2015/16
ACCREDITATION THROUGH PARTNERSHIP
Self-evaluation questionnaire for new stage one Masters
programmes (International)
You should complete this questionnaire if you are proposing a new international Masters programme(s) for accreditation against
stage one of the requirements for Chartered Membership of the Society, and full membership of one of the Society’s Divisions.
The questionnaire is split into two sections:

Section A asks for key information about the award you are submitting for accreditation, including details of who we should contact if
we have queries about your application.

Section B invites you to self-evaluate your programme against each of our nine programme standards.
You should read this questionnaire alongside our handbook Accreditation through Partnership: Seeking accreditation for programmes delivered
outside of the UK, and alongside our accreditation standards.
You should provide your completed submission in three hard copies and on three USB sticks. Please post them to:
Partnership & Accreditation Team
The British Psychological Society
St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East
Leicester LE1 7DR
If you have any queries in relation to your submission, please contact pact@bps.org.uk
The BPS is committed to respecting your right to privacy and data security and to handling the information you provide responsibly within the requirements of the UK Data Protection Act. Your
accreditation submission will be shared with Society staff and Members who work with us as authorised agents to deliver the accreditation process on our behalf. Our full privacy policy is available
at: www.bps.org.uk/privacy-policy or by written request to ‘Enquiries’ at the Society offices.
Section A: about your provision
1. The programme(s)
Is the award
validated?
Distance
learning
Blended
learning
Part-time
Full-time
Yes
No*
Student numbers (FTE)
Current
Projected
(if the
programme is
already running)
(if the
programme is
brand new)
Intake from which
accreditation sought
Mode of study (tick all
that apply)
Date of first intake
Full name of programme as it
appears on award certificate
* Note: If your programme has not yet been validated, please indicate the date on which the validation event (or equivalent) is planned to take place.
Programme(s) must be validated or be sufficiently developed such that they are ready for internal validation before the Society will undertake a partnership
visit. A partnership visit will be undertaken to all international provision. See our handbook (Accreditation through Partnership: Seeking accreditation for
programmes delivered outside of the UK) for further information.
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2. The education provider
Name of awarding institution:
Academic unit(s) in which the
provision is based:
Full address (to assist us in relation to
future visit planning, where required):
Name of Programme Director or Coordinator:
You should tell us the name of the staff member with overall academic responsibility for the provision
and its delivery and development.
Franchising arrangements:
Is the provision franchised for delivery by an international partner institution? Y/N
If yes, please state the name of the partner institution.
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3. The application
Who should we approach with any
queries about this application?
You should tell us the name and role of who we should approach with any queries about your
application, and provide us with an email address and telephone number for them. This should be a
UK contact.
Senior management sign off:
We require the Head of the UK academic unit in which the provision is based to confirm the accuracy
of the information contained within this application, and the provision of the additional evidence
outlined below.
Signature (electronic):
Name and role:
Date of submission:
4. Provisional visit date(s)
When would you like us to plan a visit
to your provision
This should normally be at least three months after the date on which you submit your application,
although you can plan further ahead if you wish (and we would encourage you to do so). For further
information, please see our handbook, Accreditation through Partnership: Seeking accreditation for
programmes delivered outside of the UK.
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5. The checklist
The sources of evidence to be supplied alongside this self-evaluation questionnaire are outlined below. If you think it would be helpful for our
reviewers to consider alternative or additional documentation please indicate what you have provided below. This list should be considered
alongside our handbook, Accreditation through Partnership: Seeking accreditation for programmes delivered outside of the UK.
Programme standard
Evidence source (or equivalent alternative source if appropriate)
Enclosed?
Y/N
Programme standard 1: Learning, research
and practice
Completed curriculum mapping document.
Programme handbook.
Module handbooks (or module outlines if handbooks are not yet available).
Curriculum, research, placement (if appropriate) and/or other handbooks, if
applicable.
Programme specification.
Programme standard 3: Selection and entry
Selection and recruitment policy.
Programme standard 6: Staffing
Brief biographies for all staff who make a significant contribution to programme
delivery and development. CVs may be provided if this is easier for you.
Programme standard 9: Quality
management
Most recent internal quality assurance exercise (e.g. validation report) if
available. This should include an overview of how your relationship with any
external partner is managed from a quality management perspective (where
applicable).
Detailed business case supporting collaborative delivery of the provision by
external partners (international provision only)
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Section B: self-evaluation against our standards
In this part of our questionnaire, we ask you to tell us about the context in which your provision is delivered and the rationale for its
development. We then outline our nine programme standards, and invite you to self-evaluate your provision against them. You
should read each section of the questionnaire alongside the corresponding section of our accreditation standards.
In each section, we outline the information we need you to give us, and then set out any additional sources of evidence you should
provide with your submission. The greyed-out columns will be completed by our reviewers as they work through your submission.
At the end of the questionnaire, we will also give you the opportunity to highlight any good practice in relation to your provision. It is
up to you decide what aspects of good practice you wish to promote most strongly, and how you relate these to our standards.
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Context and rationale
Information required
Reviewers’ comments if
relevant to standards)
Commentary
Why has this new programme been
developed?
Please briefly outline the rationale for the
development of this new programme,
and describe how the programme
contributes to the strategic aims of your
institution.
What are the distinctive features of
this provision?
Please briefly outline what you feel to be
the distinctive features or strengths of
this provision, using bullet points. These
may relate to the provision, the
academic unit in which it is based, or the
education provider more generally.
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Programme standard 1: Learning, research and practice
a. Core skills

This part of the self-evaluation questionnaire is intended to assist you in demonstrating to our reviewers that you have taken account of
our requirements in relation to the development of the required core skills.

You should provide a brief commentary on the following, and signpost us to the relevant supporting evidence in your module or
programme handbooks, or other materials as appropriate.

You should also complete the relevant mapping document to evidence how you address our curriculum and skills development
requirements.
Information required
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary
More
info
needed?
How are students
engaged in critically
evaluating the
current knowledge,
theory and evidence
base relevant to the
discipline and in
understanding that
this is an important
first step for all
work and activities?
How are students
You may find it useful to refer to our Supplementary guidelines on
8
Notes
supported in using
a range of
techniques and
research methods
applicable to
psychological
enquiry?
research and research methods on Society accredited postgraduate
programmes (2014) which can be downloaded from our website at
www.bps.org.uk/accreditationdownloads.
How do students
develop the ability
to communicate
effectively (verbally
and non-verbally)
with colleagues,
research
supervisors and a
wider audience?
How do students
disseminate their
work?
This may include a
range of written (e.g.
professional reports,
journal papers,
conference posters)
and oral (e.g.
presentations, one-toone feedback)
formats.
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b. Curriculum

This part of the self-evaluation questionnaire is intended to assist you in demonstrating to our reviewers that you have taken account of
our requirements in relation to coverage of the required curriculum.

You should provide a brief commentary on the following, and signpost us to the relevant supporting evidence in your module or
programme handbooks, or other materials as appropriate.
Information required
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary
More
info
needed?
If the programme
offers a particular
emphasis or
distinctive identity,
e.g. in line with staff
expertise, please
outline that here.
Please provide a
brief commentary
on your approach to
curriculum design
and delivery.
You should consider
this a narrative to
support your
completion of our
mapping document.
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Notes
c. Additional evidence
You should ensure that the following, or an appropriate equivalent, are included with your submission. If our suggestion does not meet your
needs, please feel free to provide an alternative source of evidence that you think tells us what we need to know (e.g. a link to online material),
together with a brief rationale so that we can understand why you have selected the evidence source in question.
Evidence source
Brief rationale (if an alternative evidence
source is provided)
Reviewers’ comments
More info
needed?
Curriculum mapping
document
This enables our reviewers to confirm that your
programme addresses the curriculum and skills
development requirements outlined in our
standards.
Programme handbook
This enables us to see how the programme will
be presented to students.
Module handbooks (or
module outlines if handbooks
are not yet available)
These enable us to see how your programme will
address particular aspects of our curriculum
requirements.
Curriculum, research,
placement (if appropriate)
and/or other handbooks
You should provide any additional handbooks
that students receive in relation to specific
components of their programme, as appropriate.
Programme specification
This enables us to understand the overall
teaching, learning and assessment strategy for
the programme, enabling us to be confident that
it reflects contemporary learning, research and
practice in psychology.
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Notes
Programme standard 2: Working ethically
a. Coverage
Our reviewers need to be able to understand the ways in which you engage your students with the Society’s Code of Ethics and Conduct and
supplementary ethical guidelines, which provide clear ethical principles, values and standards to guide and support psychologists’ decisions in
the difficult and challenging situations they may face. You should provide a brief commentary on the following, and signpost us to the
relevant supporting evidence in your module or programme handbooks, or other materials as appropriate.
Information required
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary
More
info
needed?
How and where is
ethics taught?
You should indicate
teaching of both
general ethical
principles and ethics
applied to research or
other work with
human participants.
What procedures
are in place for
gaining ethical
approval for
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Notes
students’ research?
How do students
develop skills in
applying relevant
ethical, legal and
professional
practice
frameworks?
How do you ensure
that students are
aware of the legal
and statutory
obligations and
restrictions on
psychological
practice in the UK
context?
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Programme standard 3: Selection and entry
a. Policies and procedures

This standard sets out the Society’s expectations in relation to selection and entry processes that education providers will implement.

You should provide a brief commentary on the following, and signpost us to the relevant supporting evidence as appropriate.
Information required
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary
More
info
needed?
Notes
What departmental/
institution-wide
widening access
initiatives are in
place? How does
the programme
contribute to these?
How does the
programme
consider
applications for
accreditation of
prior learning?
APL should be granted against
level 7 learning only.
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b. Additional evidence
You should ensure that the following, or an appropriate equivalent, are included with your submission. If our suggestion does not meet your
needs, please feel free to provide an alternative source of evidence that you think tells us what we need to know, together with a brief rationale
so that we can understand why you have selected the evidence source in question.
Evidence source
Brief rationale (if an alternative evidence source is provided)
Reviewers’ comments
More
info
needed?
Selection and recruitment
policy
This enables us to understand the steps you take to promote
equality of opportunity and access to psychology to as diverse a
range of applicants as possible.
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Notes
Programme standard 4: Society membership
a. Coverage

We expect education providers to communicate the benefits of completing an accredited programme to their students, and to provide
them with information on progressing to Chartered Membership of the Society and full membership of one of its Divisions.

Many programmes provide this information in their programme handbooks (see for example the information provided on pages 6 to 8 of
our Standards handbooks).

Others cover this in face-to-face teaching, both during induction and at other points during the programme.

You should provide a brief commentary, and signpost us to relevant supporting evidence in your module or programme
handbooks, or other materials as appropriate.
Information required
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary
More
info
needed?
How does the
programme provide
information about
Society membership
to students? Where
in the programme
does this occur?
If students are
provided with this
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Notes
information in a
handbook, please tell
us on which page(s)
this can be found.
What information
are students given
on progressing to
Stage Two training?
Is appropriate information
provided to those who did not
gain GBC prior to commencing
the MSc?
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Programme standard 5: Personal and professional development
a. Coverage
This standard sets out the Society’s expectations in relation to the ways in which student development is supported. You should provide a brief
commentary on the following, and signpost us to the relevant supporting evidence in your module or programme handbooks, or other
materials as appropriate.
Information required
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary
More
info
needed?
What personal
tutoring and
support
arrangements are in
place for students
on the programme?
How are students
supported in
identifying and
developing skills
and capabilities
relevant to
progression to
applied
psychological
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Notes
practice in due
course? See
required core skills.
How are students
supported in
reflecting on and
synthesising
different aspects of
their work to inform
their developing
professional identity
as a trainee? See
required core skills.
What opportunities
do students have to
study alongside
students from other
disciplines or
professions?
What other
provision is in place
to enhance student
employability?
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Programme standard 6: Staffing

Our reviewers need to be able to evaluate the adequacy of the staffing resources that are in place to support delivery of the provision in
question. In order to do this, we need to understand the staff:student ratio that is in place.
a. Staff numbers

Please complete the table below.

You should note the main responsibilities each member of staff has to this specific programme, including module co-ordination,
significant teaching contributions, supervision of dissertations and managerial responsibilities, in order that our reviewers are able to gain
an understanding of the spread of the teaching load for the programme.

You should provide brief biographies for all staff who make a significant contribution to programme delivery and development. CVs may
be provided if this is easier for you. This enables us to consider the range of individuals that are involved in supporting programme delivery
and development, and the range of teaching and research expertise to which students have access.

You should provide us with the details of any approved vacancies, but these should not be included within the SSR calculations.
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Permanent Full-Time and Contractual Academic Staff (full-time, part-time and fractional)
Reviewers’ comments
More info
needed?
Name
Post
Department
FTE
contribution
to this
programme
Please add rows as
required
Total FTE substantive academic staff
A
Other hourly paid staff
Total FTE delivering on this programme where 1
FTE = 550 hours
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Main
responsibilities in
relation to the
programme(s)
Notes
Please provide any additional comments on how you have calculated your staff FTEs, and
any other relevant information, here.
Reviewers’ comments
More
info
needed?
Approved vacancies
Post
Notes
Reviewers’ comments
More info
needed?
Notes
Expected
responsibilities in
relation to the
programme(s)
Please add rows as required
Total FTE
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More
info
needed?
Notes
b. Student numbers

Please complete the table below.

If your programme is already running, use your most recent accurate student figures.

If you are submitting a programme for accreditation prior to recruiting students, please provide a total student FTE based on your
recruitment target.
Students on programme(s) submitted for accreditation (FTE)
Reviewers’ comments
More
info
needed?
Notes
B
Please provide any additional comments on how you have calculated your student FTEs,
and any other relevant information, here.
Reviewers’ comments
More
info
needed?
23
Notes
c. Overall staff: student ratio

Please complete the table below.

The staff: student ratio (SSR) is a calculation that represents the overall SSR for this particular programme. It is calculated by taking the
overall student FTE (B) and dividing it by the overall staff FTE (A). Using the information provided in the tables above, please calculate the
staff student ratio for your provision.
Reviewers’ comments
Notes
Staff FTE (A)
Student FTE (B)
=
SSR (B ÷ A)
More info
needed?
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Postgraduate programmes should operate a maximum SSR
of 1:10.
d. Support for staff development

You should describe your approach to supporting staff development. This may include support for their development as teachers,
researchers or practitioner psychologists, or could include other knowledge transfer or scholarly activity.

Please include examples of development activities that staff have undertaken during the last year (e.g. participation in training courses,
workshops or conferences).
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary on approach to supporting staff development
More
info
needed?
25
Notes
e. Additional evidence
You should ensure that the following, or an appropriate equivalent, are included with your submission. If our suggestion does not meet your
needs, please feel free to provide an alternative source of evidence that you think tells us what we need to know, together with a brief rationale
so that we can understand why you have selected the evidence source in question.
Evidence source
Brief rationale (if an alternative evidence source is provided)
Reviewers’ comments
More
info
needed?
Brief biographies or CVs for
all staff who make a
significant academic
contribution to programme
delivery and development.
This enables us to consider the range of individuals that are
involved in supporting programme delivery and development, and
the range of teaching and research expertise to which students
have access.
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Notes
Programme standard 7: Leadership and co-ordination
a. Programme management

Our reviewers need to be able to understand the arrangements that are in place in relation to the leadership and co-ordination of the
provision. You should provide a brief overview of these, demonstrating that a suitably-qualified psychologist is in post who has specified
responsibility for leading, developing and managing the programme(s).

You should ensure that a brief biography or CV for the Programme Director (or equivalent) named in Section A of this questionnaire has
been provided.

Where a co-Directorship arrangement is in place, you should provide details for both/all Directors and tell us who is responsible for
what.
Information required
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary
More
info
needed?
What qualifications
does the
Programme Director
hold?
You should tell us whether they are a Chartered Member of the Society, a
full Division member, and/or registered with the Health and Care
Professions Council.
How do their skills
and experience
enable them to meet
our standards?
Please provide a
brief outline of their
role and
27
Notes
responsibilities.
28
Programme standard 8: Physical resources
a. Resources

This standard sets out the Society’s expectations in relation to the physical facilities and learning resources that should be in place to
support the student experience, whether students are studying on-site or at a distance.

It is important that accredited programmes have the necessary resources in place to enable them to deliver psychology as a science.

New providers in particular need to be able to demonstrate that appropriate and sufficient resources will be in place. We accept that this
may not be the case at the point of application for accreditation; in this case, appropriate plans must have been approved by management,
and copies should be provided.

You should provide a brief commentary on the following, and signpost us to the relevant supporting evidence as appropriate.
Information required
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary
More
info
needed?
What IT facilities are
available? (including
software and
statistical packages).
What specialist
Psychology
research equipment
is available?
How do students
access these
29
Notes
facilities? Both on
campus and at a
distance, as
appropriate.
What psychology
databases do
students have
access to? Is full text
or abstract only
access provided?
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Programme standard 9: Quality management
a. Policies and procedures

This standard outlines the Society’s expectation that education providers have in place quality management mechanisms that facilitate
self-reflection against our standards.

You should provide a copy of the report of the most recent internal quality assurance exercise relating to the programme (e.g.
validation report) if available.

You should provide a brief commentary on the following, and signpost us to the relevant supporting evidence as appropriate.
Information required
Reviewers’ comments
Commentary
More
info
needed?
What have you
identified as the
main priorities for
further development
of the provision?
How do you as the
awarding institution
manage your
relationship with
any external partner
from a quality
management
perspective? If
applicable
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Notes
b. External examiners

Please tell us about the external examiner(s) you have appointed by completing the table below.
Name
Employing
institution
Start
date
End
date
Details of any specific
responsibilities
Reviewers’ comments
More
info
needed?
32
Notes
c. Additional evidence
You should ensure that the following, or an appropriate equivalent, are included with your submission. If our suggestion does not meet your
needs, please feel free to provide an alternative source of evidence that you think tells us what we need to know, together with a brief rationale
so that we can understand why you have selected the evidence source in question.
Evidence source
Brief rationale (if an alternative evidence source is provided)
Reviewers’ comments
More
info
needed?
Most recent internal quality
assurance exercise (e.g.
validation report) if available
This enables us to establish that your quality management
mechanisms facilitate self-evaluation against our standards.
Detailed business case
supporting delivery of the
programme by external
partners (international
provision only)
This enables us to understand the nature of the relationships that
underpin programme delivery. Universities are advised to ensure
that their partners are clear on the level of investment to which
they will need to commit in order to gain accreditation prior to
entering into any formal agreement. This applies to both
investment in resources and payment of accreditation fees, which
will be invoiced to the UK awarding university.
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Notes
Good practice

You should use the table below to identify specific strengths or areas of good practice that underpin the delivery of your provision and the
ways in which it reflects our standards.

We define good practice as anything that has a particular, positive impact on the reputation of the provision, or on the quality of the
experience of students or other stakeholders. Good practice typically leads to local benefit, but can also reflect practice that stands out on
a national or international level.

It would assist our reviewers if you could indicate the standard(s) to which the good practice you are highlighting most closely relates.
However, there is also space in the table for you to outline good practice that spans a number of our standards, or which you feel more
generally reflects high quality delivery and outcomes.

If you wish to identify more than one aspect of good practice in relation to a particular standard you may do so. However, we do not
expect providers to highlight good practice in relation to every programme standard.
Standard
Area of good practice
Reviewers’ comments
Brief commentary
Programme
standard 1:
Learning,
research and
practice
Programme
standard 2:
Working
ethically
Programme
standard 3:
Selection and
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entry
Programme
standard 4:
Society
membership
Programme
standard 5:
Personal and
professional
development
Programme
standard 6:
Staffing
Programme
standard 7:
Leadership
and coordination
Programme
standard 8:
Physical
resources
Programme
standard 9:
Quality
management
Other
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aspect(s) of
good practice
36
Reviewers’ decision
Reviewers: please use the table below to summarise your recommended outcomes in relation to each of our programme standards by ticking the
relevant box(es) as required.
Programme
standard
Good practice
Standard met
in full
Further
information
needed
1: Learning, research
and practice
2. Working ethically
3. Selection and
entry
4. Society
membership
5. Personal and
professional
development
6. Staffing
7. Leadership and
co-ordination
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Standard not
met (please
specify any
conditions of
accreditation
that apply)
Any further specific comments
8. Physical resources
9. Quality
management
Overall outcome: initial application (please choose one):
Accreditation visit may go ahead
Revised submission required
Please highlight any specific information that is missing from the original submission and which
should be included in any resubmission.
Themes for further consideration at the visit
Please use this section to highlight any general themes that you have observed from your reading of the programme’s documentation that you feel
you may wish to explore with other member of the visiting team, and subsequently with the education provider and their stakeholders when the visit
goes ahead.
Matters for discussion with students
Matters for discussion with programme
team
Matters for discussion with senior
management
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