Information Literacy in the Programmatic University

Accreditation Standards of Select Professions in Canada, the United States, the United

Kingdom, and Australia

Cara BradleyUniversity of Regina

Saskatchewan, Canada

Accreditation

Official certification that a school, course, etc., has met standards established by external regulators; a professional endorsement or qualification of this kind.– Oxford English Dictionary

Why Accreditation?

• Quality control• Student employability• Workforce mobility• Public safety• Continuous improvement

Accreditation—The Process

Data gathering

Self-study report

Site visitAccredit-

ation report

Self-reflection

Accreditation Levels

Institutional AccreditationProgramma

tic Accreditationi.e. Nursing

Programmatic Accreditationi.e. Engineering

Information Literacy and Accreditation

• Limited literature about libraries and institutional accreditation– Dalrymple (2001); Gratch-Lindauer

(2002)

• Even less on information literacy and institutional accreditation– Saunders (2007, 2008, 2011)

But what about IL in programmatic accreditation?

• Saunders notes her “focus is . . . on information literacy and assessment requirements at the institutional level, not the program or course level, which is also relevant” (2007, p. 320).

• Ruediger & Jung 2007; Milne & Thomas 2008; Oxnam 2003; Murphy & Saleh 2009

Social Work Nursing Engineering Canada Standards for accreditation.

Canadian Association for Social Work Education

Accreditation program information.

Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing

Accreditation criteria and procedures. Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board

United States

Educational policy and accreditation standards.

Council on Social Work Education

NLNAC accreditation manual including the 2008 standards and criteria.

National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc.

Criteria for accrediting engineering programs: effective for reviews during the 2012-2013 accreditation cycle.

Engineering Accreditation Commission. Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology

United Kingdom

Standards of education and training.

Health & Care Professions Council

Standards for pre-registration nursing education.

Nursing & Midwifery Council

The accreditation of higher education programmes: UK standard for professional engineering competence.

Engineering Council Australia Australian social work education

and accreditation standards.

Australian Association of Social Workers

Registered nurses: standards and criteria for the accreditation of nursing and midwifery courses leading to registration, enrolment, endorsement and authorisation in Australia—with evidence guide.

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council

Accreditation criteria guidelines.

Engineers Australia. Accreditation Board

Guiding Principles

• Undergraduate only• Version in use December 2012• Main accreditation document• Supplemental documents excluded

Methodology

• Content analysis–Macro-level for key terms – Nuanced qualitative analysis• Deductive category application

– ACRL standards formed basis of categories

Objective 1

• Determine if, and in what context, the terms library and information literacy (or equivalent language) are used in nursing, social work, and engineering accreditation criteria.

Findings

• Outcomes rather than inputs– Except in (rare) references to the library

• Complete absence of term “information literacy”

Findings, continued• Terminology varies within the

professions themselvesNursing Social Work

Canada “evidence” “social work research”

US “evidence” “evidence”“research based knowledge”

UK “evidence”“evidence based”

Australia “nursing inquiry”

“evidence”“research”

Findings, continued

• Engineering terminology closest to LIS language: – “information”– “sources”– “technical literature”– “materials and resources”

Findings, continued

LIFELONG LEARNING!

Objective 2

• Map the connections between requirements outlined in nursing, social work, and engineering accreditation standards of four countries: Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, to the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education.

Standard 1: Determines the nature and extent of the information needed

Nursing

Social Work

Engineering

“Appreciate the value of evidence”

“understand the value of research”

“frame appropriate questions”

“use appropriate knowledge and skills to identify, formulate . . complex engineering problems”

“seeking information from the widest practicable range of sources”

“seek out relevant research”

“using research”

“seek . . . current evidence”

Standard 2: Accesses needed information effectively and efficiently

Nursing

Social Work

Engineering

“Accesses commonly used evidence based sources”

“information retrieval

skills”

“an ability to create, select, apply, adapt, and extend appropriate techniques, resources, and modern engineering tools to a range of engineering activities “

“ability to systematically and effectively source . . . relevant information”

“distinguish . . . multiple sources of knowledge, including research-based knowledge”

Standard 3: Evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base

and value system

Nursing

Social Work

Engineering

“be able to . . . appraise research”

“to assess the

accuracy, reliability

and authenticity

of information”

“critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data”

“synthesis of information in order to reach valid conclusions”

“think critically . . . identifying the knowledge used”

“acquire knowledge and skills to critique . . . social work research”

“appraise . . . multiple sources of knowledge”

“Learners acquire and apply critical appraisal skills”

Standard 4: Individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific

purpose

Nursing

Social Work

Engineering

“communicate information, ideas,

problems and solutions to both

specialist and non-specialist audiences”

“ability to use and apply information from the technical literature”“developing a

propensity to . . . apply new

information”

“use research evidence to inform practice”

“apply social work knowledge, as well as knowledge from other disciplines, to advance professional practice, policy development, research, and service provision”

“All practice should be informed by the best available evidence”

“an understanding of all aspects of nursing inquiry and skills in applying research to their practice”

Standard 5: Understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses

information ethically and legally 

Nursing

Social Work

Engineering

“develop an understanding of the ethics of research and of applying research to practice”

“awareness of the

nature of intellectual property”

“Understanding of and commitment to ethical and professional responsibilities

“an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility”

“use of process recordings, audio and videotapes and social media, and clearly identifying ownership of such material.”

Objective 3

• Identify possible entry points for librarians looking to advance information literacy efforts through alignment with programmatic accreditation criteria, and raise awareness of the potential for librarian/faculty collaboration in meeting accreditation requirements.

Findings

• Librarians should:– Familiarise themselves with

accreditation bodies and standards for their liaison areas

– Become active partnership in the accreditation process

– Approach academic departments to offer assistance

– Use language of accreditation documents rather than LIS terminology

Findings, continued

–Make explicit connections between their skills and requirements of accreditation

– Focus on student learning outcomes rather than inputs

– Continually emphasise library contribution to accreditation, not just in months leading up to review

– Document, assess, and report on IL initiatives on an ongoing basis

Findings, continued

• Over the longer term:– Librarians and their professional

associations engaged in development/revision of accreditation standards

– Involve non-librarian academics and professionals in future revisions to librarianship’s information literacy standards

Conclusions

• Programmatic accreditation is highly valued by faculty and administrators.

• There are many outcomes of common concern between the accreditation documents and the library profession’s information literacy standards, helping libraries make explicit connections between their skills and services and accreditation requirements.

• Librarians can meaningfully advance information literacy on their campuses through clearly connecting their work with the requirements, and language, of programmatic accreditation standards.

Photo creditsAll photos are from flickr. com, and have a Creative Commons license:• Slide 1: University of Regina, jimmywayne [Jimmy Emerson]• Slide 2: Foggy, computer_saskboy• Slide 3: Huskies at Rams Playoffs, Huskies Outsider [Huskies Football]• Slide 9: Mosaic Regina - First Nations Pavillion, courosa [Alec Couros]• Slide 10: URegina Interior, dexotaku [Derek Gunnlaugson]• Slide 11: University of Regina, Bipro Ranjan Dhar• Slide 12: University of Regina, courosa [Alec Couros]• Slide 14: Library, jimmywayne [Jimmy Emerson]• Slide 15: College Campus, ahhhh [Ahmad van der Breggen]• Slide 22: University of Regina [360 pano], dexotaku [Derek Gunnlaugson]• Slide 25: Mosaic Regina – First Nations Pavillion, courosa [Alec Couros]• Slide 27: Inside First Nations University, Jeff Samsonow