Accreditation by Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Bodies

Accreditation is the process whereby a professional association or non-governmental agency gives recognition to a school or institution for its demonstrated ability to meet predetermined criteria for established Professional, Statutory or Regulatory standards.

Potential Benefits of Accreditation

Accreditation provides potential benefits for students, e.g.:

• Recognised fast-track route for graduates seeking professional status
• Exemption from certain professional examinations

Other benefits of accreditation:

• It provides a further way of assuring and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning provision in Subjects
• Accreditation reports inform Annual Monitoring and Periodic Subject Review

Accredited Programmes

A number of taught programmes delivered within the University of Glasgow are accredited by professional, statutory and regulatory bodies (PSRBs). The frequency and manner in which the accreditation is carried out varies.

• Proforma for reporting Accreditation to Senate Office 

PSRB Database

A database of taught programmes accredited by PSRBs is maintained by the Senate Office. The information held is reviewed periodically and the School Quality Officer and named programme contacts are invited to check and update the entries for their School. Changes to named contacts should be notified to the Senate Office.

The PSRB Database is currently being updated in partnership with School Quality Officers to ensure that accurate and up-to-date information is published. The database will be available from 2012-13.

What we do with Accreditation Reports

The School Quality Officer liaises with named contacts who have responsibility for the accreditation of the School’s programmes to ensure that accreditation outcomes are routinely reported to the College Learning & Teaching Committee and action taken as necessary.

Formal reports and/or letters confirming accreditation, and any associated action plan should be routinely copied to the Senate Office (Karen.Robertson@glasgow.ac.uk) by the named contact.

The Academic Standards Committee (ASC) receives an annual update on the outcomes of accreditation to maintain an overview of key issues relating to approved programmes and to note any good practice that has been highlighted. ASC may consult the full accreditation reports as necessary.

Onward Reporting/Closing Loops

Schools may be asked to confirm that any conditions associated with accreditation or reaccreditation have been met and to provide commentary on how they are responding to any recommendations on key issues detailed in reports.

The University is obliged to report the outcome of all PSRB accreditations that have taken place in the past academic year in its Annual Statement for the Scottish Funding Council. Outcomes notified after 30 August are reported in the following year’s Annual Statement.