The development of the competency profile

The Competency Profile for an Academic Credential Assessor was developed between 2010 and 2012:

• through the WSE Pan-Canadian Quality Standards in International Academic Credential Assessment — Phase II project funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada; and
• under the auspices of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).

Its development was based on:

• extensive research;
• data collection;
• advice from the working group and focus groups in Canada;
• an e-questionnaire distributed widely throughout Canada and internationally;
• interviews;
• public consultations;

It is intended to help organizations employing academic credential assessors to:

• improve human-resources-management policies and practices; and
• increase the professionalism of their workforce.

It also serves as the basis for the on-line distance-education course, Assessment 101, to provide participants with an overview of the foundations of international academic credential assessment in order to supplement the on-the-job training that assessors receive.

Finally, this tool may:

• increase the visibility of the academic credential assessor profession; and
• raise awareness of assessment expertise found within the pan-Canadian community.

A compendium of three published volumes

WSE published the Competency Profile for an Academic Credential Assessor, as well as comprehensive supporting documents, in three separate volumes:

• Volume 1 – Detailed information on each competency. This volume serves as the main document for the community.
• Volume 2 – Methodology, data collection, development of the competency profile, context research, and recommendations for future developments.
• Volume 3 – Compendium of appendices detailing the research and data-collection tools process.

They are also accessible as a compendium.

Limitations of the competency profile

The competency profile is based on an experienced credential assessor who is well qualified in terms of:

• knowledge;
• skills; and
• personal, social, and/or methodological abilities.

If an updated version of this competency profile is extended to include a more detailed spectrum of assessor levels, there will undoubtedly be a need to define optional and additional competencies for the different groups, such as:

• newly qualified individuals;
• experts/senior assessors; or
• management roles.

There is no single set of functions performed in equal measure by all academic credential assessors in Canada. However, it is likely that most or all academic credential assessors have similar competencies.

The aim of this competency profile is to identify and specify those competencies that are used by assessors in most organizations and describe in generic terms.

We should also expect these competencies to evolve in the future, reflecting changes such as:

• pan-Canadian and international best practices;
• new technologies and their impact:
1. on the traditional education model and new forms of learning;
2. on the issuance/transmittal of official documents and their treatment.
• new offerings of academic or professional development courses;
• legal frameworks:
1. at the federal/provincial/territorial levels;
2. at the international level.