Linking Professional Bodies and Higher Education: Building on a Research Enriched Network

1. Linking Professional Bodies and Higher Education: Building on a Research Enriched Network Andy Friedman Director of PARN IHEQN Conference - 17 October 2006

2. Agenda • Introduce PARN • Research information on accreditation and relations between Professional Bodies & Higher Education Institutions • Suggestions on what can be done in future in terms of research and networking through PARN

3. PARN- Professional Associations Research Network • Set up in 1998 • Located in Bristol, England: connected to Bristol University • A Membership organisation for Professional Associations (including regulatory bodies, learned societies, trade unions for professionals) • 133 Professional bodies 113 UK 15 Ireland 3 Canada 2 Australia

4. Professional Associations Research Network PARN: A Research-Enriched Network Aims • To increase the profile of issues relating to professionals, professionalism and professional associations through research and networking with the aim of determining and promoting professional good practice • To encourage professionalisation; particularly of professional associations • To become the premier international knowledge base on Professional Associations

5. Research projects • Continuing Professional Development • member relations and routes to membership • governance • professional ethics • operational strategy Current projects • Ethical Competence • CPD and the Internet Future projects • Long-term visioning for professional associations • Extension of ethical codes analysis to Ireland, Canada & Australia • Changing Patterns of Volunteering • Competition Acts and new (de)regulation

6. Research Project Books Member Relations and Strategy: supporting member involvement and retention 19 October 2006 Governance of Professional Associations: theory and practice 2006 Analysing Ethical Codes of UK Professional Bodies 2005 Critical Issues in CPD 2005 Professional Associations in Ireland: comparative study with the UK 2004 The Professionalisation of UK Professional Associations: governance, management & member Relations 2004

7. Research Project Books Other books published 1999-2003 include: 2 on governance 4 on CPD 1 on ethical codes 1 on routes to membership

8. Conferences and workshops • London 19 Oct 06 Strategy & Member Relations • Bristol 17 Jan 07 Growing Pains of Smaller PA’s • Dublin 15 Mar 07 Professionalisation of Irish PA’s • London 24 April 07 Ethical Competence • Ottawa 15 May 07 Professionalisation of Canadian PA’s • London 21 June 07 PARN Annual Conference • Sydney Sept/Oct 07 Professionalisation of Australian PA’s

9. Information services – Consultancy - Website Information service for members • Short desk research activities • Member Enquiries Consultancy & training • Governance reviews, Induction, Individual Board Member Evaluations • Member Services • Support for Professional Ethics Website with many useful resources • some publicly available, • most in members only section including CPD Spotlight

10. Information Bases Surveys of professional associations UK (April- July 2006) 111 responses of 340 Ireland (June-Oct 2006) 21 responses of 120 so far, survey open until the end of this month Canada (Oct–Dec 2006) launching this week Australia (Feb-April 2007) Australianising now

11. Information Bases 128 questions in 7 sections • Organisation, Governance, • Operations, Membership, • Initial Qualification &CPD, Ethics & Standards, • External Affairs & PR Books will include • case studies from follow-up calls • Models from previous research projects

12. Awarding and accrediting: National

13. Awarding & accrediting: size in Ireland

14. Awarding & accrediting: size in UK

15. Size distribution Survey vs Population

16. Member Enquiry on accreditation • Does your organisation accredit education or degree programmes? • Have you experienced any hurdles (e.g. differences in perspective or priorities) when working with educational institutions? • If so, how have you overcome these hurdles? • How do you think professional bodies and educational institutions could collaborate more effectively? • What are your views on ‘Breathing fire: Professional bodies have a stranglehold on higher education’ Guardian, 18 July 2006 Sent out 2 October, 13 responses so far

17. Breathing Fire: VC - U Central England ‘Slaying dragons can be fun … when the dragons in question are bureaucratic monsters flying on wings of red tape. …multitude of professional societies that have taken it upon themselves to validate university courses in their discipline … Their only consistency is inconsistency. … real objection … not their sentimental attachment to bits of the syllabus that should have been abandoned in the last ice age; … interference in the process by which students gain qualifications.’ Insisting on particular staff student ratios, that some staff be fellows of the association. ‘Another scam is for the society to demand only students with three As at A-level and a minor Nobel prize be allowed to join the course… ‘lecturers …come up with vaguely plausible demands for resources. They then decree that these are essential … insist that universities stuff extra staff and cash into their course. ‘any unfortunate subject that doesn’t have a professional body to run an extortion racket on its behalf. Bad luck … humanities’

18. Players in the Field containing Higher Ed • Governments: encourage perceived gap between higher education and (business) employment needs to be removed for national economic development and security. • Many business people have a similar view, but self-train. • Most university administrators - get on with becoming entrepreneurial on their own terms. Able to act quickly in response to strategic opportunities. New courses quickly. Some want to maintain international research reputations. • Academics - get on with their research and teaching free from administrative burden from top and from outside bodies. • Students - get good jobs at the end, good social experience, pursue interests in subject and potential career, good teaching. • Professional associations - attract best entrants to profession and maintain standards. This can also => restricting supply.

19. Member Enquiry Responses Hurdles experienced I • Reluctance to apply for accreditation by some institutions (costs? lack of perceived benefit?) • Resistance of universities to relate what they do to a professional outcome • Knowledge gap of some academics re where practice has been developing • Competing demands academic/research vs clinical/applied • Reluctance to accept higher standards for entry and completion esp. subjects (and institutions) that are vulnerable re student numbers • Overseas universities and those who are only in the subject in a limited way are challenged

20. Member Enquiry Responses Hurdles experienced II • Direct teaching requirements mean a higher staff/student ratio than many institutions are willing to provide • We want to ensure training leads to capable ethical practitioners and universities seem to want to meet their targets re numbers and income

21. Member Enquiry Responses Overcoming Hurdles I • Collaboration among players on accreditation guidelines: education institutions, employers, postgrad students • Annual updates ed framework & accreditation process • Dedicated accreditation coordinator to ensure regular updates and guidance to assist ed institutions • Benchmarking vs other accreditation procedures to support coordination • Get ed institutions to rely more on their internal expertise • Better links in advance of accreditation: prep for questions • Carry more research based articles in our journal and citing more sources for recommended practices

22. Member Enquiry Responses Overcoming Hurdles II • Better use of Council members who are senior academics • Need clearer differentiation between general Humanities degrees and pre-professional programs • degree about journalism vs degree designed to prepare you to become a journalist. • Have representatives of degree awarding universities on ed committees of professional bodies • Better coordination at universities between department and faculty academics with academic managers concerned with quality control • Certificates of excellence scheme from prof bodies for top students on each accredited course

23. Member Enquiry Responses Reaction to article • Cynical • Professional bodies aim to protect the public and promote the highest professional standards possible. This is a worthwhile aim and requires policies. • View of author not that of heads of departments who have been through our accreditation • Prof bodies have a better understanding of what is happening in the real world than lecturers which reflect theoretical world as understood by lecturers • Some universities are profoundly resistant to the idea of relating what they do to a professional outcome.

24. Ethics – Analysing Ethical Codes Analysed 70 professional ethical codes Accessed through association websites Examined clause by clause and classified by: • type of obligation, • to whom obligation owed, • severity of obligation Found problems of • Accessibility • Clarity • Consistency

25. Ethics – Analysing Ethical Codes

26. Ethical Competence • Knowledge • Capacity • Technical Competence • Ethical Competence Ability to apply knowledge in an ethical manner as in ethical codes of professional associations • knowing when to apply & when to forbear from applying knowledge, based on ethical principles • what is ‘right’ + not ‘right’, taking into account client needs & what is morally correct + sensitive to the situation of clients + other stakeholders in broad sense

27. Further research and benchmarking Develop models of accreditation based on benchmarking • Philosophies and aims • Nature of standards • Processes and procedures • Supports and connections to ethical codes, prizes. • Collaboration: who involved and when Incorporate normative elements What works Interesting practice Benchmark education institutions as well as professional bodies