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This opinion paper discusses the impact of the Library and Information Science (LIS) course/program accreditation, and implications for graduating students when it excludes an international element. The case study describes the accreditation status of Zimbabwe's LIS training and qualifications, while also gathering insight from international practices. Results reveal the need for a solid support system to the LIS profession from various constituents including LIS curriculum developers, library associations, and an environment that encourages library and information professionals to possess qualifications relevant to their respective markets and innovation. The paper concludes with a recommendation for international accreditation practices, principles and standards that produce well-equipped, versatile LIS professionals. In exploring the process and implications of international accreditation and recognition of library science qualifications in Zimbabwe, the paper holds promise for informing other situations beyond Zimbabwe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for a flexible and versatile workforce that is constantly learning and upgrading its skills has led to a continual demand for courses in which employees are re-trained and updated on a lifelong basis. Students and workers now have to be prepared for a labour market in which they can be expected to change jobs many times, and they need to acquire appropriate skills that are transferable and portable across sectors, countries and cultures. This paper presents a new approach to unifying a European curriculum for production engineering. The paper discusses the background, developments, module structure, testing and ongoing work that is carried out in the European Production Engineering Certification project - a two year pilot project granted by the European Union Programme Leonardo da Vinci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first paper to comprehensively review worldwide accredited Engineering Management (EM) programs under the Washington Accord (WA). Data on EM programs within the accreditation period are collected from 21 full signatories. Criteria of geographical distribution and discipline attribution at both global and national scales are then analyzed. The results of more than 400 accredited programs have been found in 16 countries. While the US, the UK, and Australia have dominance over other countries in their continents, a balanced distribution among countries is seen in Asia. There has been a fall-off in the number of accredited programs globally (except the US) due to multiple factors. Regarding discipline attribution, it is relatively different among continents, with management in conjunction mostly with industrial engineering in Asia and America, civil engineering in Australasia, and others in Europe. These findings coupled with a deep literature review provides implications for management requirements in engineering education, a benchmark for curriculum development, and quality standard among master of EM programs (MEM) through professional certification. Criteria of the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) are suggested for certified master programs. The paper also discusses emerging trends for future programs and practical insights for engineering managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses various possibilities and perspectives for the future of Vietnamese CLE. Informed by the Vietnam Empirical Research and based on the current status of CLE in Vietnam, the paper has made suggestions for various directions for Vietnamese law schools to follow in addressing the challenges that face the adoption and incorporation of CLE in law curricula. These include choosing appropriate CLE models; designing CLE programs as accredited subjects in law curricula; and improving clinical supervision. In the current Vietnamese legal education system with various challenges, the Vietnam Empirical Research generally affirmed CLE as an appropriate educational strategy for the future. As the global advancement of CLE progresses, this opinion is widely and increasingly held among different legal education stakeholders in Vietnam. However, the success and long history of CLE elsewhere will not necessarily guarantee a similar result in Vietnam, given the differences in social, political, and legal systems. The future of Vietnamese CLE therefore will depend on how law schools, central government, relevant national agencies, and other legal education stakeholders in Vietnam regard and adopt clinical approaches in teaching law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria operates a binate regulatory system for legal education under the regulatory control of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Council of Legal Education (CLE), which regulate the law faculties of universities and the Nigerian Law School respectively. Both regulatory bodies carry out periodic visitation exercises to confer accreditation status on the law faculties accordingly. Against the standards of the UK Better Regulation Principles (BRP) of proportionality, accountability, consistency, transparency and targeting, this paper examined the effectiveness of the NUC and CLE in exercising their regulatory functions in the regulation of legal education. In its assessment, this paper finds that the binate system falls short of the BRP. Its sanction of withdrawal of accreditation is rather extreme and not fit for instances of minor malfeasance. The activities of the binate regulatory bodies are left unsupervised and the court usually refrains from intervention. Hence, among other things, this paper suggests joint action of both bodies in carrying out accreditation exercises, which will ensure consistency and save costs. The court should also intervene in appropriate instances to prevent abuse of regulatory powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curriculum change is relatively frequent in health professional education. Formal, planned curriculum review must be conducted periodically to incorporate new knowledge and skills, changing teaching and learning methods or changing roles and expectations of graduates. Unplanned curriculum evolution arguably happens continually, usually taking the form of "minor" changes that in combination over time may produce a substantially different programme. However, reviewing assessment practices is less likely to be a major consideration during curriculum change, overlooking the potential for unintended consequences for learning. This includes potentially undermining or negating the impact of even well-designed and important curriculum changes. Changes to any component of the curriculum "ecosystem "- graduate outcomes, content, delivery or assessment of learning – should trigger an automatic review of the whole ecosystem to maintain constructive alignment. Consideration of potential impact on assessment is essential to support curriculum change. Powerful contextual drivers of a curriculum include national examinations and programme accreditation, so each assessment programme sits within its own external context. Internal drivers are also important, such as adoption of new learning technologies and learning preferences of students and faculty. Achieving optimal and sustainable outcomes from a curriculum review requires strong governance and support, stakeholder engagement, curriculum and assessment expertise and internal quality assurance processes. This consensus paper provides guidance on managing assessment during curriculum change, building on evidence and the contributions of previous consensus papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent revamping of a three-credit-hour course, which the library at Morehead State University has offered for more than two decades, prompted the authors to contemplate what it means to modernize information literacy instruction in a credit-bearing format. For the authors, this modernization meant both committing to asynchronous delivery and adopting the ACRL Framework as the course's learning objectives. In this paper, we discuss some concerns with the previous course, the revision process, and the major components of the modified course. Some reflections after first teaching the course and subsequent revisions are likewise discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of forensic science it is imperative for all laboratories to run smoothly and efficiently. To reach this goal, the administrative aspects of the field must not be overlooked. Despite the importance of successful administration, there is currently no accepted definition that accurately describes the roles and responsibilities of forensic science administration. The aim of this article is to outline forensic science administration as it relates to highly effective leadership. Included in the discussion are five proposed ideals for the successful management of a crime laboratory. Strong leadership is essential within a laboratory to achieve maximum efficiency and high-quality service. One possible method of confronting issues and providing guidelines for management of crime laboratories in forensic science would be the formation of a Scientific Working Group for Forensic Science Administration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to identify and depict the key areas around which research on quality has orbited during the past 37 years. Additionally, this paper aims to explore longitudinal patterns and trends in the identified key areas. Thereby, this study aims to present new perspectives on the foundational elements and evolutionary patterns of research on quality as well as future directions. The paper applies data- and text modelling methodology to a chronological dataset covering 37 years and consisting of scientific journals specialising in research on quality; it also includes scientific journals with a broader spectrum of operations management (OM) research. The study identifies seven central topics around which research on quality has centred during this time period: Service Quality & Customer Satisfaction; Process design & Control; ISO Certification & Standards; TQM - Implementation, Performance & Culture; QM - Practices & Performance; Reliability, Costs, Failure & Problems and Excellence - BEMs, Quality Awards & Excellence in Higher Education. The results also show that the total number of entries has risen constantly since 1980; however, there was a period of decline between 2000 and 2012, indicating that after almost four decades, research on quality is still vibrant and relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many low- and middle-income countries, there seems to be a mismatch between graduate skills and healthcare industry requirements due to variability in curricula. With the current increased global demand for competent health profession graduates, harmonizing competency-based curricula (CBC) is necessary to address this mismatch. This paper describes how three health professions training universities in Tanzania and their two long-standing United States partners embarked on developing harmonized CBC for undergraduate medicine and nursing degrees. The main goal of the activity was to develop templates to harmonize curricula that would support graduates to acquire mandatory national Graduate Minimum Essential Competencies (GMEC) irrespective of the institution of their training. The paper describes the processes of engaging multiple institutions, the professions of medicine and nursing and various stakeholders to develop mandatory curricula generic competencies, creating milestones for assessing competencies, training faculty at each of the three partnering institutions in curriculum delivery and assessments, resulting in the adoption of the curricula by the University leadership at each institution. Ultimately the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) a regulatory body required all schools of medicine and nursing in the country to adopt the curricula, thus creating a harmonized national standard for teaching medicine and nursing beginning October 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents commentary on M.R. Mathews' paper "Publish or Perish: Is this Really a Viable Set of Options?" The author discusses publishing pressure and the number of academic outlets from a South African perspective. The incentive and pressure to publish in reputable journals is a deep concern of South African accounting academics, and it has direct funding implications for the university, and yet only some 30 articles from some 300 accounting institutions get accepted for publication. The author questions the acceptability of Mathews' suggestion of an accreditation by a national panel of referees.

Although adopting advanced-nascent technologies is critical to achieving competitive advantage, it is also a highly risky strategic decision, as these technologies are not yet fully institutionalized. This paper suggests that firms can reduce institutional uncertainty through high-status macro-organization membership (i.e., accreditation). More precisely, I propose that, since accredited organizations allow members to deviate from the technological norm in the market without being penalized, organizations in a high-status ascribed group (viz. accredited members) are more likely to adopt advanced technologies, even if they are at a nascent stage. I examine this argument by analyzing a unique dataset from the U.S. healthcare industry and find that accredited hospitals are more likely to adopt advanced-nascent technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature indicates that collaborative activities can support professional learning (PL) for academics teaching in higher education (HE). Nevertheless, limited approaches for collegial PL exist that can be embedded in the day-to-day work of busy academics. This paper reports on an evidence-based approach to practice that was undertaken to develop an authentic, structured, collegial approach to PL for academics. This involved a review and synthesis of relevant literature, which revealed that collegial PL could be supported through self-initiated communities of academics; collaborative, social interaction with peers; safe, non-judgemental, supportive, conversations; critical reflection; sustained inquiry into practice; an exploration of perspectives; and bespoke resources. These findings informed the development of the Collaborative Peer-Observation Learning Circles (CPO/LC). The approach includes a four-stage process and adaptable template resources designed to facilitate academics' collegial PL while also meeting the needs of accreditation requirements in HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper discusses the results from the first formal needs assessment conducted in South Africa to identify university curriculum development needs for addiction science training, particularly Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). Aim: The aim of the study was to report on the current addiction science curricula available at South African universities, educator views on the need for a new specialized addiction science curriculum, and the feasibility of implementing such a curriculum. Method: A 33 item electronic survey was emailed to respondents. Results: There is no standardization in SUD curriculum content and training at South African universities. Academic staff responsible for offering SUD training and curriculum development pedagogies in addiction are inadequately trained with a lack of content expertise. The absence of clear accreditation and certification standards and protocols results in graduates of varying competency levels and no registration as an addiction professional. Conclusion: Standardized academic training in addiction science is crucial for the professionalization of an addiction workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the evidence base for an in-hospital 12-month training program in neurodiagnostic technology utilizing two educational tracks: Electroencephalography (EEG) or Polysomnography (PSG), employing standardized didactic courses via the ASET – The Neurodiagnostic Society EEGCore Curriculum EEG 200–211 and the A-STEP online sleep self-study modules by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Specifically, we examine the purpose, strategy, and outcomes for the training program that was established in 2016 at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago to support mission sustaining service lines. In addition, we report the results from a series of student course evaluations and an independent assessment of the program by ABRET Neurodiagnostic Credentialing and Accreditation through the application for programmatic recognition for EEG. Finally, we present a set of recommendations for organizations looking to develop a neurodiagnostic technology training program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) exemplifies a widely accepted commitment to business school differentiation both in terms of both value and quality. Business schools embarking on the initial accreditation journey must invest significant human and capital resources to achieve this goal. Given this, institutions should employ practices designed to optimize their potential for success. Well-established project management processes can do just that. This paper summarizes the scope of AACSB initial accreditation, reviews applicable project management development approaches, and summarizes the project management methods and artifacts most appropriate for each phase of the accreditation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business education continues to be very popular among students across the globe, however, business schools have been criticised for not preparing 'work-ready' graduates. This paper investigates how business schools enhance organisational reputation, and in particular, how relatively younger and non-accredited business schools compete with longstanding business schools and those with established reputations. In so doing, the paper investigates the reputation drivers that are perceived to give business schools a competitive advantage. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with academics, experts and students. The results of this paper indicate that engagement with industry and the community is considered the key to achieving quality business programmes and to producing quality business graduates. In addition, we found that the two emerging themes of work placement (WP) and transnational education (TNE) programmes also contributed to quality business programmes but not without some risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has a longstanding practice of accrediting social work programs nestled within institutions of higher education that openly discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) faculty, staff, and students through harmful policies and procedures. Though these policies and procedures contradict the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, these institutions are deemed religiously exempt. In an effort to understand the breadth of this issue, this paper describes a qualitative study examining the presence and substance of LGBTQ+ discriminatory policies at religiously affiliated institutions of higher learning (N = 190) that contain CSWE accredited social work degree programs. Utilizing content analysis, 101 discriminatory excerpts were identified within the 299 publicly available student and/or faculty handbooks, representing 40% of the institutions. Excerpts were coded into three distinct categories: belief expression (66.3%), belief expression and offer of formalized religious or spiritual support (13.9%), and belief expression with punishment (19.8%). In order to attempt to increase trustworthiness, the researchers used coder triangulation, intercoder reliability, and researcher reflexivity. Implications for social work hiring, policy advocacy, education, accreditation, and research are discussed, highlighting the direct conflict between the profession's standards and values and current accreditation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The psychometric properties of evaluations at academic meetings have not been well studied.Purpose: To explore the ceiling effect in the evaluation of quality of a professional meeting and whether a change in the scale labels would decrease the ceiling effect.Methods: Cross-sectional study at two national meetings (2009-2010), attendees completed the evaluation on paper forms or online (5-point Likert scale).Results: Of 1,064 evaluations, the mean session ratings was higher among respondents to the paper version in 2009 (4.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1 to 4.3) as compared to online responders in 2009 (3.0; 95% CI, 2.9 to 3.1) or online responders in 2010 (3.0; 95% CI, 2.9 to 3.1)(p < 0.001).Conclusion: A ceiling effect was present in the evaluation of an academic meeting. A change in the evaluation scale labels decreased the ceiling effect and increased evaluation variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to examine the low number of occupational therapy practitioners in the United States that possessed specialty or advanced certification in low vision. The discussion explores possible reasons for this finding, including insufficient educational accreditation standards to prepare occupational therapy students to work with people with visual conditions, lack of clarity on the definition of low vision leading to misalignment with the profession's scope of practice, inconsistent requirements for advanced certification, scarcity of post-professional preparation programs, and other issues. We propose several solutions to prepare occupational therapy practitioners to meet the challenges and needs of people of all ages with visual impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuing professional development (CPD) is an essential aspect of early years (EY) workforce planning. In understanding how CPD is currently provided, we depend largely on surveys carried out by separate sector organisations with little synthesis of the data. In this paper, we scrutinise findings relating to CPD from nine surveys of EY managers and practitioners carried out by three well-established sector organisations since 2015. We highlight commonalities, discrepancies and gaps in the data. On the basis of this analysis, we highlight the need for further investigation around what constitutes CPD in the EY sector, what are perceived to be 'quality' experiences, CPD accreditation and the leadership and management of CPD in settings. We recommend gathering more detailed and accurate data about CPD through practitioner logs completed as and when CPD is undertaken, as opposed to retrospective surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the ASPIRE award programme of the International Association for Health Professions Education is to go beyond traditional accreditation processes. Working in partnership with the ASPIRE Academy, the programme aims to encourage and support excellence in health professions education, in part by showcasing and exemplifying best practices. Each year ASPIRE award applications received from institutions across the globe describe their greatest achievements in a variety of areas, one of which is curriculum development, where evaluation of applications is carried out using a framework of six domains. These are described in this paper as key elements of excellence, specifically, Organisational Structure and Curriculum Management; Underlying Educational Strategy; Content Specification and Pedagogy; Teaching and Learning Methods and Environment; Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation; Scholarship. Using examples from the content of submissions of three medical schools from very different settings that have been successful in the past few years, achievements in education processes and outcomes of institutions around the world are highlighted in ways that are relevant to their local and societal contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue: Noting high rates of burnout, depression, and suicidality among medical students, academic medical communities are trying to identify preventive and curricular measures that protect and promote student well-being. To date, the effectiveness of these efforts is unclear. In addition, evidence increasingly suggests that the major drivers of distress appear to be factors within the social, learning, and work environments. Specific to medical schools in the United States, neither the Liaison Committee on Medical Education nor the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation include accreditation standards regarding well-being curricula and, as such, these curricula are not well-integrated into students' medical school experience. Current accreditation standards also do not specifically require institutions to assess or address systemic factors of the learning environment that negatively affect student well-being. Evidence: This paper proposes expanding current Liaison Committee on Medical Education and Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation standards on professionalism to incorporate well-being as a core component of professional identity formation by requiring individual and institutional-level actions. Proposed changes to accreditation standards include (1) institutional assessment of the impact of the learning environment on student well-being; (2) continuous quality improvement efforts to address structural factors associated with student well-being and modification of practices that impair student well-being; and (3) integrated curriculum with related assessment to educate students on empirically-supported strategies for well-being. Implications: Refining undergraduate medical education accreditation standards in the United States to include language specific to student well-being will facilitate long overdue changes to the learning environment. In the end, the goal is not just to improve medical student well-being, but to provide a workforce better equipped for a sustainable and meaningful career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study organized a participatory action research team to investigate Council on Social Work Education policies and their effect on the teaching and production of evaluation at the master's level. Data were collected in the form of 282 theses, 27 surveys, and 7 telephone interviews with field instructors to examine the use of evidence-based practice with students in field instruction. The study results indicate that students produced fewer theses and practice-based research papers compared to conceptual papers. Although field instructors valued evaluation in social work practice, the majority of respondents did not feel adequately prepared to engage students in its use in field instruction. The study suggests ways in which schools of social work can bridge the gaps between research and practice through evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian nature-based tourism and ecotourism have become popular forms of recreational activity. Tasmania attracts twice the Australian national average number of nature-based tourists and ecotourists (thirty per cent). The growth of this tourism sector has prompted measures to ensure that experiences are of high quality, and that environmental impacts are adequately managed. ISO 14000 is an environmental management and certification system often utilized as an environmental management system standard within various industries, but has not been widely applied to the Australian tourism industry. The Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP) represents the most significant accreditation measure within Australia at present. This paper assesses the relevance of NEAP in the Tasmanian nature-based tourism and ecotourism industry through in-depth interviews with a key informant group and a comparative analysis of interview data. The paper introduces nature-based tourism and ecotourism definitions and discusses the growing relevance of ecotourism accreditation. The paper argues that NEAP is relevant to the Tasmanian nature-based tourism and ecotourism industry, where the quality of the natural environment forms the central focus for such experiences. Furthermore, the paper argues that NEAP can assist in supporting the State's nature-based tourism and ecotourism industry through means such as branding and promotion. However, problems exist in relation to financial issues between NEAP and operators, and the perceived overlap of NEAP with the widely implemented Tourism Council Tasmania Accreditation Program. Thus, financial issues need to be addressed by the Ecotourism Association of Australia in association with Australian Commonwealth Government subsidization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A social accountability mandate for Canadian medical schools formally emerged in Canada with changes to accreditation standards in 2015. However, how social accountability is defined and operationalized within medical schools has transpired independently. Key enablers of social accountability in Canadian medical schools have been largely unexplored. This paper is the first of a two part series that seeks to explore drivers of social accountability in a sample of Canadian medical schools. Nine key drivers of social accountability emerged from the data including a unified vision, committed leadership, accreditation standards, champions of social accountability, authentic community engagement, community-based learning opportunities, a supportive organizational and governance structure, diversity within medical schools, and measurement of progress and outcomes. This is the first study of its kind to examine what is driving social accountability across Canadian medical schools. An appreciative inquiry approach highlights areas of progress for future work to focus and build upon. This paper presents the findings from part one of the study – exploring the themes emerging from key informant interviews with senior leaders. A second paper will dive into the broader perspectives of faculty, staff and students, to explore more fully the varying perspectives of social accountability within colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews and critically analyzes the Canadian Association for Social Work Education—Association Canadienne Pour La Formation En Travail Social's (CASWE-ACFTS') Accreditation Standards and Procedures from a Sexual Orientation Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIESC) lens to examine how such are addressed in relevant documents. The CASWE-ACFTS Queer Caucus undertook a lead role in examining 'diversity' in the documents as it serves as an umbrella term for SOGIESC and other intersecting positionalities. This paper iterates an initial response in the CASWE-ACFTS Queer Caucus' ongoing consultation with the CASWE-ACFTS's Education Policy Committee's work on Education Policy and Accreditation Standards 2019 (EPAS2019). The content analysis of the documents reveals that SOGIESC issues are not adequately addressed and this has implications for undergraduate and graduate social work curricula in Canada. The authors provide recommendations that address the integration of SOGIESC in CASWE-ACFTS's Accreditation Standards and Procedures documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite operating from the same professional accreditation standards, discrepancies in what is recorded as Direct Client Activities (DCA) in postgraduate psychology trainee logbooks have been noted across training programs in Australia. The aim of this study was to create a consensus-based list of DCA to guide the completion of trainee logbooks while undertaking practicums in clinical psychology or clinical neuropsychology. A modified Delphi approach was used to gather data across three rounds. Two expert panels, representing the two areas of practice endorsement (AoPEs), rated the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with a range of activities being recorded as DCA in trainee logbooks. Activities with over 80% agreement or disagreement during any round were accepted or rejected from the final list, respectively. Sixteen activities for clinical psychology and 30 activities for clinical neuropsychology were endorsed by the expert panels. Only nine activities across the two panels did not reach consensus over the three rounds. This study has created a list of consensus activities within these two AoPEs which will facilitate benchmarking activities, and reduce confusion and anxiety for trainees, supervisors, and placement coordinators. Discrepancies do, however, remain across the AoPEs, warranting further clarification and definition refinement. What is already known about this topic: Logbooks are a key strategy in ensuring individual trainees and postgraduate training programs are meeting minimum standards set by accrediting bodies. Although required by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) to be recorded in trainee logbooks, there is a lack of consensus across Australian postgraduate psychology program providers as to what constitutes "Direct Client Activities". Inconsistent logging practices prevents benchmarking and creates confusion and anxiety for trainees, supervisors, and placement coordinators. What this topic adds: This paper was the first, to our knowledge, to obtain expert consensus on trainee Direct Client Activities for logbook recording within the clinical psychology and clinical neuropsychology areas of practice endorsement. The list provides greater certainty for "what counts" as Direct Client Activities for logbook recording within these two areas of practice endorsement, with 16 clinical psychology and 30 clinical neuropsychology activities endorsed. There is a need to better clarify the rationale and principles for recording Direct Client Activities across areas of practice endorsement, to inform ongoing practices in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical educators share the belief that fostering the development of lifelong learning skills is a fundamental task for teachers and learners in all stages of a physician's education: undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, and continuing medical education. A significant challenge to developing and implementing best practices in lifelong learning is the varied interpretation and application of its related terminology, such as 'self-directed learning' in this context. This paper discusses the scholarly origins of key terms in lifelong learning ('self-directed learning' and 'self-regulated learning') and explores their commonalities and their common conflation. The authors propose a renewed attention to precision in use of lifelong learning terminology in medical education across the spectrum as a way to best design and deploy impactful educational experiences for learners at all levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is much debate in the literature concerning the changes necessary for university accounting education to meet the needs of the business environment and broader society. In the USA the Pathways Commission has responded by implementing a programme of evaluation and improvement. In the UK there is no formal agenda for change. This paper compares the situation in the UK to that set out in the Pathways Commission. Two research questions are asked. (1) What should be included in a programme of change in the UK? (2) What are the impediments to the change? The questions are answered by reviewing the literature to firstly consolidate the calls for change and secondly to analyse the circumstances affecting UK accounting degrees. The paper calls on the accountancy profession, universities and academics in the UK to embark on a programme of change similar to the USA to agree a core curriculum, an appropriate academic resourcing strategy and a revised pedagogy. It argues that for significant and lasting change to emerge impediments in three areas need to be addressed. (1) The interface between professional accountancy bodies (PABs) and university academics. (2) The impact of institutional policies on accounting degrees. (3) The identity of UK university accounting academics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Given the growing complexity in British policing, the College of Policing are implementing a Police Education Qualification Framework through a professionalization agenda. This aims to standardise entry to the police and allow serving officers to gain accreditation for their previous training and experience. Part of this process involves the development of a national police curriculum for higher education institutions to deliver to new recruits. Different definitions of what constitutes professionalism can impact on officers' interpretations of this concept and how they subsequently engage with the proposed reforms. This paper, which is based on in depth qualitative interviews with serving officers who have undertaken an academic qualification in policing, suggests that the relationship between police education and the development of professionalism is complex. Officers need to be trusted and encouraged to use their learning in a way that develops their own personal sense of professionalism. However, this paper will argue that current perceptions amongst officers are sceptical of the wider agenda and brings into question the development of a standardised curriculum which may ultimately be viewed as further governance over officer behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romania is a country in south-east Europe, which has experienced major changes in political, educational, and healthcare systems. At the time of writing this paper, there are thirteen accredited Faculties of Medicine, which offer students from all over the world the possibility of becoming doctors. Students in Romania follow a six-year program of activity and there are courses taught in Romanian, English, French, and Hungarian. In this paper, we outline the organization of Romanian medical education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and we indicate the opportunities for curriculum development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the third in a series of papers regarding the redefinition of residential treatment being disseminated by The American Association of Children's Residential Centers (AACRC). The AACRC is the longest standing national association focused specifically on program and policy issues pertaining to the treatment of children and youth in 24-hour out-of-home group settings. For the past few years, AACRC, through its conferences and committee work, has been advancing ideas and showcasing research and innovative programs that highlight the critical role residential treatment can play in community systems of care and the importance of re-engineering and transforming traditional practice models to achieve greater quality, efficacy, efficiency, and effectiveness. This paper will discuss the value of transformation from both the national and organizational perspectives and identify the key foundational structures, already in place in most organizations, which are preconditions for a successful implementation of a transformation agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines an integrative approach to teaching (qualitative) comparative methods at the introductory undergraduate level. The integrative approach does not view methodological instruction as a topic to be treated cursorily at the outset of a course, but rather one to be intertwined throughout an academic term as students simultaneously learn to work with theories and evidence. Syllabi and writing assignments can be structured to emphasize methodological understandings of social science principles. As preliminary evidence, I offer a comparison of two courses in consecutive years. In the first year, the course did not integrate methodology with theory and evidence, and learning outcomes with respect to social science were poor. The following year, the integrative approach dramatically altered student self-reports of their learning about how social science is practiced. Moreover, integrative approaches lend themselves to continued efforts to teach analytical skills for those faced with accreditation challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic farming is a promising agricultural method with positive effects on the human ecological and social environment. Governments have taken over a major role in defining organic farming by creating legal standards. Many countries all over the world have established a certification and accreditation system in order to protect the justified expectations of consumers with regard to processing and controlling the product quality of organic goods and to protecting producers from fraudulent trade practices. As they are relevant to international trade, these standards do not only influence the organic farming movement on the national level but also have a converse impact across national orders. Organic farming was established in a bottom-up process as farmers aimed to design sustainable ways of using natural resources. Farmers' traditional knowledge and their awareness of ecological, as well as, of social affairs was the main base for the development of organic farming. Since public interest in organic fanning has grown rapidly, the ownership on the process of defining organic farming is no longer in the hands of farmers and the original principles and aims of the movement seem to be threatened by a bureaucratic view of ‘recipe’-organic farming. However, unsolved problems also exist between the necessities of global harmonization and the local adaptability of the standards on organic farming. This paper structures the current discussion and gives future prospects for further development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'global responsibility' projects a holistic sense of ethics, sustainability, and obligation. To achieve the long-term viability of human life on Earth, civil engineering must be conducted in increasingly responsible ways, and civil engineers must value and enact global responsibility in their work. Interviews conducted with nine civil engineers in London provide insight regarding engineers' familiarity with the term, how they learned about it, what opportunities and barriers they face, and what might be done by professional and educational institutions to help them practice more responsibly. Results indicate: the term itself is novel but underlying concepts are not; continuing professional development has played a crucial role in their understanding; material selection and Health & Safety represent primary avenues for contributing responsibly at work. This paper provides advice to professional institutions regarding transparencies, procedures, and metrics to enhance the UK workplace and ideas for educational institutions preparing engineering students for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent article we traced the history of quality management (QM) from the guilds in the 10th and 11th centuries and related it to the evolution of QM in forensic science with a particular focus on accreditation. The number of accredited forensic science laboratories has increased enormously, worldwide since forensic science accreditation programmes became available in the 1980s. The standard of choice for the forensic science community became ISO17025 and ISO17020. In this paper, the current standing of QM in forensic science is considered. What has it brought to the forensic community and is the most frequently used standard, ISO17025, the most appropriate one? The notion of 'quality' in the forensic community has almost become synonymous with 'accreditation based on the ISO standards'. This notion is too limited. The publication of the NAS-report in 2009 was very critical of forensic science and its practitioners from a range of perspectives. From a QM perspective a key focus was laboratory accreditation and personal certification. Other publications (e.g. by the UK Forensic Regulator) gave similar opinions. However, it is now clear that the forensic community should broaden its view beyond ISO-accreditation in order to improve its functioning and overall QM performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), which accredits over 840 business schools globally, released a new business school accreditation standards document in 2020. In this paper, we briefly give a retrospective of library references in the AACSB standards over time and an overview of the development of the new standards. We then analyze sections of the new standards where business librarians can play an important role and outline how business librarians can use them in their collaboration with business faculty by mapping library information literacy to the programmatic goals of business schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The figure of the sworn translator–interpreter has a long tradition in Spain and has been approached from a wide variety of perspectives within academic literature. The fact that no licence or qualification is required to work as a translator or interpreter makes accreditation as a sworn translator–interpreter a valuable upgrade for T&I graduates, as it is a requirement to be allowed to provide sworn translations and interpreting services. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation is in charge of organising accreditation exams, which have been criticised for their design, format and transparency (Way, 2003; Vigier Moreno, 2010; Ordóñez López, 2009). This criticism, as well as the extremely low percentages of candidates who obtain accreditation (ranging from 0.3% to 4.4% in the last four examination sessions), make this analysis particularly timely. In this paper, the accreditation process is examined taking into account the concept of legal translator's competence (e.g. Borja, 2005; Prieto Ramos, 2011), the professional reality of sworn translators–interpreters and T&I degree programmes at Spanish universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries face periodic accreditation review, usually on a 10-year cycle in the United States. Being successful at accreditation is a milestone achievement and it takes careful and strategic planning for action items leading up to the review visit. This paper reviews the key activities undertaken by an academic library in a small sized college as it prepared for accreditation visit by Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Focus areas of activities include librarians’ collaboration with teaching faculty, information literacy and student learning outcomes, and library program review. A few recommendations are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The programme outcomes or synonymously known as graduate attributes stipulated in the International Engineering Alliance's graduate attributes and professional competencies serve as a benchmark of standards for engineering education to higher learning institutions in Malaysia as well as other signatory countries under the educational accords. However, with regard to assessing the programme outcomes, the Engineering Accreditation Council Malaysia, similar to most accreditation bodies in the Washington Accord, does not prescribe any specific model to inspire innovation and creativity in assessment. As a result, higher learning institutions often experience challenges in implementing a model that can reflect students' real performances in these programme outcomes. In essence, a few assessment models have been adopted, namely the accumulating, culminating and comprehensive culminating. This review paper unveiled the advantages and disadvantages of these models and revealed why the comprehensive culminating model is a better approach in the Malaysian experience. From the literature review, and document analysis of accreditation visit reports and records from some accreditation bodies and higher learning institutions, a systematic approach to implement the comprehensive culminating assessment model is proposed. This approach will be useful for higher learning institutions and faculty members in the Washington Accord signatory countries in sustaining assessment efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An academic research institution and a corporate hospital system formed a new graduate medical education (GME) consortium. The consortium objectives were to increase the scholarly activity of the residents and fellows in a national hospital system's GME residency program to match the requirements set forth by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. A GME librarian position was created specifically to serve the GME research programs at Florida area hospitals to help with this objective. This paper describes the experience, activities, and lessons learned from the creation of an entirely new GME library program and librarian position for a nine-hospital region in Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are numerous national efforts to determine and develop research priorities of medical education in Saudi Arabia. These priorities were first proposed in 2010 by 'Dr Al-Khuli's Chair for Developing Medical Education in Saudi Arabia'. The proposed priority domains were: curriculum, students, faculty, and quality assurance and accreditation. Aim: To investigate publications in medical education at the national and international levels in areas relating to these proposed priorities. Methods: Electronic search within PubMed database for papers relating to each domain of priority was conducted at national and international levels in the last three years, using the same keywords as the priority domains, but only confined to undergraduate medical education. Results: Out of 3145 articles retrieved when searching with keyword as broad as 'undergraduate medical curriculum' only 81 articles worldwide and 3 articles from Saudi Arabia were dealing with curriculum related issues as a whole. Further search on the sub-domains 'effective strategies to manage undergraduate curriculum' and 'undergraduate medical education models', resulted in the retrieval of few articles worldwide and none from Saudi Arabia. At the national level, there were 63 publications from Saudi Arabia that were either course (topic)-specific or could not be classified under the four domains specified by Dr Al-Khuli's Chair. Conclusion: Research activities in medical education in Saudi Arabia in the last 3 years showed diversity and lack of focus in the research priorities. Efforts of academic and research centers should continue to monitor and encourage these activities toward achieving the recommended priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To borrow a public health concept, there has been a global outbreak, perhaps a pandemic, of new medical schools during the last 20 years, resulting in a diverse range of programs in many different contexts. The question posed was: how should the task of establishing a new medical program be approached in 2018? Methods: Based on involvement with several new medical programs, this paper presents a highly idealistic commentary on what a new medical program might look like. The paper adopts the organizational structure of the World Federation of Medical Education Basic Medical Education standards as a scaffold, because accreditation both locally and globally is intended. Results: The program design reflects both progress in learning technology and the challenges faced in a changing world, where disruption appears inevitable, and innovation may be necessary to produce the medical graduates needed to improve the health status of an expanding, ageing and ailing global population. Conclusion: The program model described represents a combination of educational design, emerging technology and a focus on future health care needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian business schools provide public universities with a reliable stream of revenue to cross-subsidise more expensive course offerings. Thus, the economic narrative views business schools as 'cash cows'. However, a competing narrative has emerged, which contests the legitimacy of business schools and their role as university 'cash cows'. This narrative contends that business schools should focus their efforts on maximising 'public value'. Using the analytical prism of 'public value,' this paper examines how business schools are attempting to gain legitimacy through international accreditation and the critical role that mission statements play in signalling a commitment to creating 'public value'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many European business schools are uniquely European, many top European business schools are increasingly modeled after elite US business schools (Antunes and Thomas [3]); more and more European business schools are also seeking AACSB accreditation (AACSB [1]). An important topic in IB education is to convey the importance of international differences in culture, institutions (economic, political, legal), language, and religion; and the business impact of these differences. The first two articles center on IB teaching for US and European students; the last two papers focus on IB education in Latin America. [Extracted from the article]

Rationale/Purpose: Certification is an institutional mechanism that may, indirectly, have utility for managing the challenges that are likely to be present when the state and voluntary sport clubs (VSCs) connect for sport development. Design/Methodology/Approach: A hermeneutic-dialectic approach guides the adoption of agency theory to conceptualize the state as principal and VSCs as its agents, and to consider agency problems of information asymmetry and divergent interests. Findings: The potential for VSC certification to counter agency problems through harmonization of interests, VSC signaling and reporting of quality and professionalization, state screening and monitoring, and confidence-building through quality assurances, are discussed. Practical Implications: The challenges of certification further inform implications for its indirect application for effectively managing the VSC-state relationship. Research Contribution: The paper advances the limited consideration of both VSC certification and agency theory in the sport literature, combining them for new insights into the potential role of certification for government and community sport relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has developed three editions of a Body of Knowledge (BOK) to define the professional practice of civil engineering. The process has taken close to two decades so far and has established a pattern of continuous change and improvement. The development has been accelerated by two events, The Summit on the Future of Civil Engineering – 2025 in 2006 the ASCE Civil Engineering Education Summit, Mapping the Future of Civil Engineering Education in 2019. This paper reviews this development and its implications for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]