Standards and source mappings

Accreditation standards establish the framework a cycle is working against. Administrator maintains the standard name, code and institution, together with effective dates and the policy reference. Accreditation Management Operator selects that standard when preparing a cycle. A familiar framework name alone is insufficient when institutions use different policy versions or effective periods.

Source mappings describe how a connected source identifies and supplies evidence. They retain the source field, target field, types and transformation rule alongside a version and effective date. Agree these mappings during implementation so an observation arrives with the meaning the accreditation team expects.

Start with the institution and its people, then establish the standard that governs the pilot cycle. Review the effective period and whether the standard is active before selecting it for new work. Keep the original policy reference available when explaining a previously reviewed cycle.

• Identify the framework. Use the standard code and organization to distinguish similarly named accreditation requirements.
• Explain the source. Document how an incoming value becomes evidence, including its original identifier and any agreed transformation.
• Control changes. Review a new mapping version against a real observation before using it for another import.

Administrator and the quality team should agree who supplies authoritative policy documents and how effective dates are interpreted. Confirm the institution’s time zone and the source system’s date conventions. Decide whether an older standard remains active for continuing work or should stop being selected for new cycles.

For each connection, work through the source field and intended destination with the person who owns that information. A numerical observation needs a clear unit. A source record identifier needs a stable meaning across repeated imports. Record any transformation explicitly rather than depending on a spreadsheet operation known only to the person preparing the file.

A department supplies an evidence extract containing a count of completed learning activities. The quality team intends to use that quantity in a cycle governed by the institution’s current standard. Administrator confirms the standard and policy reference. Admin and the department agree the source identifier, observation date and unit before configuring the mapping.

The department later changes the extract so that the same column contains a percentage. Compare the revised mapping with the original observation before accepting another import. The reviewer needs to understand the quantity actually submitted, while the operator needs a clear explanation of which source version produced it. Keep the earlier evidence and its meaning available during that discussion.

Test a record with an unrecognized standard code as well as a valid record. Resolve the reference before associating it with a cycle. Do not choose a similarly named standard just to complete the import.

• Current accreditation standards — Check active frameworks, institutions and effective periods before starting work.
• Active accreditation cycles — See which standard each ongoing cycle uses.

Use prepare and validate to test a standard against actual evidence. Review connection ownership and import order before loading institutional records.