The accreditation scheme is administered by
IPEd’s Accreditation Board.
Governance of accreditation
IPEd’s Accreditation Board (AB) administers the accreditation scheme. AB members are volunteers who must be either an Accredited Editor (AE) or a Distinguished Editor (DE). They are usually appointed as delegates by their IPEd branch but occasionally are skills-based appointments. The chair is appointed by the AB from among its members.
Chair
Charlotte Cottier AE, ab.chair@iped-editors.org
Branch delegates
ANZ: Elizabeth Beattie AE, edanz.ab@iped-editors.org
NSW: Dr Louise Merrington AE, ednsw.ab@iped-editors.org
QLD: Charlotte Cottier AE, edqld.ab@iped-editors.org
SA: Amanda Webster AE, edsa.ab@iped-editors.org
TAS: Nina Giblinwright AE, edtas.ab@iped-editors.org
VIC: Claire McGregor AE, edvic.ab@iped-editors.org
WA: Dr Catherine Macdonald AE, edwa.ab@iped-editors.org
Skills-based member
ACT: Ted Briggs AE, edact.ab@iped-editors.org
Information about the Accreditation Board is set out below under the following headings:
IPEd Accreditation Board responsibilities
The AB is responsible for developing and administering IPEd’s accreditation exam, managing accreditation renewals and developing IPEd’s accreditation scheme.
Accreditation exam
The AB appoints an exam team to develop and administer the accreditation exam. Most of the team are volunteers. The exam team has 3 main sub-teams:
- A writing team of AEs and DEs develops the exam.
- A marking team of AEs and DEs assesses candidates’ papers.
- An administration team manages candidate registrations and invigilates the exam.
Everyone who has access to exam content must sign a confidentiality agreement.
Accreditation renewals
The AB administers the accreditation renewal application process for each cohort of AEs.
This work involves:
- reviewing the renewal requirements and guidelines
- managing renewal applications
- appointing assessors to assess each application. Assessors must be AEs or DEs, and are usually AB members.
Accreditation development
The AB continues to investigate options for advanced accreditation, which would recognise editors with superior skills, and specialist accreditation, which would recognise specialist editing skills and knowledge.
In 2019, the AB analysed the accreditation scheme. It presented its findings as a poster at the 2019 IPEd conference and in the IPEd Annual Report 2019.
In 2023, the AB conducted an anonymous survey of non-AE IPEd members to explore barriers to accreditation. It presented its findings in a report to the January 2024 meeting of the IPEd Board.
IPEd Accreditation Board history
In 2001, IPEd’s forerunner, the Council of Australian Societies of Editors, set up the Accreditation Working Group to research assessment schemes.
In 2005, IPEd established the AB to act on the Accreditation Working Group’s recommendations. The AB has been responsible for developing and implementing the accreditation scheme since then.
In 2016, the AB became an IPEd standing committee reporting to the IPEd Council. The IPEd Council became the IPEd Board in November 2018, following constitutional changes.
Accreditation exam history
The AB held the first accreditation exam in October 2008. Subsequent exams were held in 2009, 2011, 2012, and every 2 years since. The first 5 exams were written exams, on paper.
In 2011, the AB outlined options for an electronic exam in the discussion paper, Exam delivery options [DOC 28KB].
In 2016 and 2018, the exam was delivered on-screen in networked computer labs using Microsoft Word files containing macros, for all 3 parts. This format entailed creating 2 sets of exam files, one for Windows and one for Apple systems, that were specific to particular versions of Word. After investigating how to make the exam files platform-neutral, the AB changed the format for the 2020 exam to PDF forms for the LANGUAGE and KNOWLEDGE parts of the exam and ordinary Word files (i.e. no macros) for the MANUSCRIPT part. The exam has been delivered this way ever since.
In 2020, the AB also allowed candidates unable to attend an exam venue to sit the exam remotely. At the same time, the AB investigated and evaluated ways to fast-track bringing the accreditation exam fully online. In January 2021, the AB presented a detailed report of its findings and recommendations to the IPEd Board. Download a summary of the online exam development report [PDF 256KB].
Since the exam was introduced, more than 500 editors have become AEs, though some have since retired or have chosen not to renew their accreditation.
Distinguished Editors
In 2008, 28 editors were appointed to form the Assessors Forum, which was responsible for assessing candidates’ papers for the 2008 and 2009 exams. These editors, who were nominated by the societies of editors (the predecessors of IPEd branches), were professional editors who were:
- endorsed by their society
- unanimously approved by their society’s committee
- accomplished and respected by their peers
- ethical
- active supporters of editing standards.
Because they were ineligible to apply for accreditation, members of this group were granted the honorary rank of Distinguished Editor, or DE.