CECyT 3 Attains Certification for Educational Excellence

Adda Avendaño

The Centro de Estudios Científicos y Tecnológicos (CECyT) 3 "Estanislao Ramírez Ruiz," true to its strategy for achieving educational excellence, has become the first Middle Highschool of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) to obtain certification for the International Standard ISO 21001:2018 for the Management System for Educational Organizations.

"By developing, implementing, and fulfilling all the requirements of the American Trust Register (ATR) organization, this school stands out for offering services of the highest quality, as well as contributing to internationalization, a cross-cutting axis marked by the IPN director, Arturo Reyes Sandoval," stated the Director of Upper Secondary Education at the Politécnico, María Isabel Rojas Ruíz.

During the certification ceremony, Rojas Ruíz highlighted that for over a decade, efforts have been made to foster a culture of quality within the upper secondary level of the IPN. The attainment of this educational organization management standard is clear evidence that the attention given to Polytechnic students is continually improving in quality.

For this reason, she invited the Polytechnic community to continue working collaboratively and with the professionalism they have shown thus far. This will strengthen the consolidation of the culture of quality and opportunities for improvement, benefiting the community and undoubtedly continuing to enhance the reputation of this educational institution.

Present at the event were the Head of the Division of Management and Educational Quality, Marco Antonio Sorcini Muñoz, and the Head of the Department of Educational Quality, María de Jesús Arellano Mejía, both from the Directorate of Upper Secondary Education (DEMS) at the IPN; the Director of CECyT 3, José Diego Rubén Águila Chávez; the Dean of the institution, Otilia Torres Vivanco, and the Director of the Certification Council of the American Trust Register, Rodrigo Díaz López.

Voca 3 Certification

CECyT 3 has been recognized for its pursuit of excellence in service since 2012 when it achieved its first certification for administrative processes under the ISO 9000 Standard version 2008-2009. Subsequently, it adapted the current version, ISO 9001:2015, focused on quality management in the business sector, to suit the institution's needs and ensure quality for this academic unit.

Aligned with the IPN's internationalization directive, driven by the General Director, Arturo Reyes Sandoval, there arose the need to update the administrative process management system, specifically in education.

Thus, since the publication of the International Standard ISO 21001:2018 in May 2018, the migration of the Quality Management System for Educational Organizations began. This was achieved through the course titled "Evolution from ISO 9001:2015 to ISO 21001:2018 for the Upper Secondary Level of IPN," resulting in a Quality Manual for each academic unit.

With the support and guidance of DEMS personnel, a group of eight process leaders, led by Jarumi Lizzette Pano Díaz, Coordinator of Liaison and Technical Management, and the Director of the Polytechnic Institution, José Diego Rubén Águila Chávez, worked to prepare the certification audit held on April 19, 20, and 21, 2023.

Excellence in Educational Management

Rodrigo Díaz López, President of the ATR Certification Council, stated that through the implementation of this educational management system, the school now possesses ample tools to evaluate learning outcomes and curriculum design of study programs, ensuring they are relevant, appropriate, and suitable for labor market demands and required profiles.

He considered one of the major benefits of attaining ISO 21001:2018 certification to be the development of teaching and learning approaches for upper secondary education in traditional classroom settings. This is aimed at enhancing the distinctive educational characteristics presented by students and thereby achieving greater social responsibility through quality, inclusive, and equitable education.

"Other benefits offered by ISO 21001:2018 certification include better alignment of objectives and activities with policies, including mission and vision, greater social responsibility by providing inclusive and equitable quality education for all, more personalized learning, and effective response to students, particularly those with special education needs and those learning remotely, as well as continuous training opportunities.

Díaz López added that through the implementation of the Management System for Educational Organizations, the Centro de Estudios Científicos y Tecnológicos "Estanislao Ramírez Ruiz" has managed to focus its educational process from planning the educational service, including the development of academic programs, to the control of educational products and services.

It has also succeeded in improving complementary educational services such as library and information services, professional titling options, internships, school visits, teacher training and updating, as well as management and updating of managerial and educational support staff.

Thus, thanks to collaborative work, participation, and enthusiasm from the entire CECyT 3 community, the institution is moving towards innovation and development to honor its commitment to work with quality and achieve educational excellence.

The certification of the Management System for Educational Organizations encompasses eight processes:

1. School Management: Enrollment, reenrollment, and School Trajectory Control

2. Educational: Teaching, Classroom Projects, and Tutorials

3. Academic Administration: Didactic Planning and Educational Structure

4. Complementary Services: Library and Information Services, Titling Options, Internships and School Visits, Teacher Training and Updating, and Managerial and Support Staff Training and Updating

5. Linkage: Alumni and External Service Monitoring, Managerial and Educational Support Staff

6. Support, Purchasing, and Preventive Maintenance

7. Senior Management: Direction Review and Internal Communication

8. Management for Educational Organizations, including Controlled Document Information, Internal Audit, and Corrective Actions.

Selección Gaceta Politécnica #164. (July 31st, 2023). IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in Spanish here