UCJ now ISO 9001: 2015 certified

The University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) has received ISO 9001: 2015 Certification from the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO).

ISO is an international agency composing national standards bodies of more than 160 countries.

Organisations use ISO 9001to demonstrate the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.

UCJ, in a statement this morning, explained that the certification means therefore that Jamaican students who pursue higher education programmes at any institution have been quality assured by the council can have greater confidence that their qualifications are recognised locally and globally.

“Using the ISO 9001:2015 Standards, the UCJ implemented a quality management system and underwent a rigorous process of internal and external review of its core processes and operational practices. The ISO 9001:2015 requires that organisations undertake a systematic approach to the planning and execution of their business processes. Through this certification, the UCJ has committed itself to continuously improving the standard of its quality assurance processes,” the UCJ statement said.

According to Dr Dawn Barrett Adams, Accreditation Officer at the UCJ, “It doesn't matter if you enrol in a two-year associate degree programme at a college or institute close to where you live that has been quality assured by the UCJ, work and then complete your final two years at a local or overseas university. You may even opt to complete the bachelor’s degree at that college or institute. Once you check the UCJ’s website and see that your institution or a programme has been quality assured, you are safe.”

Althea Heron, Executive Director of the UCJ, adds, “you have to understand that the quality assurance process is rigorous and requires higher education institutions to submit such detailed documentation on their internal quality assurance processes. The UCJ spends quite a bit of time ensuring that the institution and its programme/s meet international standards for the profession and the standards for higher education.”

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