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ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND ACCREDITATION

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND ACCREDITATION. Legitimizing the Teaching of Intelligence Bill Spracher Editor, National Defense Intelligence College Doctoral Student, George Washington University Member, IAFIE Educational Practices Committee June 24, 2008. THINKPIECE #1.

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ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND ACCREDITATION

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  1. ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONACADEMIC STANDARDS AND ACCREDITATION Legitimizing the Teaching of Intelligence Bill Spracher Editor, National Defense Intelligence College Doctoral Student, George Washington University Member, IAFIE Educational Practices Committee June 24, 2008

  2. THINKPIECE #1 • What are we teaching? Intelligence Studies or Intelligence Education • Accreditation ramifications • Certification possibilities • Intelligence just one component of National Security Professional Development (NSPD) effort ongoing at federal level

  3. THINKPIECE #2 How to beat a dead horse to death: • Is Intelligence a profession? • If not, is National Security a profession? • Is Intelligence Studies a discipline? Mature? Emerging? • Is Intelligence Education interdisciplinary? Multidisciplinary?

  4. THINKPIECE #3 Current buzzword de jour: Core Competencies • How can we take a competency-based approach to teaching intelligence? • Can a competencies framework serve as a metric for certification/accreditation? • Intelligence competencies under development by ODNI cross-walked with national security competencies developed by NSPD Integration Office under OPM/OMB • Latter very broad and generic; former more specific and comprehensive

  5. THINKPIECE #4 For accreditation: • Balance between descriptive and prescriptive; include history, current practice, and futures approach • Mix of faculty between theorists and practitioners (ideal—recruit professors who have experience in both, i.e., true scholar-practitioners) • Build on IC CAE foundation (and resources) but think more broadly • Establish a team of experts who have the time to travel Can IAFIE serve as an accrediting body? If not, merely a certifying agency?

  6. THINKPIECE #5 Should we take a different approach at each educational level? One suggestion: • Certificate level focused on individual core skills/ homeland security topics • BA/BS level focused on intro to intelligence studies/ national security studies/regional specialization/ foreign languages • MA/MS level focused on intelligence analysis • PhD/EdD level focused on intelligence management/ organizational leadership

  7. THINKPIECE #6 Regarding IAFIE’s three major vectors: • What do private sector/competitive intelligence types need? Certificate only? Bachelor’s degree? MBA? • What do law enforcement intelligence types need? Certificate? Associate degree? Bachelor’s degree? • What do national security intelligence types need? Bachelor’s degree? Master’s? Doctorate? How can we better integrate the three vectors? Should we even try? Can we help close the breach between the higher education and intelligence communities? Or is some separation healthy?

  8. THINKPIECE #7 The first “I” in IAFIE stands for “International” • What can we learn from our international colleagues? • How closely linked should we be? How can we link up more effectively? • Are intelligence studies programs accredited/certified abroad? • Is there a similar breach in other countries, or is this a cultural malady peculiar to the U.S.? Does everything we’ve talked about in the final analysis boil down to culture? If so, how do we change the intelligence culture?

  9. SUMMARY • Accreditation vs. certification • Usefulness of competencies as a measuring tool • Other best practices available • Role of IAFIE • The way ahead

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