ULAB Aims for ISO Accreditation

The University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) is making a final push to obtain ISO 9001:2015 Certification in the next few months. It expects to receive the certification in July 2019.  ULAB started its ISO journey in September 2015 when it signed its contract with management consulting firm Social Vision Corporation Limited.  Several milestones like formation of ISO internal audit committee; capacity building of internal audit committee; completion of stage 1 (document review and initial visit); and completion of stage 2 (initial audit) have been achieved since then.

ULAB is now at the stage where all non-compliance to ISO requirements need to be addressed. As of this writing, according to Social Vision, only three non-academic departments need to tackle non-compliance issues.  Once completed, ULAB will be recommended to receive the ISO 9001: 2015 Certification.  The validity of the certificate is for three years.  However, there will be a surveillance every twelve months.

ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization, which aims to formulate and promote the use of international standards for all industries.  ISO 9001:2015 specifies requirements for a quality management system when an organization: a) needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and b) aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

All the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 are generic and are intended to be applicable to any organization, regardless of its type or size, or the products and services it provides.