Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Is There a Focus on Information Literacy as a Transversal Skill Within the Institutional Accreditation Process?

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Information Literacy: Key to an Inclusive Society (ECIL 2016)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 676))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 1898 Accesses

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to compare the standards and criteria of different organizations that accredit some of the top universities in the world according to the QS World University Rankings for 2015/2016. Regional accreditation organizations in USA support information literacy outcomes, but I found some differences between their practices and the criteria of other accrediting agencies. Information literacy is mentioned as important indicator of students’ competency in some of them, but not in others. The paper also investigates the Criteria system for institutional accreditation of higher schools in Bulgaria where standards are similar with regulations of the quality of university programs around the world but without a focus on information literacy. The conclusions refer to insufficient awareness of the importance of information literacy as a transversal skill in the digital society and its role for the social inclusion of young people.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Source: http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/school/competences_en.htm.

  2. 2.

    NEASC's Commission on Institutions of Higher Education is the regional accrediting body for 241 colleges and universities in New England and eleven overseas institutions.

  3. 3.

    Founded in 1885, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six regional accrediting bodies in the United States and provides public assurance about the educational quality of over 2,000 public and independent schools, technical/career institutions, colleges and universities in New England plus International Schools in more than 65 nations worldwide.

  4. 4.

    The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. Through an agreement between the HLC and the Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (CASI), the North Central Association has been dissolved.

References

  1. Bradley, C.: Information literacy in the programmatic university accreditation standards of select professions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. J. Inf. Lit. 7(1), 44–68 (2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/7.1.1785

  2. Saunders, L.: Perspectives on accreditation and information literacy as reflected in the literature of library and information science. J. Acad. Librarianship 34(4), 305–313 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Saunders, L.: Regional accreditation organizations’ treatment of information literacy: definitions, collaboration, and assessment. J. Acad. Librarianship 33(3), 317–326 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Gratch-Lindauer, B.: Comparing the regional accreditation standards: outcomes assessment and other trends. J. Acad. Librarianship 28(1), 14–25 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Oakleaf, M.: The Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report. Association of College and Research Libraries, Chicago (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Thompson, G.B.: Information literacy accreditation mandates: what they mean for faculty and librarians. Lib. Trends 51, 218–241 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Becher, M.: Instruction coordinators and higher education accreditation: a study of awareness and assessment documentation use. J. Acad. Librarianship 39, 573–581 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. QS World University Rankings® 2015/16. http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2015

  9. 4 International Colleges & Universities. http://www.4icu.org/

  10. NEASC’s Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE). Standards for Accreditation (2011). https://cihe.neasc.org/downloads/Standards/Standards_for_Accreditation.pdf

  11. NEASC’s Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE). Standards for Accreditation (2016). https://cihe.neasc.org/sites/cihe.neasc.org/files/downloads/2016_Standards_for_Accreditation.pdf

  12. WSCUC Handbook of Accreditation (2013, Revised 2015). https://wascsenior.box.com/shared/static/oxgx719tnw5bn8b4kp28.pdf

  13. Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The Criteria for Accreditation and Core Components. https://www.hlcommission.org/Criteria-Eligibility-and-Candidacy/criteria-and-core-components.html

  14. Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education: Requirements of Affiliation and Standards for Accreditation. http://www.msche.org/publications/CHX-2011-WEB.pdf

  15. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement (2012). http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/2012PrinciplesOfAcreditation.pdf

  16. National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency Criteria System for Institutional Accreditation of higher schools (2011). http://www.neaa.government.bg/images/Criteria_EN/Kriterialna_sistema_za_IA_eng.pdf

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Elitsa Lozanova-Belcheva

Authors
  1. Elitsa Lozanova-Belcheva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elitsa Lozanova-Belcheva .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hacettepe University, Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey

    Serap Kurbanoğlu

  2. Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France

    Joumana Boustany

  3. University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Sonja Špiranec

  4. University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, USA

    Esther Grassian

  5. University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, USA

    Diane Mizrachi

  6. University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA

    Loriene Roy

  7. Hacettepe University, Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey

    Tolga Çakmak

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

About this paper

Cite this paper

Lozanova-Belcheva, E. (2016). Is There a Focus on Information Literacy as a Transversal Skill Within the Institutional Accreditation Process?. In: Kurbanoğlu, S., et al. Information Literacy: Key to an Inclusive Society. ECIL 2016. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 676. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52162-6_33

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52162-6_33

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52161-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52162-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation