Influence of iso 9001:2008 quality management system on academic staff’s service delivery in curriculum review in kenya: a case study of public universities

The implementation of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 Quality Management System (QMS) in education is a matter highly debated trend on whether or not the certification is appropriate for the Education sector. Some scholars consider its adoption as a strategic decision by educational institutions to ensure delivery of quality service therein while others do not. Complaints by some academic staff and students in public universities in Kenya on the impact of ISO 9001:2008 QMS casts doubt on their level of satisfaction with it based on non conformities. For instance between 2012 and 2015 one university recorded 5310 non-conformities and another one recorded 5340 non-conformities which were higher than the other 12 Universities that recorded below 3940 non-conformities in provision of quality service delivery in public universities. In terms of the impact of ISO 9001:2008 QMS on academic staff’s service delivery in curriculum review in public universities, the non conformities recorded in one of the universities were 280 and the other 270 being higher than the non conformities recorded in the rest of the other universities for the period 2012 to 2015 in Kenya. The objective of the study was to establish the influence of ISO 9001:2008 QMS on curriculum review in public Universities. The study established that ISO 9001:2008 QMS had significant influence on curriculum review such that for every one unit increase in ISO 9001:2008 QMS conformities in curriculum review, improved academic staff’s service delivery by .479 units. In effect ISO 9001:2008 QMS accounted for 7.6% of the improvement in the curriculum review in public universities as was signified by the Adjusted R square coefficient .076. The other 92.4% was due to other factors that were not subject to this study. This means that when non conformities decline there is improvement in academic staff’s service delivery in curriculum review in public universities. ISO 9001:2008 QMS was a significant predictor of academic staff’s service delivery in curriculum review (F (1,252) = 6.085, P<.05). The study concluded that ISO 9001:2008 QMS improved service delivery in curriculum review in public universities. The study recommended that public universities should strive to minimize non conformities for excellent service delivery. This study provides information to lecturers, Kenya Bureau of Standards and university management on the way forward in improving the curriculum review in public universities.