Is there a focus on information literacy as a transversal skill within the institutional accreditation process?

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to compare the standards and criteria of different organizations that accredit some of the top universities in the world according to the QS World University Rankings for 2015/2016. Regional accreditation organizations in USA support information literacy outcomes, but I found some differences between their practices and the criteria of other accrediting agencies. Information literacy is mentioned as important indicator of students’ competency in some of them, but not in others. The paper also investigates the Criteria system for institutional accreditation of higher schools in Bulgaria where standards are similar with regulations of the quality of university programs around the world but without a focus on information literacy. The conclusions refer to insufficient awareness of the importance of information literacy as a transversal skill in the digital society and its role for the social inclusion of young people.