillance audits by an external certification body, with a full recertification audit at the end of each cycle.
Risk-based thinking
The 2015 revision of ISO 9001 requires the institution to identify risks and opportunities affecting its ability to deliver, and to plan actions to address them. For a university this covers faculty attrition, laboratory safety, examination integrity, data protection and continuity of teaching.