IPEd Notes 39
News from the Institute of Professional Editors Limited
November 2008
IPEd's first accreditation examination, held on 18 October 2008 at seven locations around the country, was not only a milestone in the professional development of editors but also a logistical triumph. Only minor hiccups were reported by invigilators, a tribute to the organisational ability and sheer hard work of the members of the Accreditation Board and its affiliates, all of whom are volunteers.
Some 171 editors took the exam, more than IPEd's target of 150. The numbers at the various venues were as follows: Adelaide 15 (14%), Brisbane 21 (13%), Canberra 21 (11%), Hobart 7 (10%), Melbourne 50 (10%), Perth 20 (20%) and Sydney 37(10%). The percentages are the approximate proportions of the local society of editors membership numbers. Eight of the examinees were not members of asociety.
It seems that, in general, most examinees were favourably disposed to the process and content of the exam. Here is one unsolicited comment:
Making the sample exam available was very useful for us. It gave us a chance to (a) assess whether we should take the plunge, and (b) practice! I'm sure I wasn't the only one who hadn't sat an exam for decades (nearly 30 years in my case), so it was great to have the sample exam to bring some of those grey cells back into action....
The exam itself was well-constructed and I thought it catered well for the wide range of skills and experience that the examinees might have had. I particularly liked the fact that we could choose which questions to answer from a number of options, as this allowed us to play to our strengths.
All examinees gave it their best and came equipped for the task. A report from Victoria notes:
We had a great venue and people were pleased with it and commented that the exam was good. We had some arrive with the biggest dictionaries you have ever seen, that they had lugged across town on public transport!
For a job well done, bouquets go to the Accreditation Board, the Assessors Forum, the exam development team, the exam coordinator, the Communication Committee for promotion and Sapro Conference Management for handling the nuts and bolts ofexam registrations. It is planned to hold a second exam sometime during 2009.
Marking of the exam is underway. The initial plan was to have completed it in time to give candidates their results by 30 November. At their recent moderation workshop, however, the exam assessors determined that they needed more time to ensure consistency in the marking of papers. Candidates will thus not now receive their results until, at latest, 15 December. The Accreditation Board apologises for this delay, as it knows people are anxious to hear their results, but is confident that all will understand the need to get things right.
In other news, we have to report the resignation of Michael Lewis as the SocEds (NSW) nominee on the IPEd Council. We thank Michael for his singular contribution and wish him well for the future. The NSW society will be confirming a new nominee shortly.
The Council will be meeting by teleconference on Sunday 30 November. The draft agenda for the meeting can be found under ‘Council - Meetings and minutes - Agendas'.
Ed Highley
Secretary
