With such a high volume of debate generated by the suggestion of
accreditation, I think it goes to prove that it is something that should
have been looked at a long time ago. So I thought I'd put my "two-penarth"
in:
I personally welcome an initiative to look into accreditation for the
following reasons:
1. Accreditation and the standards underpinning it can only help to improve
the understanding and practice of good records management across the public
and private domain.
2. Many organisations do not have knowledge or understanding themselves of
RM to be able to effectively evaluate a professional's standing / experience
- accreditation or levels of accreditation can help employers gain clarity
in this area when looking to employ new staff, or to identify career
structures, pay scales etc.
3. Many employees (and individuals) like to be able to demonstrate continued
professional development in a chosen area of expertise. Using accredited
routes can help to assure organisations of the level of quality of training
and evaluation standards.
Considerations to be taken into account:
1. Accreditation in the UK is coming late in the day - we have some
excellent higher education qualifications available now, therefore being
able to take the years of work by those who have chosen this route is a must
for any scheme.
2. For many, taking further academic qualifications are not an option - for
many reasons, therefore experience (perhaps demonstrated by portfolio) must
be considered.
3. Administration of an accreditation system is not a small undertaking; I
would suggest RMS consult with ICRM to get a better understanding of what it
will take - including costs that will no doubt be passed onto individuals
seeking accreditation or RMS members. I believe ARMA membership structures
relate closely to ICRM accreditation - perhaps this is a route RMS should
look at?
4. Recognition of professional accreditation within the UK for RM will
require a mind-shift in employers who have traditionally sought academic
qualification as evidence of knowledge and ability - having said this in
some business sectors RM is often the one area that exists with no
professional accreditation and therefore is often unfortunately grouped in
with 'general administration' roles. - leveraging off of the growing
legislation and regulatory emphasis upon RM would be a good way of
highlighting the distinctiveness of RM professionals.
5. although RMS is a primarily UK organisation it should remember
international boundaries are traversed by industry and government each day -
do not look to make an accreditation scheme to UK-centric as this may not
appeal to international agencies or companies.
Jeanette A Greef
Regulatory Records Manager
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Records Management mailing list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Emmerson, Sarah
Sent: 11 May 2005 09:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RMS Accreditation Scheme
At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Records Management Society
during the annual conference in Bournemouth, an accreditation sub group was
set up after the meeting. A number of interested members got together to
discuss the 'vision' of introducing an Accreditation Scheme for RMS members.
This idea is still very much in its infancy but the meeting was an
opportunity to kick around some ideas and identify some support for and
against the initiative.
At this stage no research has been undertaken as to what style an
accreditation scheme would take. However it is recognised that the basis of
any accreditation scheme would need to be inclusive to cover the wide
membership (and equally varied backgrounds) of the society. This means there
is a need to recognise both on the job practical experience as well as
professional qualifications within the RM field as contributing towards
accreditation.
The possibility of the scheme prompted a range of discussion, however it was
agreed that the initial step should be to seek the broad opinion of the
membership as to whether this is an avenue you would like the Society to
pursue. It was widely felt that if the RMS did not take a lead in this
field then another commercial company/ archive society might do so instead.
We are aware that there is a vast range of knowledge and experience out
there and we would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts (for &
against) on:
Would you like the RMS to research into the feasibility of developing an
Accreditation Scheme for its members?
If the answer is yes can you also provide three reasons why you want a
accreditation scheme?
It would also be helpful if you could suggest any barriers or issues that
you see in the development of a scheme?
I realise this is a hard question to answer without information on exactly
what type of scheme might be offered however we are, at this stage, just
trying to understand what the 'ground swell' of opinion is so the RMS can
judge whether to take it forward. Any experience or comments you have would
be much appreciated and collated back to the membership.
Kind regards
Sarah Emmerson
Records Management Co-ordinator
Diageo plc
5 Lochside Way
Edinburgh Park
Edinburgh
EH12 7DT
Tel: 0131 519 2097
Mob: 07803 854 999
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