Dr. NAACLS – Publishing Outcomes Measures
Dear Dr. NAACLS:
I am currently preparing to assemble my Self-Study Report, and remembered there was a recent addition to Standard 7, which states that, “Students must be provided with a clear description of the program and its content and current publications, which must include: N. outcomes measure.”
Do I have to use ASCP-BOC certification exam results as my published outcome measure, and if so, what is the best way to go about this?
Sincerely,
Eagerto Getstarted
Dear Eagerto:
Good question! You might recall a June 2011 posting of the NAACLS News where the following was written in regards to the Standard 7 change to add a published outcomes measure (which was still being proposed at the time):
“The 2010 CHEA regulations require that accrediting agencies require of all programs accredited by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) recognized accreditors the publication of outcomes measures in their published materials presented to students and applicants. The regulation is clear that it is the prerogative of the institution as to which outcomes measures are published.”
As stated in the last sentence, it is up to the institution which outcomes measure it chooses to publish. Therefore, it should first be known that BOC certification scores are not required to be the one outcomes measure you use to satisfy NAACLS Core Standard 7. A few options are even listed in the new Proposed Standards (available on the NAACLS website), such as graduation rates, attrition rates, placement rates, or others.
That being said, should you choose to publish BOC certification scores you receive from your Program Performance Report as an outcomes measure in a publically published document, you must obey the disclaimer found on the Program Performance and Record Release Report login screen:
IMPORTANT: Program Performance Report (PPR) data is NOT to be shared with the public. The Program Performance Report is a paid subscription service meant for Program Directors and Program Administrators ONLY. The PPR (including the histograms, individual student data and subtest means) is not public information, and it is inappropriate to publicize this data in recruitment efforts. However, Program Directors can provide the scaled score comparisons for “First Time Examinees from the Total Population” (contained within the “Program and National Scaled Score Comparisons” section) as an outcomes measure for accreditation purposes.
The folks at ASCP are also very helpful if you have any questions about what can and cannot be publicized. So if you want to be absolutely sure that you are following ASCP instruction, I do recommend contacting ASCP or visiting ASCP’s website at www.ascp.org if you have any other questions!
Sincerely,
Dr. NAACLS