bps.uk/accreditation

1. Employability: Making the Psychology graduate a strong competitor in the job marketThe contribution of course accreditation Lucy Kerry (Quality Assurance Manager, The British Psychological Society) www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

2. Introductions What’s my perspective? Management of the Society’s accreditation processes Management of the Quality Assurance team (includes two psychology graduates) www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

3. Accreditation Accreditation evaluates courses against published curriculum content and resource requirements. Accreditation of undergraduate and conversion programmes for GBR. Accreditation of Masters programmes for Stage 1 of the requirements for Chartered Psychologist status. Accreditation of Doctoral programmes for Stage 2 or the complete requirements for Chartered Psychologist status. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

4. Accreditation and employability Accreditation of Doctorates very closely tied to student employability in the relevant applied area (e.g. clinical psychologists and the NHS). Accreditation of Masters programmes very closely tied to graduates seeking employment that enables them to complete the requirements for Chartered Psychologist status (e.g. educational psychology in Scotland; criminal justice system for forensic psychology). Less explicit focus on employability through accreditation of UG programmes. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

5. The link to employability 1 Where accreditation serves an explicit employability function, this is mostly supported through articulation of detailed curriculum requirements and some expectations around skills development (variable). Positives: clearer evidence base for students to draw on when marketing their skills to employers; clearer guidance for people designing and delivering courses. Negatives: can be perceived as overly-prescriptive; pressure to fit too much in to an already crowded curriculum; potentially less space for courses (and therefore students) to develop their own identity so students may have to work harder to demonstrate why they are the strongest candidate for a job. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

6. The link to employability 2 Undergraduate course accreditation sets curriculum requirements (based on QAA benchmark). Alongside curriculum, benchmark statement sets out expectations around development of transferable skills. This is not mirrored in the accreditation process. This was a deliberate decision aimed at supporting universities in taking a flexible approach to skills development. GQAC and PEB’s view: evaluating skills development is very different to evaluating e.g. strategies for assessing academic learning  avoid creating more work for universities and reviewers, and creating ‘another box to tick’. General view that universities would be doing this anyway, so little need for further specification. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

7. What do employers want? 1 Siobhan Hugh-Jones (2008) – emphasises the need for graduates to be able to: market themselves; evidence their claims; reflect on their learning and experience; and demonstrate professionalism. Laura Dean (2008:14): Graduates need to evidence that they have the appropriate skills or competencies, which means they need to be both developed whilst at university and students need to be taught to recognise and articulate them. These expectations are not unique to psychology. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

8. What do employers want? 2 A number of specific instances where employer needs have been debated recently in the context of accreditation. Clinical and counselling psychology Doctoral graduates and IAPT High Intensity posts – how to market CBT competence? Revised arrangements for educational psychology training in England, Northern Ireland and Wales – making the transition to a new training model, then meeting the challenge of accommodating the needs of a new purchaser of training (CWDC). Similar debate in relation to undergraduate programmes is inhibited by the wide range of employers recruiting psychology graduates  less obvious avenues for discussion/networks. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

9. What do students want? 1 Students on accredited Masters or Doctorate courses have already selected their career pathway and want to qualify and get employment in that area. Some undergraduate psychology students will have clear aspirations towards particular psychology careers; others will have chosen to study psychology for its breadth and applicability to a range of working environments. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

10. What do students want? 2 Some students (e.g. Katherine Cartmell 2008) think adherence to GBR curriculum requirements limits student choice of psychology modules. This perception is clearly shared by some universities, but others have developed innovative structures incorporating a GBR pathway. Benchmark statement less prescriptive than former syllabus  greater freedom for universities to pursue aspects of the curriculum in greater depth. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

11. The Society and employability Some temptation to simply add to the accreditation criteria – e.g. setting employability targets, adding in requirements around skills development. But this isn’t really very helpful (ownership). Best examples of good practice are those where programmes have taken a strategic/holistic approach to embedding skills development: use of PBL to support group work (inter- and/or multi-disciplinary) and development of skills in specific areas; Inclusion of a distinct personal/professional development strand to support students’ reflection on their learning and skills, whether via the curriculum/modular structure or via the assessment strategy. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

12. Accreditation: a help or a hindrance? Overall a mixed picture, but: Where development of particular skills and knowledge is a must for employment in certain sectors, it is helpful to specify this to establish a baseline across courses. Where those skills may offer a route in to a range of professional contexts, it is perhaps better not to specify. The accreditation process should provide a forum for constructive debate about employability. There is a need to ensure that, where challenges are identified, we enter into dialogue aimed at finding pragmatic solutions. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

13. Accreditation: future directions QA processes are being reviewed in light of feedback. Proposal for developing some generic standards that all accredited courses must meet (regardless of level): diversity, and personal and professional development, both feature prominently here. Seeking to achieve a more two-way, collaborative approach to accreditation: accreditation in partnership. We hope universities will utilise peer review through accreditation as an opportunity to share the challenges they face in relation to employability (or any other issues) or to explore ideas. The better our knowledge of universities’ approaches to employability, the better we’ll be able to support psychology students and our members in the future. www.bps.org.uk/accreditation

14. Thank you! Any questions? www.bps.org.uk/accreditation