Accreditation of Technical Education and Vocational Training Institutions/Programs

     Dr. Tanka Nath Sharma
     Director, Technical Division
     CTEVT, Nepal

 

 

 

1. INTRODUCTION

The national body, responsible for standardizing and controlling the quality of technical education and training (TET), should have an effective accreditation system to ensure that TET institutions both in the public and the private sector produce tangible evidence concerning the quality and standard of education and training programs.

In an age of accountability, the quality of program offerings must be of paramount interest to all stakeholders including technical and vocational educators. In the present context of economic liberalization and open market system, importance of quality of training is even greater. Only the graduates of those institutions that maintain the quality and standard of training will have better chance of getting high wage employment. How best to address the question of quality and help institutions to improve through a systematic process of evaluation is the major concern of TET. It is evident that accreditation is a process that plays an important role in maintaining educational quality. Involvement of administration, staff, and students in identifying institutional strengths and weaknesses is a cornerstone of a sound accreditation system. An effective accreditation system enhances shared responsibility, authority and accountability among the TET institutions for the purpose of improving the quality, relevancy and efficiency of programs being offered by those institutions. In this article, an attempt has been made to provide general information about accreditation and to trace the steps of the basic accrediting process.

2. WHAT IS ACCREDITATION?

Accreditation is one of the primary methods for maintaining standards of education. It is a process whereby a professional organization or non-governmental agency grants recognition to an educational institution for demonstrated ability in a special area of practice or training. Through the accreditation process, respective organization evaluates and recognizes an institution or program of study as meeting certain predetermined qualification or standards. In 1968, United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare defined accreditation as “ the voluntary process whereby an agency or association grants public recognition to a school, institution, college, university or specialized program of study that meets established qualification and educational standards as determined through initial and periodic evaluation.

Worthen & Sanders (1987) viewed accreditation as one of the approaches of professional review system, which has the following elements:

1.	Structure of organization established to conduct periodic reviews of educational endeavors;
2.	Published standards and instruments for use in such reviews;
3.	A pre-specified schedule (for example, every five years) on which reviews will be conducted;
4.	Opinions of several experts combining to reach the overall judgment of values; and
5.	Impact on the status of that which is reviewed, depending on the outcome.

Accreditation is a formal professional review system in which an organization responsible for quality control grants approval of educational institution. Beginning in the late 1800s, national and regional accreditation agencies gradually emerged in the United States as the borrowed Western European system of educational inspection, and these became potent force in education during 1930s. Education was not alone institutionalizing accreditation. Parallel efforts were underway in other professions, including medicine and law. Using evaluation criteria developed by the accrediting agency, teams of outside educators were sent to review self-study reports of member institutions and make their own observation. Recommendations from the team determined member institution's status. Unlike evaluation that concentrate on outcomes of education and training, accreditation movement concentrated on resources and processes used in education and training. Accrediting agencies guidelines and criteria were more focused to monitor the adequacy of facilities, qualification of staff and appropriateness of program design rather than assessing educational status of graduates.

Traditionally, accreditation is more of a input and process-oriented evaluation system. However, several current accreditation systems aspire to justify their criteria and standards on the basis of empirical links to performance of program graduates (Worthen & Sanders, 1987).

As accreditation systems have matured, they have taken on commonalties that extend to the accreditation of most primary, secondary, and professional schools. The common features of contemporary accreditation as stated by Scriven (1984) include (1) published standards; (2) a self-study by the institution; (3) a team of external assessors; (4) a site visit; (5) a site-team report on the institution; (6) a review of report by some distinguished panel; and (7) a final report and accreditation decision by the accrediting body.

Most of the countries have centralized ministries of education with the responsibility and authority for establishing standards and controlling quality. In some Countries, professional Councils or organizations accredit education and training institutions or programs. In the United States, non-governmental accreditation processes have been developed for several years. Institutions as free enterprises are free to function with or without accreditation in the US. However, institutions using government grants are mandated to produce accreditation report while applying for government grants. In Nepal, responsibility of accrediting Technical Education and Vocational Training program lies on Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) and other relevant professional Councils.

3. ACCREDITATION IN TEVT: SOME ASSUMPTIONS

Accreditation system in Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) sector is guided by the following assumptions:

	The scarce resources should not be wasted through duplicated, redundant or obsolete training.
	Technical education and vocational training must be closely tied to the developmental needs of a Country and employment needs of its people.
	The general public and employers must be ensured of high quality and ethical training delivered by institutions so that graduates will have a realistic chance of employment upon successful completion.
	Accredited training programs provide individuals with maximum possibility for equivalency credit when moving between institutions or seeking certification and or licenser.

An emphasis on local program improvement should remain the guiding principle of accreditation system. Too much emphasis on meeting the government requirements or requirements laid by the national accrediting body can contribute to a sense of burden, the institutions feel that they participate in the accreditation process because they have to. Similarly, too great an emphasis on providing information to external audiences can shift attention away from the place where learning is taking place. Therefore, there need to be a careful balance between the mandate for accreditation beyond the classroom and it should be focused on local institution improvement efforts.

With the increasing realization that technical education and vocational training programs are of paramount importance in the social, educational, and economic scene, more and more emphasis is being placed in quality control. In addition, investment from government or from people in TEVT is significantly higher. Utility and return of the investment would be higher if TEVT institution prepares students of superior quality capable enough to compete for the job in the labor market. The time has come when national responsible body authorized for accreditation takes a public stand for integrity of action. Such national organization must be able to answer to the public such questions as following:

1.	Are all programs of study in each of the TET institutions basically conceived and soundly conducted?
2.	Is the sum of money entrusted to our institutions being effectively and prudently spent?
3.	Is the quality of education and training offered by TET institutions satisfy the needs and requirements?
4.	Are students receiving education and training as demanded by curricula and are TET institutions delivering quality education, training and services to students?
5.	How can we ensure the public that there is a system to protect them from unethical training practices?

4. GOALS OF ACCREDITATION

Based on the literature in accreditation (Miller, 1983; Elkins, 1983) following six goals of accreditation are identified:

1.	To foster excellence in Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) through development of criteria and guidelines for assessing educational effectiveness.
2.	To encourage improvement of institutions and programs through continuous self-study and planning.
3.	To ensure organizations and agencies, the educational community and the general public that an institution or particular program has both clearly defined and appropriate objectives, maintains conditions under which their achievement can reasonably be expected, appears in fact to accomplishing them substantially, and can be expected to continue to do so.
4.	To provide counsel and assistance to establishing and developing institutions and programs.
5.	To encourage the diversity of TEVT and allow institutions to achieve their particular objectives and goals.
6.	To endeavor to protect institutions against encroachments that might jeopardize their educational effectiveness or institutional freedom.

5. PURPOSE OF ACCREDITATION

The purpose of accreditation is to improve the quality of education and training by ensuring that the institution is meeting certain standards. The four purposes of accreditation are (1) identifying institutions or programs of study which have attained minimum quality; (2) serving as a complimentary function of licenser; (3) continuing to provide some protection to institutions of reasonable quality from improper competition; and (4) stimulating continued improvement.

6. OBJECTIVES OF ACCREDITATION

Objectives of Accreditation are to:

1.	Assist prospective students in identifying acceptable institutions;
2.	Assist institutions in determining the acceptability of transfer credits;
3.	Help to identify institutions and programs for the investment of public and private funds;
4.	Protect institutions against harmful internal and external pressure;
5.	Create goals for improvement of weak programs and stimulate raised standards among education and training institution;
6.	Establish criteria for professional certification and licenser; and,
7.	Serve as one of several considerations used as a basis for determining eligibility for government assistance. (Andrew & Schwab, 1993).

7. TYPES OF ACCREDITATION

In general, there are two types of accreditation - institutional and specialized.

7.1 Institutional Accreditation

Institutional accreditation is also known as general accreditation. It is concerned with the quality of an institution, its overall objectives and its ability to achieve those objectives. Institutional accreditation indicates that total institution is achieving its own specified objectives in a satisfactory manner.

7.2 Specialized Accreditation

Specialized accreditation applies to an individual curriculum, department or program within an institution. It aims at protecting public against professional or occupational incompetence. It is also known as program or professional accreditation. Such accreditation is conferred on a national basis by a national organization mobilizing a team of experts or representatives of professional organizations.

8. ACCREDITATION CLASSIFICATION

8.1 For institutions/programs which are not fully operational

Two accreditation classification awarded for programs which are not fully operational "Accreditation Eligible" is normally awarded to any program which in the planning or early stages of development or an intermediate stage of program implementation. It provides evidence to the concerned organization that, at the time of evaluation, the developing educational program or institution appears to have potential meeting the standards set forth by the accrediting body.

"Preliminary Provisional Approval" is normally awarded to grant initial accreditation, specially for short term, to an education and/or training program or institution to assure the concerned organizations that the program/institution is developing or has developed according to the guidelines and standards established by the accrediting agency. Preliminary Provisional Approval is granted for a period not exceeding eighteen months (in some cases two years).

8.2 For programs which are fully operational

Following accreditation classification is in practice and applies to programs or institutions, which are fully operational.

8.2.1 Approval

An accreditation classification granted to an educational program or institution indicating that the program or institution, in general, achieves or exceeds the basic requirements for accreditation. This accreditation classification specifies that the program or institution has no serious deficiencies or weaknesses. However, the accreditation team may suggest the institution for the enhancement of the program quality in their evaluation report.

8.2.2 Conditional Approval

An accreditation classification granted to an educational program or institution indicating that specific deficiencies weaknesses exist in one or more basic areas. The deficiencies or weaknesses exist in one or more basic areas of the program or institution are considered of such nature that they can be corrected in a reasonable length of time. This accreditation classification is considered adequate to meet the eligibility requirements for licenser or certifying board examination.

8.2.3 Provisional Approval

An accreditation classification granted to an educational program or institution indicating that the program or institution has number of major deficiencies or weaknesses in one or more specific areas. This accreditation classification signifies the seriousness of the deficiencies or weaknesses but considered but adequate to meet the eligibility requirements for licenser and certifying board examination. The deficiencies and weaknesses are considered of such magnitude that, if not corrected, withdrawal of program's or institution's accreditation will result.

9. ACCREDITATION PROCESS

The following steps are followed in the process of accreditation whether it is programmatic (specialized) or institutional:

Step 1: Preparation of guidelines and standards:

The national accrediting body establishes a set of guidelines and standards to measure performance of TET institution/program. The guideline and standards serve the institution in determining item by which the accreditation commission will base its findings following the initial evaluation. The following are the most common topics included in the standards for accrediting occupational training institutions/programs.

	Philosophy, goals, purpose and objectives of the institution/program,
	Organization, administration and governance,
	Long-range planning,
	Training programs and instruction,
	Instructional staff
	Students and students' services
	Library and media services
	Equipment and materials
	Physical facilities
	Financial resources
	Placement and follow-up
	Community relations

Performance indicators and assessment tools are developed based on these standards.

Step 2: The Application

The institution seeking accreditation will receive descriptive materials and guidelines that they can be ready for the process. Based on the guidelines, institutions will make request for institutional or specialized accreditation by contacting the specific accrediting agency. Important descriptive information and materials are to be submitted with the application forms. Therefore, an investigative committee will visit the institution to make recommendation to the accrediting body as to whether the institution is reasonably prepared for the self study. In a country where a team supervision and monitoring system is in place, the report of the monitoring team may serve the purpose of the investigative committee.

Step 3: Self-Study

The self-study phase of accreditation is considered to be the most beneficial part of the process. A self-study includes both document produced by the institution and the process used to produce the document. The on-site visit team to conduct assessment of applicant institution uses the document prepared by the institution during self-study.

Self-study should be an on-going process for the purpose of institutional improvement. Whether used for accreditation or other purposes, self-study is an analysis by in-house staff of an institution concerning its effectiveness and resources in fulfilling its mission. The institution, under the direction of self-study committee, begins to examine its philosophy, and objectives and how they relate to the standards specified by the accrediting agency. It is important to involve entire institution through various committees in the self-study process to collect data and tally strengths and weaknesses on various elements. The self-study is an important step in accreditation process. It not only provides the opportunity for the institution to take a deeper look into its operation but is also used extensively by the visiting committee during on-site evaluation.

Step 4: On-Site Visit

Another important phase of accreditation process is the on-site visit by the visiting committee consisting experts selected by the accrediting agency. The team may consist of five to twenty-five members, depending on the institution to be accredited (Andrew & Schwab, 1993). The committee spends three to four days observing the institution operation, instructional delivery, meeting with institutional representatives and students, touring the facilities, and reviewing various documents. The self-study guide, which the visiting team received several weeks prior to the site visit, serves as the useful document in evaluating various aspects of the institution.

Step 5: Reporting

The visiting team meets as body to review the outcomes of the site visit. In this meeting, each individual member submits their findings and discusses the institution as a whole. The structure, content and recommendations concerning the visited institution should be the consensus of the total committee. Under the leadership of the chairperson of the on-site visit committee, a final evaluation report is prepared and submitted to the accrediting agency.

Step 6: Granting Recognition

Based on the findings of the final evaluation report, the accrediting agency may grant or withdraw recognition. Once an institution is accepted into membership and accredited or pre-accredited, its name will appear in accrediting agency's publication as a recognized institution. The accredited institution will be reaccredited in an interval of 3 to 5 years.

10. CONCLUSION

Accreditation is a quality assessment system in TEVT which serves two major purposes. On the one hand it aims at improving the instruction and learning activities, it provides the accountability to the outside world regarding the quality of education and training programs and the use of resources to this end. Quality improvement and accountability are the underlying principles of quality assurance systems in TEVT.

Despite its long history, accountability through accreditation in education and training means different thing to different people. There is little consensus about how to apply the concept intelligently and creatively. For an effective accountability system through accreditation it is essential that: (a) the goals of TEVT should be clarified, then ratified , initiated by the legislature and completed by the people; (b) policies and programs should be evaluated in terms of how directly they contribute to the attainment to the shared goals; (c) educators should develop programs and practices that helps students to achieve agreed upon goals; (d) policy makers should provide the resources and adopt the policies that will enable educators to provide such programs and practices; (e) the responsibility authority should establish the accreditation and accountability mechanism independent of policy makers and professional educators; (f) the accountability mechanism through accreditation should have authority to evaluate programs in terms of how well they attain stipulated goals; (g) professional education organizations should assume responsibility for helping their members improve; and (h) TEVT institutions should create collaborative working relationships.

REFERENCES

1.	Accrediting Occupational Training Institutions ; Unpublished Document. Kathmandu: Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training, 1993.
2.	Andrew, Michael D. and Richard L. Schwab. "Outcome Centered Accreditation: Is Teacher Education Ready?", Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 44 No. 3, 1993.
3.	Elkins, C. M. "Accreditation: Dispelling the Myths". Journal of Applied Health. pp. 249 - 261, 1983.
4.	Hoachlander, E.G, K. Levesque and M.L. Rahn. Accountability for Vocational Education : A Practitioner's Guide. Berkeley: University of California,1992.
5.	Miller, J.W. Organization Structure of Nongovernmental Postsecondary Accreditation: Relationship to Use of accreditation. Washington DC. National commission on accrediting. p. 89-103. (1983).
6.	Scriven, P.C. "Recruitment, Retention, Selection: the Shape of the Teaching Force", Elementary School Journal, vol. 4, pp. 467-488, 1984.
7.	Worthenm B.R. and James R Sanders. Educational Evaluation, Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines. New York: Longman Group Ltd, 1987.