AssessingProfessionalCompetenceAndEnhancingConsistencyOfAssessmentWithinTheSurveyingProfedoc.docx

1、AssessingProfessionalCompetenceAndEnhancingConsistencyOfAssessmentWithinTheSurveyingProfedocCEBEDISSEMMINATION OF INFORMATION ON PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE CASE STUDYASSESSING PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND ENHANCING CONSISTENCY OF ASSESSMENT WITHIN THE SURVEYING PROFESSION Dr Tom Kennie Ranmore Consultin

2、g Group/Sheffield Hallam UniversityRanmore ManorRanmore, Nr Dorking, Surrey RH5 6SXTel: +44 (0) 7050 351649Email: *.uk andMike GreenSheffield Hallam UniversitySchool of Environment & DevelopmentSheffield S1 1 WBTel: +44 (0) 114 225 2016Email: *.ukMuch work has been undertaken in recent years on defi

3、ning and assessing competence in an academic context. In comparison, much less research has focused on the definition and assessment of professional competence. In this case study, the authors report on a study conducted for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to develop a framework

4、which has helped clarify and made explicit the criteria and standards used by assessors when judging the construct of professional competence. The case study provides information on the development of a model and associated materials which are now being used by over 500 assessors to evaluate candida

5、tes during their Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) interview.In addition to the development of the framework the case also reviews the process used to implement the change. The authors will contend that an understanding of how to effect change in the complex and often highly political worl

6、d of the professions is critical to the success of this type of project.1. INTRODUCTIONIts all a bit of a lottery you knowits much easier to pass if youre assessed at Heathrow/Harrogate.The quotes above are indicative of the types of concerns that are occasionally expressed by a small number of indi

7、viduals and employers after a typical professional assessment centre for candidates desiring to become members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Their views reflect the concerns of some that the degree of consistency applied to assessing candidates during the final interview st

8、age of the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) is variable. This is not an issue unique to the surveying profession and candidates undergoing a similar process in other professions also express similar views. This paper deals with some of the steps taken to deal with these concerns. In parti

9、cular, the paper summarises some recent research to make more explicit the criteria that may often be implicitly assessed in an interview setting. The paper also summarises the processes that have been introduced by the RICS to make the APC more transparent and enhance the consistency of approach ad

10、opted by the assessing panels.2. THE SCALE OF THE ISSUEIt is useful to put the issue in a wider context. Last year (2001), nearly 3,000 candidates were interviewed by over 500 RICS assessors. With increasing options and routes to membership candidates may be assessed in some 17 specialist areas enco

11、mpassing areas of practice ranging from management consultancy, facilities management and project management in addition to the more long standing routes in commercial property, building surveying, quantity surveying and so on. Given the scale of the operation arranging nearly 700 panels per year, e

12、ach involving 3 volunteers who may only participate in one or two interviews per annum it is perhaps reassuring to note that the number of formal appeals is less than 2% of the total number of candidates assessed.An issue that has, however, become of greater concern than the number of formal appeals

13、 relates to how consistently borderline candidates may be treated. Very seldom do interview panels make inappropriate judgements in relation to candidates who are clearly very competent, nor do they make serious errors in relation to those who are not yet fully competent. The difficult zone is often

14、 those who are in this borderline category. Those candidates who can lead interview panels to agonise for hours. Those where the decision may be influenced one way or the other by relatively small differences of viewpoint. If we assume that typically some 60-70% of candidates pass at each assessment

15、 centre and perhaps 15-20% of candidates are clear referrals, this might leave a residual 15-20% of candidates who are potential borderlines. Even if only 1 in 4 of these led to a referral decision which could have been swayed in the opposite direction by another panel it is possible that between 10

16、0 and 130 candidates may have been treated inconsistently. 3. DEALING WITH THE ISSUE: PROGRESS PRIOR TO THE RESEARCH PROJECTEnhancing the consistency of APC assessment is not a new issue. It is also not an issue that can be resolved instantaneously. Improving the consistency of any professional judgement requires a number of issues to be examined in a holistic sense.