Evidence-Based
Improvement begins with relevant information such as assessment results, feedback, quality records, evaluation findings, performance data, and documented organizational experience.
Continuous improvement connects evidence, evaluation, findings, action, and subsequent review to support the ongoing development of educational and organizational practice.
Within an accreditation context, improvement is supported by systematic quality review rather than isolated changes. Organizations can examine relevant evidence, identify priorities, implement appropriate actions, and evaluate subsequent evidence to understand progress.
Continuous improvement is a structured process for using evidence and review to understand current practice, identify relevant priorities, implement development activities, and examine subsequent progress.
Improvement begins with relevant information such as assessment results, feedback, quality records, evaluation findings, performance data, and documented organizational experience.
Quality review is more effective when responsibilities, review activities, findings, decisions, actions, and follow-up are organized within a defined process.
Improvement operates as a continuing quality activity in which subsequent evidence can be used to examine implementation and determine whether further development is appropriate.
A practical improvement cycle connects evidence with analysis, findings, action, implementation, and subsequent review.
Gather relevant information about educational and organizational practice from appropriate records, assessments, feedback, evaluations, data, and other quality sources.
Examine the evidence in relation to applicable objectives, accreditation requirements, expected practices, and organizational quality priorities.
Determine relevant strengths, gaps, inconsistencies, risks, opportunities, or other findings supported by the available evidence.
Establish appropriate actions, responsibilities, priorities, and implementation arrangements in response to relevant findings.
Carry out the defined actions within the relevant educational, administrative, operational, or quality processes.
Examine later evidence to understand implementation, evaluate progress, and determine whether additional action or continued monitoring is appropriate.
Relevant quality evidence can provide different perspectives on educational implementation, learner experience, assessment, organizational practice, and areas requiring further examination.
Assessment results and related records can provide information about learner performance and the operation of applicable assessment practices.
Relevant learner feedback can provide information about educational experience, communication, resources, support, delivery, and other aspects of participation.
Evaluation activities can help examine the implementation, relevance, organization, and quality of educational activities.
Administrative and organizational records can help identify patterns, process issues, implementation gaps, or developments affecting educational quality.
Relevant findings from accreditation assessment and evaluation can contribute to organizational review and development priorities.
Relevant performance information and quality records can support systematic examination of applicable organizational and educational practices.
Identifying a finding does not itself create improvement. The organization should connect relevant findings with decisions, responsibilities, actions, implementation, and follow-up evidence.
Describe the issue, development opportunity, or quality priority clearly enough to understand what requires attention.
Review the information supporting the finding and distinguish documented evidence from assumptions or unsupported conclusions.
Identify an appropriate response based on the nature, significance, scope, and context of the finding.
Establish responsibility for implementation, coordination, documentation, and subsequent review of the improvement activity.
Carry out the defined activity and maintain relevant evidence showing what was implemented.
Use subsequent evidence to examine progress and determine whether the response should be maintained, modified, expanded, or followed by additional action.
Documentation helps connect the original evidence and finding with the resulting decision, improvement activity, implementation, and subsequent review.
Identify the information that led to the quality review or improvement priority.
Record the relevant conclusion supported by the evidence and the organizational or educational context in which it was identified.
Document the response selected and the rationale or quality objective associated with the planned action where applicable.
Identify responsibility for carrying out and monitoring the applicable improvement activity.
Maintain relevant documentation showing the action taken and resulting changes to applicable practice.
Retain subsequent evidence and review information demonstrating how progress was examined after implementation.
Quality review can examine multiple parts of educational practice, from initial design and delivery through assessment, learner support, evaluation, and subsequent development.
Review learning objectives, curriculum, content, instructional approaches, resources, and their relationship with the intended educational purpose.
Examine relevant evidence about implementation, instructional delivery, participation, administration, and the operation of educational activities.
Review assessment methods, completion requirements, results, and their relationship with applicable learning objectives.
Examine relevant information about communication, resources, guidance, accessibility of support, and other applicable learner-support practices.
Review feedback, evaluation results, performance information, and other evidence used to understand the educational activity.
Use relevant findings to inform appropriate updates to educational materials, processes, assessment, support, resources, or other quality practices.
Accreditation assessment and evaluation can contribute evidence and findings to an organization’s broader quality review while the accreditation record documents relevant practice within the applicable scope.
Use applicable accreditation criteria to identify the organizational and educational areas relevant to the accredited or proposed scope.
Review the documentation and records associated with applicable criteria and the practices they are intended to demonstrate.
Consider relevant evaluation findings as part of the organization’s evidence for quality review and development.
Determine which findings require action, monitoring, further evidence, or other appropriate organizational response.
Maintain relevant evidence of actions and changes associated with identified quality priorities.
Use subsequent evidence to understand implementation and inform further quality review where appropriate.
Improvement processes become less useful when evidence, findings, responsibility, implementation, or follow-up are disconnected from one another.
A change is introduced without a sufficiently defined finding or evidence base explaining the quality issue being addressed.
Feedback, assessment information, or quality data are collected but are not systematically examined or used within decision-making.
A relevant issue is identified, but responsibility for responding to it is not clearly established.
An improvement is implemented, but the resulting change and supporting evidence are not adequately maintained within the quality record.
An action is completed without examining subsequent evidence to understand implementation or progress.
Quality activities occur as isolated events rather than contributing to an ongoing cycle of evidence, review, action, and subsequent evaluation.
Key questions about evidence-based quality review, improvement actions, documentation, accreditation findings, and subsequent evaluation.
Continuous improvement is a structured process that uses relevant evidence and review to identify priorities, implement appropriate actions, and examine subsequent progress within educational and organizational practice.
Relevant evidence can include assessment information, learner feedback, evaluations, organizational records, quality data, accreditation findings, and other documented information associated with the activity being reviewed.
Feedback can contribute evidence, but improvement also requires appropriate review, findings, decisions, action where relevant, and subsequent examination of implementation or progress.
Documentation connects the evidence and finding with the resulting decision, responsibility, action, implementation, and subsequent review.
Relevant accreditation findings can form part of the evidence considered during organizational quality review and can help identify areas requiring attention, monitoring, or development.
Quality improvement is iterative. Subsequent evidence can generate further findings or confirm that an implemented practice should continue to be monitored within routine quality review.
Continue to the Future of IABCET section to examine future directions, developments affecting continuing education, and emerging trends relevant to educational quality and professional learning.