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CEPD Task Force on Education Office Guidelines
(Draft 8/6/03)
(N.B. In February 2005, the Committee on Education and Professional
Development was renamed the Committee
on Education.)
Introduction
These Guidelines define the responsibilities, functions, and
activities of the Society of American Archivists Education Office in reference
to archival
continuing education. The Guidelines are divided into seven sections: Audience,
Interaction with Other Archival Education Providers, Content Development and
Identification, Content Delivery, Evaluation, Marketing, and Resource Development.
Vision
for Continuing Education
The SAA Education Office
- Acts in a leadership role in archival continuing education in the United
States and internationally
- Provides premier continuing education programs in a variety of venues
for the archival and allied professions
-
Ensures that archivists and allied professionals have knowledge of and access
to continuing education opportunities that will enhance their ability to
perform their professional responsibilities.
To accomplish the continuing
education goal, the functions of the Education
Office are to:
- Lead and serve as a catalyst for other archival and allied organizations
in creating opportunities for continuing education
- Assess educational needs and evaluate all aspects of educational offerings
- Identify new curricular areas and innovative means for instruction and
delivery of information
- Partner with other archival continuing education providers
- Serve as a Clearinghouse for continuing education resources
- Ensure that continuing education programs are accessible and sustainable
- Promote archival and professional standards through its continuing education
programs
- Broaden participation in SAA’s educational offerings through targeted
marketing
- Support innovation and sustainability of SAA’s educational program
through resource development.
Audience
Scope / Summary of Section
This section describes the potential audiences for
SAA continuing education programs and addresses how the Education Office
will identify and support
the variety of audience skill levels.
Vision and Principles
- As a national leader in high-quality archival continuing
education, SAA will develop continuing education offerings that address
the needs of its
membership.
SAA will also either sponsor or cooperate with allied organizations and
institutions to address the needs of all those responsible for the care of
the records of
enduring value.
- SAA members and other caretakers of archival materials have
a variety of existing skill levels. The Education Office should assist
participants in
identifying
their personal skill level when selecting SAA-sponsored continuing education
programs.
Audience-related functions of the SAA Education Office
Interaction with other archival
education providers
Scope
The Education Office works with other archival organizations to ensure
that archivists’ continuing education needs are met—either by creating
educational opportunities to meet identifiable needs or functioning as
a clearinghouse of educational opportunities. This section directs the
interaction of the SAA
Education Office with other archival education providers that sponsor post-appointment
or continuing education.
Vision
The SAA Education Office acts as a leader and catalyst for other archival
and allied organizations in creating opportunities for continuing education.
It
does this by creating opportunities for communication, collaboration, and
open exchange among archival education providers. The SAA Education Office
will
seek to leverage educational resources among archival education providers
for the benefit of the entire archival profession.
Definitions
Archival Education Provider: Any organization that offers structured
learning experiences for archivists. Archival Education Providers include regional
organizations, archival institutes, state archives and historical societies,
colleges and
universities, organizations of allied professionals (e.g., Association
of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA), and other types of institutions
such as
Research Libraries Group (RLG) or the Northeast Document Conservation Center.
Archival education providers also encompass Umbrella Organizations or national
organizations acting as a voice for a group of institutions (e.g., NAGARA
and COSHRC).
Activities
- Work cooperatively with related archival and allied professional organizations
to ensure that archivists and allied professionals have access to
a variety of continuing education opportunities that will enhance their ability
to perform their professional responsibilities.
- Act as a leader to facilitate
educational collaborations among various archival education providers
- Foster
communication among archival education providers and umbrella organizations
- Function
as a clearinghouse of information on archival education opportunities sponsored
by SAA and other groups
- Utilize other archival education providers and umbrella
organizations communication mechanisms
- Co-sponsor, co-develop and market quality
educational opportunities developed by other archival education providers
rather than developing duplicate
educational opportunities.
Content Development and Identification
Scope
This section outlines the responsibilities of the SAA Education Office
concerning content development. Content development refers to both the
introduction
of new offerings and curricular areas, as well as the evaluation, revision,
and
retirement of existing offerings. This section addresses:
- Content development vision and principles
- Mechanisms for content development
- Assessment Factors to Consider in Content
Development
- Relationship to the SAA Committee on Education and Professional
Development
- Educational needs assessment
Vision and Principles
Content development activities by the SAA Education Office
will:
- Be proactive, carefully fashioning continuing education curricula to
meet the needs of those responsible for records of enduring value
- Be systematic
and driven by a strategic plan and organizational priorities
- Offer a wide spectrum
of content
- Develop quality content that is sustainable and accessible, and
- Focus on curricular
development rather than a set of disparate workshops.
Mechanisms
for Content Development and Identification
Content development will be achieved
through a variety of mechanisms including:
- Offerings created directly by the
SAA Education Office
- Works for hire
- Offerings from which the developer would receive royalties
- Partnerships with
other education providers
- Offerings developed in conjunction with publications
- Offshoots from SAA Annual
Meeting sessions
- Maintaining an awareness of and information on educational
offerings of related archival organizations in order to refer members/records
keepers to needed
education when SAA does not provide appropriate offerings.
- Maintaining
a clearinghouse on archival education offerings developed and offered by
SAA as well as other organizations that are of interest
to the archival
profession
The assumption is that the developer and the instructors
may differ, and that content development should not depend on the
ability of
the developer
to teach
the offering.
Assessment Factors to Consider in Content Development
The SAA Education Office
should consider a variety of factors in content development. First and foremost,
evaluation of current
and potential
content should be in
line with the strategic plan and established priorities. Once
a
proposal has met this test, content should be evaluated using
the following
criteria:
- Correlation with established curricula or curricular
areas into which the Education Office wants to expand
- Relationship to current
content offerings or perceived gaps
- Sustainability – resources,
instructors, timeliness
- Accessibility (Physical,
Geographic, Economic, etc.)
- Financial viability
- Evaluations (for current content)
- Organizational appropriateness
- Shelf life
- Delivery options
Relationship to Committee on Education and Professional
Development (CEPD)
The Education Office and CEPD have a special relationship.
CEPD has two major purposes relating to continuing education. These are to
assess
the profession's educational needs and to provide advice to the SAA Education
Office. As such, CEPD is the primary mechanism within SAA that assists
the Education
Office
in carrying out its functions related to archival continuing
education. CEPD
is responsible for setting the direction of the SAA Education
programs. The Education Office is responsible for seeking advice from CEPD
on
all
aspects
of content development. The Education Office works with CEPD
to:
- Identify curricular areas in which the SAA Education Office should develop
offerings
- Prioritize areas in which content should be developed
- Proactively solicit
and encourage the development of content proposals
in areas that have been prioritized
- Assess potential educational
offerings solicited for the annual meeting
- Participate
in regularly scheduled information sharing conferences (e.g. Council reports
with the two CEPD co-chairs and Education Office)
- Identify
expertise from the SAA membership to assist the Education Office. If CEPD
does not have the expertise with which to assess a
proposed educational offering, members are responsible for seeking expertise
within the
larger
SAA membership and advising the Education Office, when necessary
- Collaborate
in the educational needs assessment process
- Review and analyze
evaluations to ensure that all offerings support SAA as a provider of premier
archival education offerings
- Maintain contacts
with other archival education providers
Content Delivery
Scope
The Education Office researches, creates, implements, and supports a
range of content delivery methods and technologies in order to best
align instructional delivery methods to learning objectives, content, and
audiences of the
Society’s
continuing education programs. This section addresses instructor
development, content delivery methods, formats, and technologies
used by the Education
Office to deliver continuing education opportunities.
Vision
The SAA Education Office is dedicated to providing excellent content
delivery that meets the needs of its varied audience. This includes:
- Providing
resources and support to instructors for maintaining and enhancing their teaching
skills, thereby contributing to a positive education
experience for the learners
- Incorporating more flexible delivery in SAA’s
educational program by increasing the range of venues (e.g., face-to-face,
online)
for continuing educational offerings to reach the varied audience for such
opportunities
Definitions
Technological improvements in delivering multi-media over the
Internet have increased the range of content delivery options. “Flexible
delivery” is
one umbrella term for the technology and educational principles
represented by these new delivery opportunities. Flexible delivery
may include various
types of “technology-mediated instruction” such
as audio-visual, computer assisted and online delivery as well
as
traditional instructional
formats such as workshops, seminars, and institutes. At its
simplest, therefore, flexible delivery expands the available
choices for
what, when, where,
and how people learn. Such choices include:
- Workshops: intensive,
problem focused learning experiences that actively involve
participants in the identification and analysis of problems
and in the development
and evaluation of solutions
- Seminars: sessions in which a group
of experienced people meet with a content expert to discuss a given content
area and receive new information
- Institutes: short-term, often residential programs
that foster intensive learning on a well-defined topic
- Clinics: short-term programs
emphasizing diagnoses and treatments of problems participants bring to
the session. Instructors or facilitators,
rather than
participants, diagnose problems and prescribe treatment
- Distance
Education: learning takes place in a different location and/or time than
the instruction
- Web-based courses: instruction is provided via the web including
but not limited to:
- Online slide presentations (e.g., PowerPoint): training
is self-paced via slides
- Web seminar: an instructor-led training opportunity
that includes computer screen presentation with phone linkage for
live interaction
with the
instructor and perhaps with other participants
- Online discussion
boards
- Teleconferences (or audio conferences): instructor-led training provided
through telephone connections for live interaction with the instructor
and perhaps with other participants
- Videoconferences (or interactive video):
instructor-led training provided through video connections (television
or desktop computer monitors)
with cameras and
microphones at all sites that allow the exchange of audio
and video data
These options are not mutually exclusive; workshops, seminars,
and institutes may incorporate aspects of interactive video,
slide presentations,
teleconferencing,
and computer instruction as appropriate. It is the goal and
function of the society’s Education Office to help instructors choose
and implement a blend of educational delivery options as appropriate
for the instructor,
subject,
and audience.
Content delivery should:
- Enhance the learning experience
- Offer instructors access to the most appropriate
delivery methods as determined by their course content and audience
- Offer instructors
mechanisms and support for transferring traditional “teacher
to class” presentations into distance education
offerings as appropriate
- Offer audiences a range of educational delivery
options that better accommodate their goals and circumstances
including accessibility
- Expand
the audience for the society’s continuing education program by
increasing the range of participation options and extending
the program’s
geographical reach
Evaluation
Scope
Ongoing evaluation of SAA’s multi-faceted continuing education
program, as well as the effectiveness of individual offerings, is critical
to the continued
success and improvement of SAA’s mission to the archival
profession. Evaluation of the educational needs of SAA
members is also an important
responsibility for the Education Office.
The goal of evaluation
is to analyze and incorporate proactive surveys of educational
needs and feedback on all aspects
of the continuing
education program in order
to ensure high-quality offerings that meet the needs and
challenge the professional
development of SAA members and others in the cultural heritage
preservation community. SAA needs to continually explore
creative and effective
ways to solicit evaluative data, and to approach the topic
of continuing education
from a broad, organization-wide perspective. To accomplish
this goal, the Education Office works with the Committee
on Education
and Professional
Development
(CEPD)
as conduit between the Education Office and the Society’s
membership in evaluating continuing education needs of
the profession and assessing
specific offerings that the Society has under development
and in production.
Vision
The SAA Education Office
- Utilizes a diverse array of evaluation techniques
(pre-training, formative, summative, longitudinal) to assess the changing
landscape of continuing education needs that the SAA Education Office might
effectively
address,
and
to evaluate
and enhance the effectiveness of individual continuing
education offerings delivered under the SAA name.
- Effectively uses longitudinal
evaluation data to communicate the effectiveness of its continuing education
offerings to SAA members
and others in the cultural heritage preservation community
- Ensures that continuing
education instructors regularly and effectively use formative evaluation
techniques to insure that participants
in continuing education offerings are mastering the offering’s published
learning objectives
- Consistently complete summative evaluations of all offerings
to assess whether they continue to fulfill their learning objectives
and the educational needs
of participants
- Works with CEPD in evaluating new continuing
education offerings by serving as conduits to appropriate expertise within
the SAA membership.
Definitions
- Pre-training evaluation: An assessment, administered prior to a
continuing education offering, of the needs, base knowledge relating
to a specific topic, and adequateness of preparation of those who will be
participating in
the offering.
Pre-training evaluations are primarily tools to
help continuing
education sponsors screen for those potential participants for
whom the offering would
not be
appropriate, and also to instructors to assist
in tailoring an offering's learning goals or content to meet specific needs
expressed by potential
participants.
- Formative evaluation: An assessment of some aspect of
a continuing education offering while that offering is in progress. Formative
evaluations are typically administered at logical break points in a continuing
education
offering
(e.g.,
breaks, lunch, major transitions between activities)
to assess on-the-fly whether participants have successfully mastered learning
goals and/or
content
for a
portion of the continuing education offering. In
a continuing education setting formative evaluations are primarily used by
the
instructor(s)
to assess
the
pace of the learning experience for participants,
but are also useful for participants as a quick review of content and concepts
covered.
- Summative
evaluation: An assessment of the overall effectiveness of a continuing
education offering in meeting the educational
goals and learning objectives for that offering. Summative evaluations are
typically administered
at
the
end of the continuing education offering. In a
continuing education setting summative evaluations are primarily used by
the instructor(s)
and sponsor(s)
to assess whether or not participants successfully
learned what the continuing
education offering set out to teach them.
- Longitudinal
evaluation: The collection of the same or similar data over time to assess
the continued effectiveness or relevance of
a continuing education offering to the needs of participants. Longitudinal
evaluations can
also
be
useful in gathering data to measure the impact
of a continuing education program on individual participants or a broader
professional
group
over time.
Evaluation Activities
In order to carry out its evaluation responsibilities
for current and potential offerings, the SAA Education Office will
- Explore the
effectiveness and encourage the use of an array of evaluation and assessment
tools.
- Develop and use a multi-faceted suite of evaluative strategies to assess
the changing landscape of continuing education needs of SAA members and
those in
the broader cultural heritage preservation community.
- Mandate the use of appropriate
formative evaluation techniques during the course of SAA continuing education
offerings to help instructors assess mastery of
key concepts (gleaned from learning objectives for a specific offering)
by participants.
- Develop post-offering summative evaluation instruments that assess
participants’ mastery
of content based on published learning objectives for the specific continuing
education offering.
- For continuing education offerings with practical, hands-on
learning objectives designed to give participants a skill or technique
that they can take back
to their workplace, selectively administer follow-up (after 3-4 months)
evaluation to see if they have been successful and, if not, what were the
impediments
to their successful translation of skills or techniques from workshop to
workplace.
- Utilize
longitudinal evaluation to develop a profile of the success of SAA continuing
education offerings.
- Coordinate annual meeting evaluations to improve return
rates, eliminate redundancy in evaluation instruments, and ensure inclusion
of an evaluative component
addressing continuing education needs of those in attendance at the annual
meeting.
- Publish selected evaluation data in brief Archival Outlook articles
on a routine basis to reinforce to SAA membership the importance of evaluation
in shaping
the Society’s continuing education curriculum.
- Encourage the effective
use of evaluation and assessment strategies and the sharing of evaluative
data among SAA continuing education partners.
- Work with CEPD to evaluate proposed
and current continuing education offerings and to identify appropriate
expertise within the SAA membership to evaluate
proposals if CEPD does not have the requisite expertise.
Educational Needs Assessment
Ongoing educational needs assessment is a core
function of the SAA Education Office. Therefore, the Education Office is responsible
for
- Regular assessment of the educational needs of the SAA membership through
a variety of formal and informal mechanisms. Such assessments might include,
but are not limited to:
- Evaluations of all SAA Education Office offerings
- Evaluations of the Annual
Meeting
- Large-Scale membership surveys
- Guidance from sections and roundtables
- Coordination and networking with other
educational providers and
- Obtaining feedback from the Program Committee on emerging
topics.
- Analysis and use of outcomes of assessments in planning for future content
development as well as the retirement of offerings.
- Identification of gaps in current offerings and work towards filling the
identified gap or directing membership to another educational provider.
- Coordination
with other entities within SAA and other education providers in conducting
educational assessments in order to eliminate redundancies and maintain
communication among stakeholders in archival continuing education.
Marketing
Scope
The Education Office employs all available resources and methods to
market its programs to SAA members and others responsible for records in any
format.
Education marketing efforts are designed to reach a maximum number of potential
education program participants at least three times prior to an event. Market
analysis is used to target a specific audience that results in matching topics
to a group’s needs. The message is delivered in different formats that
ensure that the largest possible audience is contacted. Monitoring strategies
and methods for return on investment are an ongoing process.
Vision
To achieve the education Office’s mission to deliver continuing
education to archivists, marketing strategies result in informing the appropriate
audience
of a program in a format that creates interest. Attracting enough participants
keeps a program financially viable and guarantees that archivists have more
education to choose from.
Marketing activities include:
- Identifying market and targeting promotions to
specific audiences
- Creating interest with images and tag lines:
- Developing marketing vehicles
- Monitoring competition educational opportunities
- Employing marketing strategies
that combine all methods effectively
- Utilize evaluative data in marketing as
appropriate
- Continually monitoring return on investment
Resource Development
Scope
In order to create a sustainable program of continuing education offerings
the Education Office will pursue a variety of funding models. These
include direct monies from SAA general funds, use of the dedicated educational
endowment, and seeking outside funding to support the development and
revision
of new
and current offerings as well as underwriters to defray the costs of
offerings.
Vision
The SAA Education Office will pursue a variety of funding models and
opportunities in order to support and grow its educational programs.
Activities
The Education Office will focus on two types of funding opportunities:
underwriting and grant funding. In this area the Education office will
- Identify and pursue appropriate underwriters for selected educational offerings
- Identify
potential granting agencies and develop grant proposals to grow and support
SAA’s educational program
- Work with other units in SAA and within SAA’s
headquarters to identify funding agencies most appropriate to pursue with
regard to the
educational program.
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