Accreditation Team Member
GUIDELINES
Business Relationship Contract for Personal Services between the Accreditation Team Member and PCTIA (the Agency)
Accreditation Team Subject Matter Expert (SME) Report – Working Copy (one for each program being reviewed)
Institutional Accreditation Report and Tabs (IAR) - USB or binder
PCTIA Program Listing
Enrollment Report
Student File Review Checklist
Instructor File Review Checklist
Facility Checklist
Agenda
Auditor Expense Claim Form
Agency Representative
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Manages the overall accreditation review process
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Provides leadership and guidance to Chairs and SMEs
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Chairs the orientation meeting
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Liaises between the Team and the institution’s representatives
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Ensures the Team has what they need to complete the accreditation review while onsite
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Provides guidance to the Team on Bylaw requirements, standards and processes and ensures consistency
Attends all scheduled interviews and takes notes
 Ensures the agenda and timelines are adhered to
Team Chair
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Reviews all materials provided by the Agency in advance of the orientation meeting
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Participates in the orientation meeting and leads discussion on the Team’s review of the IAR
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Conducts all interviews
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Supports the SMEs throughout the accreditation review
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Seeks guidance from the Agency Representative, as appropriate
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Conducts the exit interview in consultation with the Agency Representative
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Completes a draft of the Team portion of the IAR and submits to the Agency in a timely manner
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Liaises with Agency staff to complete IAR
Subject Matter Expert
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Reviews all materials provided by the Agency in advance of the orientation meeting
 Works in collaboration with the Team to develop interview questions, areas of focus for the on-site visit
 Reviews each assigned program and related materials and resources
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Attends student, instructor and staff interviews, as required and participates as necessary
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Seeks guidance from the Team Chair and/or Agency Representative, as appropriate
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Completes a draft SME Report (one for each program being reviewed) and provides it to the Chair in a timely manner
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Reviews final IAR/Team report and provides feedback to the Chair as necessary
As you are conducting your pre-audit review, use the SME Report - Working Copy to fill in the information you gather. You may use the SME Report – Template provided on your USB stick instead; however, the Working Copy was designed to provide guidance in making your assessments.
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Accreditation Team Member
GUIDELINES
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Bring your signed copy of the Business Relationship Contract for Personal Services to the orientation meeting.
Read and familiarize yourself with the SME Report.
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You will be provided with an electronic version of the SME Report for your final report
The electronic version will not have the yellow highlighted areas (annotations)
 Use the Working Copy (provided in your SME package) to make notes as you do your pre-audit review
Review the IAR, including any tabs, to familiarize yourself with the overall operations/processes of the Institution.
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The Institution completes the white areas (left side)
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The Team Chair completes the blue areas (right side) with supporting evidence provided in your SME reports
 Prepare observations, notes and questions for the orientation meeting
 You can make notes on the IAR of any issues, concerns or questions you may have
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The IAR will be reviewed by the Team during the orientation meeting
Review the Institution’s website and conduct an internet search to familiarize yourself with the Institution, how it advertises and what information may be publically available (i.e. Facebook etc.).
Review the PCTIA Program Listing provided in your package.
A program listing is provided for each program you are reviewing:
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Ensure you received a listing for each program you are reviewing
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The program information on this listing should be the same as the information in the IAR and on program and course outlines. If it differs, this should be noted under the Program Details Section in your SME report. If you did not receive a program listing for programs you are reviewing, contact the Accreditation Coordinator at
PCTIA
Whenever possible, the orientation meeting will take place on-site at the institution. Usually, the day will consist of:
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A tour of the institution’s facility
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A Team orientation meeting to review the IAR and supporting documents; review and develop interview questions and finalize the agenda
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Interviews with the institution’s owner/campus manager and the Senior Educational Administrator
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A review of student and instructor files
 If a separate day has not been scheduled for curriculum review (which may be the case in smaller audits) the orientation day may also include time for SME’s to review curriculum
You will need:
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All accreditation review materials sent to you in the accreditation review package
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Your notes, questions, and a copy of the agenda
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Your SME report on USB
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A laptop computer
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Any supplies like pens, pencils, writing paper, etc.
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Team Meeting.
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The Agency Representative will review the agenda for the day and go over any issues you may have come across during the orientation and/or curriculum review days
Student Interviews.
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Accreditation Team Member
GUIDELINES
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 All Team members will attend the student interviews
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The Chair will interview students
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The SME’s will take notes as they relate to the programs they are reviewing
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The Agency Representative will take notes
Instructor Interviews.
 All Team members will attend the instructor interviews
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The Chair will interview instructors
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The SME’s will take notes as they relate to the programs they are reviewing
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The Agency Representative will take notes
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The Chair may elect to pair up SME’s with instructors in their program area to provide you with an opportunity to get questions answered related to your curriculum review
Mid-day Team debrief and working lunch.
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Lunch will be provided in the Team meeting room
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This is considered a working lunch so please do not make any plans to leave during this time
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The Team will do a ‘round table’ check-in to make sure all is on track and to discuss any findings/concerns that may lead to a change in the remainder of the agenda
Admissions/Support Services Interviews.
 Depending on how much time SME’s will require to complete their review(s), the Chair may or may not include
Continued review of Student and Instructor files, curriculum and resources if required.
SME’s in the Admissions and Support Services interview
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If you have any issues relating to these areas, advise the Chair prior to the interview
Review of classroom/lab equipment and resources.
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SME’s will be paired up to go into classrooms and/or labs to review equipment and resources
End of day debrief and preparation of Exit Interview.
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This will be the last chance for Team members to request any information or documentation from the
Institution
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Use the summary on the last page of the SME report to check off which areas have not met the Agency’s standards and make sure the Agency Representative and Chair are aware of these issues
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Make a list of any outstanding items you need dealt with before the end of the day
Exit Interview conducted by Chair and Agency Representative.
 Prior to conducting the Exit Interview, please ensure you have packed up all of your materials and are ready to leave right after the interview
1. Prepare one SME Report for each program you have been assigned.
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Use the information you gathered during your pre-audit review and information collected onsite to complete your SME report(s)
 Your report should be completed on the SME Report template provided in your audit materials - do not use the ‘Working Copy’ template to submit your report(s)
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Your SME report(s) must be sent electronically to the Agency Representative no later than one week after the last day of the accreditation review. The Agency Representative will review the report prior to sending it to the Chair
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Accreditation Team Member
GUIDELINES
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The Agency Representative will communicate any required edits to your report via email and will advise you when the report has been marked as ‘Final’ and forwarded to the Chair
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You must append to the report any document you refer to. On the top right-hand corner of the document write the corresponding section number it belongs to and circle and highlight that number
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If you have any questions, contact the Agency Representative
Prepare your Auditor Expense Claim Form.
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You can submit your expense form any time after you file your SME report. Your payment will be made after your report(s) is/are complete and all audit materials and notes have been returned to the Agency.
Return all audit materials, including all of your notes.
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Once your report(s) have been submitted to the Agency and has been marked as ‘Final’, the Accreditation
Coordinator will be in touch with you to have all your materials returned to the Agency. This can either be done by dropping the materials off at the PCTIA office or arranging with the Accreditation Coordinator to have a courier pick them up. This should only be done once the Agency Representative has advised that your reports have been marked ‘Final”. Do not keep copies of any materials collected onsite or your notes
– these should be returned to the Agency along with the USB stick.
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Leave yourself enough time to park, get organized and begin on time.
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Do not arrive too early. The Agency Representative is usually onsite 15 minutes prior to the start time on the Agenda.
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The dress code is business casual.
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All discussions among Team members MUST take place in the Team meeting room and kept strictly confidential.
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Do not engage in any discussions with the Institution’s staff, instructors or students on your own. If you are approached by any of them while onsite, ask that they come into the Team meeting room. These discussions should take place with another Team member (preferably the Chair or Agency Representative) and must be recorded by taking notes. You may ask questions to clarify but please do not give advice, if your opinion is requested, you may provide it; however, with the caveat that it is an opinion only and the institution should always research all options and ensure they are in compliance at all times.
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All issues and/or concerns must be reported to the Team Chair or Agency Representative as soon as possible.
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If you require materials, photocopies or supplies, give a list of what you need to the Agency Representative onsite.
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If you require photographs to be taken as additional supporting evidence (broken or unsafe equipment, dirty or unsanitary conditions, etc.), you must identify what needs to be photographed to the Agency Representative who will take the photographs. The photographs will be dated and referenced by the Agency Representative for attachment to the relevant SME report. SME’s are not to take pictures on their personal/business phones.
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Do not throw any waste paper or materials into the garbage can onsite (with the exception of food, etc.). Give paper waste to the Chair or Agency Representative for shredding.
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If you are working electronically, please save all documentation on the USB stick the Agency provided. Do not save any information related to the Audit on your personal hard drive.
ALWAYS REMEMBER:
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You are representing the Agency while on site. We expect you to interact with the institution representatives and fellow
Team members with courtesy and respect. Unprofessional behavior will not be tolerated.
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All records of the accreditation review are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This includes notes written on Team reports, post-it notes and all electronic communication.
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