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This study compares quality assurance across two case studies in the UK; a commercial organization operating in the private sector and a university. Case Study A is a private education organization specializing in the delivery of business and management programs. Case Study B is a university that delivers courses across four academic schools and through a number of partnerships. The business school offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in business management, economics, accounting, events, tourism, marketing, entrepreneurialism, and human resources. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 organizational members from across the two organizations including 8 academics/tutors, 6 of whom are also employed as external examiners and/or external quality assurers (EQAs). The study compares the remit of both EQA working on behalf of awarding bodies and external examiners working on behalf of universities. The EQA role is conceptualized as an “arbiter of standards” whereas the external examiner is more likely to be considered as “critical friend.” This variance in conception has important implications for the way the process of quality assurance is conducted and utilized in support of program and institutional development. The research finds that one of the most significant differences between quality assurance processes in Case Studies A and B is the way in which student feedback is collected and utilized to support and enhance the process of review. This chapter provides recommendations designed to capitalize on the value of the quality assurance process through greater alignment of teaching and assessment strategy and policies and procedures in practice.

Sustainability labels play a crucial role in providing consumers with quick and easily accessible information to assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of products. This research examines how different sustainability labels influence consumer perceptions and assessments of alternative food networks (AFNs).

The authors conducted three cross-sectional studies to explore consumer perceptions of sustainability labels for AFNs. The authors tested labels representing the three sustainability dimensions, labels of different graphical quality and different awarding bodies.

Consumers did not differentiate between sustainability dimensions but assessed labels in a holistic manner. The overall rating of a label positively influenced perceived sustainability. Self-designed and professionally designed labels had a positive effect on the intention to buy from an AFN. Professionally designed labels also enhanced the perceived authenticity of the networks. Notably, the source of the label, whether self-awarded or awarded by an official body, did not significantly impact consumer perceptions. However, interaction effects revealed professionally designed labels had a stronger positive effect on purchase intention when they were self-awarded.

AFNs can derive benefits from using labels. Self-organized, non-profit AFNs are well advised to have labels professionally designed.

This research contributes to the understanding of the effects of sustainability labels for community-based AFNs, diverging from the traditional focus on individual products.

Summarizes the quality assurance requirements, criteria and processes of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ), with those for two NVQ awarding bodies active in management education in UK higher education. Describes the effects of these on the quality assurance systems of one large accreditation centre and sets out some implications for the future.

In September this year, the Government issued its draft Regulations on Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) 1995, which acknowledges for the first time the importance of a programme to make food handlers, their supervisors and managers, properly aware of the importance of food hygiene for the protection of the consumer and what they can do to prepare food safely. However, the regulation is specific neither about how training should best be implemented nor on the most important aspect of the policy, its end result. The standards of food hygiene awareness to be achieved through training have not been specified. The Department of Health, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) cannot delegate their responsibility to protect the public health. Therefore, levels of food hygiene awareness, regardless of industrial sector, should be their prime concern. If the departments could set their minimum required standard of food hygiene awareness, the national framework of training which has evolved could naturally regulate the quality of training itself.

This paper explores a number of important issues surrounding accrediting work‐based learning for the award of university level qualifications. The paper is divided into sections. Section one of the paper defines accreditation and explores its historical development in the UK. This is followed in section two by a description of the various types of accreditation that are open to organisations, drawing on real life case histories. The paper concludes by highlighting a number of factors organisations should take into account when considering accrediting their corporate training and development activities.

Information for regularly‐issued publications held on a database, such as accessions lists, bulletins and directories, can be downloaded with embedded codes used for word‐processing commands, desktop publishing flags or a markup language. In this way the information can be formatted automatically for style and layout to facilitate printing and to enhance the final appearance. This article describes how a series of directories has been produced by the Association of Commonwealth Universities in this way using CAIRS information retrieval software and how the data must be tidied up once it has been exported from CAIRS. CAIRS' index generation facilities are also described.

This article considers the benefits of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) for records management in the light of the development and aims of NVQs generally. It traces the development of the records NVQs within the national forum of the Information and Library Services Lead Body and provides details of their content at the various levels.

The development of competence‐based assessment in the UK has been strongly influenced by the introduction, in the 1980s, of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and Scottish Vocational Qualifications. The introduction of these qualifications has raised the profile of competence‐based assessment and, arguably, its credibility. But it is responsible for creating some misconceptions. Attempts to centralise and prescribe criteria and processes have stifled innovation and have restricted the wider application of and involvement in competence‐based assessment, particularly at the higher levels. This article describes the background of competence‐based assessment and NVQs and identifies some of the misconceptions which exist in this area. Taking the Association of Accounting Technicians as a case study, the article aims to correct these misconceptions and demonstrate the real potential of competence‐based assessment in vocational and professional contexts.

During the first three years of its existence, the Management Charter Initiative (MCI) has become a powerful force for change in the field of management education, training and development. Nearly 1,000 British companies have pledged to obey the Code of Practice, occupational management standards for junior and middle managers have been published and strong links are being forged between MCI networks and Training and Enterprise Councils and Local Enterprise Companies.