Accreditation News

29.03.2012 - Evaluation Report now avaliable

The Evaluation Report for the pilot Degree Accreditation Programme can now be found here.

20.03.2012 - First Bioscience Degree Programmes Accredited

At the House of Commons institutions with programmes that had been accredited during the pilot were celebrated and praised by over 200 members of the scientific community. Further information, including a video of the address by Rt Hon David Willetts can be found here.

06.03.2012 - Mark Downs House of Lords Evidence

Our Chief Executive, Mark Downs, gave evidence in the House of Lords about skills required in new graduates and postgraduates, speaking directly about Degree Accreditation. The call for evidence from the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee came in order to inform their inquiry into higher education in STEM subjects. The full news story can be found here.

12.01.2011 - Stakeholder Consultation Meeting Report available

The meeting report of the 2011 Stakeholder Consultation Event on priorities and strategy for expansion of the Accreditation Programme is now available on the Accreditation Consultation page.

21.11.2011 – New staff

Natasha Neill joins the Society's  Education Department.  Natasha will be leading on the evaluation of the Accreditation Pilot and working with Dr Eva Sharpe in the development and launch of the Accreditation Programme. Email Natasha

17.10.2011 - Accreditation Stakeholder Consultation Event

Representatives from the bioscience and wider science community gathered at Charles Darwin House for a day of presentations and discussions on the priorities and strategy for expanding the Society of Biology's Accreditation Programme. The meeting was attended by approximately 70 delegates from universities, business & industry, Government, Learned Societies, Research Councils, Funding Bodies and Sector Skills Councils.

08.08.2011 - Consultation launched on the Expansion of the Accreditation Programme

In-built flexibility has ensured that the Accreditation Programme remains inclusive and applicable across the range of the biosciences, and as we launch the Accreditation Programme in 2012, we aim to increase the number of disciplines covered.  The Society is currently consulting on the strategy for expanding the Accreditation Programme.  We are seeking the views of stakeholders across the breadth of the biosciences on their priorities for the first stage of our expansion.  

Please click here to access the full consultation document.

01.06.2011 – Accreditation Pilot begins

In June 2011, the Society of Biology launched the pilot of the Accreditation Programme, allowing us to test the mechanisms and criteria we have developed.  The pilot will initially focus on two subject areas - biochemistry and in vivo sciences, however pending a successful pilot, the Society plans to expand the Accreditation Programme into a range of bioscience disciplines. 

For more information on the pilot please see our Accreditation Pilot page

19.05.2011 - Assessment Panel Training Day

The Society of Biology has recruited assessors for the Accreditation Pilot via nominations from our Member Organisations and the Heads of University Biological Sciences (HUBS).  A training event was held for the biochemistry and in vivo sciences assessment panels in May 2011 with presentations, mock assessment exercises and discussions.  A second training day will be held in August for further assessors.

15.04.2011 – New staff

Dr Mike Trevethick joins the Society's  Education Department.  Mike will be leading on the evaluation of the Accreditation Pilot which will feed into the development of the future Accreditation Programme.

23.03.2011 – Society of Biology highlighted in HM Treasury’s Plan for Growth

The Accreditation Programme is highlighted in the HM Treasury’s Plan for the Growth as a means of giving employers the confidence that graduates have the necessary skills for research careers.

Read our news coverage of the Plan for Growth and 2011 Budget.

To read the Plan for Growth please click here 

16.03.2011 – David Willetts MP highlights the benefits of Society of Biology Degree Accreditation

The Rt Hon. David Willetts MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science, highlights the Society of Biology's Degree Accreditation Programme as key to driving up standards in higher education at the Guardian's Higher Education Summit.  For the full speech transcript  click here

01.02. 2011 – New staff

Dr Eva Sharpe joins the Education Department as Higher Education Policy Officer.  Eva will be Project Managing the development of the Accreditation Programme. Email Eva

13. 12. 2010 – New Subgroups set up to progress the Accreditation Programme

The Society of Biology has established three new working subgroups, tasked with further developing key areas highlighted during the Consultation process. The Society of Biology’s Member Organisations were invited to nominate members for the subgroups.

The Academic Content of the Framework and Discipline Specification Subgroup are ensuring the clarity of the Accreditation Framework and developing discipline specific guidelines to enhance its generic academic criteria. 

The Student Placement Subgroup are developing quality assurance measures and assessment criteria for academic and industrial placements, and ensuring that the framework is unambiguous on the range of accepted placement options.

The Quality Assurance and Documentation Subgroup are enhancing the Accreditation Assessment Process; discussing how to ensure continuity of assessment across a range of disciplines, departments and institutions.

22.10.2010 – Article on Accreditation of Biology Degrees in the Parliamentary Newsletter

Dr Mark Downs, Chief Executive of the Society of Biology has written an article on Society of Biology Degree Accreditation for the Parliamentary Newsletter.  He states that "The challenge is to ensure that the system is not over bureaucratic, does not place undue cost burdens on universities, and meets the needs and expectations of employers. But above all, an accredited degree also needs to meet the expectation and aspiration of students." 

To read the full article, please click here

13. 10. 2010 – Stakeholder Consultation Event

Representatives from the bioscience and wider science community gathered in London for a day of presentations and discussion on the Society of Biology's newly developed Accreditation Framework. The meeting was attended by nearly 100 delegates from Universities, Business & Industry, Government, Learned Societies, Research Councils, Funding Bodies and Sector Skills Councils and was a unique opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the design of the Accreditation Programme and help guide its future development.

For the full coverage of the event, including the meeting report and videos of the key note speeches by the Rt. Hon. David Willetts MP and Dr Mark Downs click here

18. 08. 2010 - 31.12. 2010 - Industry Survey on Accreditation

The industry survey ran from August to December 2010 and sought the views of UK industry on the employability of bioscience graduates through our Industry Survey on Accredited Degrees. It was an opportunity for business's needs to shape an Accreditation Programme, which aims to help employers identify those bioscience graduates with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for employment in today’s bioscience-related industries.

14. 07. 2010 - 31. 08. 2010 - Student Survey on Accreditation

The Student Survey ran from July to August 2010 and gave students and recent graduates the chance to share their opinions on a range of topics including the factors affecting their degree choice, their experiences of practical work at university and their feelings toward employment.

Thank you to the 1081 students who took part and congratulations to the winner of our prize draw, Claire from the University of Birmingham. Claire is a third year Human Biology Student and the lucky recipient of £30 iTunes voucher! Read the full news story here...

01. 06. 2010 – New staff

Niamh Johnston joins the Education Department as Higher Education Policy Officer.

11.05 2010 – Accreditation of bioscience degrees discussed at HUBS Spring Meeting

The Heads of University Biological Sciences (HUBS) held their 2010 Spring Meeting on the recognition and accreditation of bioscience degrees.  Dr Liz Lakin, Chair of the Accreditation Working Group, presented on the Society of Biology’s Degree Accreditation Programme. 

You can read the report of the meeting here

22.12. 2009 - 21. 02. 2010 - Stakeholder Consultation period

The Society of Biology held a large online consultation early on in the design of the Accreditation Programme to ensure the views of the full breadth of our membership and stakeholders were considered. Nearly 300 representatives from learned societies, academia, industry, Government, students and teachers responded to our first survey.

30.10. 2009  - Accreditation Workshop

The Society held a consultation workshop at the ABPI offices, attended by higher education institutes, learned societies, Government departments, research councils and funding bodies.   A report of the workshop is available here.