An important part of all SSA accreditations is the online assessment interview.
Interviews take at least 2 hours and are conducted by a panel or 2 to 4 accredited people, including the moderator, with 2 accredited people being a quorum. Where possible, the majority of members of the panel will be accredited in the same or similar discipline. Selected panel members may withdraw from the panel if they know the applicant and believe that they may have a conflict regarding the outcome.
The Panel Chair has delegated authority from the Accreditation board to endorse interview outcomes but can refer decisions back to the Board if necessary.
Panel members are provided with an information package on each applicant that includes application form, CV, declarations, referee reports, testamurs and any other supporting information. On receipt of the information the Chair may decide not to go ahead with the interview.
Each interview will assess 2 to 4 applicants during each sitting, with interviews being 30 to 45 minutes duration. A bank of prepared questions is used, based on the Standards and therefore unique to each accreditation type. Additional questions from both panel and applicant are encouraged to ensure that an informed decision can be made. There should be no need to study for an interview as the subject is the applicant, their knowledge and experience and their likely approach to different situations.
An example of a 2-hour interview process is:
- Briefing – 15 mins
- interview 1 and decision – 30 mins
- Interview 2 and decision – 30 mins
- Interview 3 and decision- 30 mins
- Debrief and close – 15 mins
Decisions may be to 1) recommend the applicant for accreditation, or 2) seek more information, or 3) describe further actions the applicant must take before they would be deemed suitable for accreditation.