Donlevy, J. KentO'Neill, Kelly2015-09-212015-11-202015-09-212015O'Neill, K. (2015). A Grounded Theory Analysis of the Academic and Professional Roles in Assessing the University of Calgary’s Application to Offer a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24751http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2475Before a postsecondary provider advertises or offers a for-credit credential in Alberta, it must obtain government approval to offer the program. In the professions, programs are also accredited by the regulating body’s educational committee. This dual-assessment phenomenon was investigated by undertaking a thorough examination of a program assessment exercise in which one government regulatory agency (Campus Alberta Quality Council) and one professional accreditation body (American/Canadian Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education) concomitantly reviewed a proposal to offer a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary. Based on data obtained from organizational documents and assessment reports, media accounts, informal conversations and nine interviews, the study inductively identified a basic social structural process in accordance with classic grounded theory methodology. This is one process that responds to the main concern of effectively assessing a program proposal. A highly iterative analysis identified seven themes which were most pronounced in the data. These categories: consistency, classification, interdependence and autonomy, new quality dimensions, culture, peers and personalities, and training were consolidated into four conceptual constructs: standardizing, relating, adapting, and socializing. From these, abstraction allowed for a constructed logic in which both replication and contextualization occur, to different degrees across a spectrum. The core variable, ‘blueprinting’, is enacted by the synergies resulting from replicating and contextualizing. Blueprinting allows for a relatively predictable experience while at the same time, accommodating differences as they arise as a result of the involvement of varying institutions and agencies, programs and participants.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Education--AdministrationEducation--HigherEducation--Sociology ofaccreditationRegulationregulated professionsHigher EducationQuality Assuranceprogram assessmentprogram developmentdoctoral thesis10.11575/PRISM/24751