A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Just as there cannot be a national voluntary skill standards system without portable credentials based on the third party assessment, some believe that without program standards you will never have people qualified to pass the tests -- whatever form they may take. (This observation was made by a skill standards project director who has had long years of experience in managing international certification services.) Such an observation is supported by a long history of industry associations and professional societies seeking better qualified graduates. Program standards are a natural by-product of skill standards. How they are used and by whom needs to be carefully considered.

The proliferation of specialized accreditation organizations has grown rapidly since early in this century. The medical and law professions established their occupation specific oversight organizations to judge the quality of institutions graduating individuals for their professions. The growth of such organizations has focused primarily on postsecondary institutions. Periodically presidents of institutions have taken the lead to try to find the means to establish some order to the processes. The latest general uprising emanating from the presidents of postsecondary institutions occurred about five years ago. Their concerns centered on cost and proliferation of specialized program accreditation activities occurring on their campuses. A new organization emerged as a result, the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation (CORPA). CORPA has worked with the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education to seek a more coherent process for accreditation purposes. How much accreditation is enough is the primary issue. Many institutional leaders believe that specialized accreditation is more of a fight over financial resources and control of the education program than it is over standards and sound educational practices. These are natural tensions that will remain in any search for use of standards to assist in the measurement of quality programs (Miller,1995).

Promoting program quality specifically for programs requiring less than a bachelor's degree has had a special set of problems. For example, the state of Georgia several years ago established a state agency responsible for providing oversight for technical institutions. They required that all occupational training be based on industry standards. They wanted to ensure that there were common programs of study with the same indicators of success used across all of the institutions in the state. Unfortunately, they found a reluctance of the institutional accrediting body for their region to incorporate such requirements. Other postsecondary technical schools across the country had similar problems with the academic-focused accrediting organizations. From this experience a new accrediting body, the Commission on Occupational Education Institutions, was created and has gained recognition by the U.S. Department of Education and is nationwide in its scope (Miller,1995). The state of Washington has recently followed suit by using industry standards to drive the program approval process by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. The STW implementation strategy is based on developing industry standards to guide the development of competency-based instruction (MPR,1996). As noted earlier NATEF, over time, has developed substantial leverage over the content of automotive service programs. Even in states with minimal control over local programs, the force of industry expectations have driven acceptance of these national program standards.

Miller provides caution regarding accreditation, beyond the tensions discussed earlier. Accreditation is an involved and expensive process. But, other less expensive steps can be taken such as preparing well-designed and implemented information and consulting programs. This can include information essential for developing effective curriculum and instruction. Staff or "certified" consultants of the sponsoring organization could be tapped to make presentations to instructional staffs and seminars could be sponsored by the standards body as well. "Retired" forms of certification examinations could be sold to educational providers for a marginal fee to help promote the quality of the programs.

Lessons from some skill standard pilot projects suggest that one of the most positive values of standards for accrediting bodies are that the standards allow the quality assurance organization to focus on program outcomes and substantially reduce the reliance on inputs. If more accrediting bodies were to adopt standards for use in this way it may help eventually minimize some concerns of institutions plus generate improved accountability processes for both the institutions and the national accrediting organization.

Connecting to International Quality Assurance Systems

Other approaches to quality assurance can be adapted from industry-based models. The International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 series of standards focuses on quality management and assurance. The American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) is the international representative for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on the international committee. The ISO 9000 series framework includes a requirement for training. It states that:

"The supplier shall establish and maintain documented procedures for identifying training needs and provide for the training of all personnel performing activities affecting quality. Personnel performing specific assigned tasks shall be qualified on the basis of appropriate education, training, and/or experience, as required. Appropriate records of training shall be maintained." (ISO, in Sheets,1994).

ASQC has published a set of guidelines information on how to apply ISO standards to education and training providers being used by some education institutions. Also some states, working through the National Governors' Association, are exploring the establishment of a common framework to measure quality based on ISO principles and those found in the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award (Sheets,1994).

Sheets, an experienced researcher and consultant in the area of standards development and use, advocates that the NSSB should employ the work of ISO, collaborate with the United States' international standards organization, ANSI, as well as the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is responsible for the Baldrige Award. The purpose of such collaboration would be to tie quality assurance techniques employed by the private sector and recognized internationally with that used by the education and training system. He recognizes that the current efforts do not yield an obvious framework that will exactly match the needs of the NSSB but feels one can be devised. This makes sense. If such a framework were to be developed by NSSB, it will need to include lessons learned by those that have established successful program standards. Whatever such a framework would look like, the cost, particularly for publicly funded institutions, will need to be considered.
-###-

[Assessment]

[Staff and Leadership Development Issues]