I General Provision
i This Management Methods is formulated to ensure the integrity and safety of documents related to the accreditation of medical education and to effectively maintain the information security of the accredited schools.
ii The documents referred to in the Methods include the historical records of various categories and media that form during the past and present accreditation of medical education.
iii Under the unified leadership and whole-course management, the management of relevant documents follows the principles of being fact-based, accuracy, standardization, streamlining, efficiency, security and confidentiality, which makes it timely, accurate and safe.
iv The Secretariat of the Working Committee for the Accreditation of Medical Education, the Ministry of Education (the Secretariat) is responsible for the management of relevant documents.
v The relevant documents with preservation value formed during the accreditation process should be all archived. The expert group for site visit and the accredited schools are obliged to submit relevant documents on time. The scope of the file to be archived includes but is not limited to:
(a) Before the site visit: relevant documents and notices of accreditation, accreditation application forms submitted by the schools, experts' opinions and decisions on accreditation application, and the materials of preliminary visit, etc.
(b) During the site visit: relevant documents and notices of accreditation, self-evaluation reports and supporting materials, the dean’s or the president's reports (e.g. PPT), experts’ schedules related to site visit, experts’ plan for site visit, schedules of site visit, tables for division of duties among expert group members, schedules and minutes of relevant meetings, voting records, and photos related to site visit, etc.
(c) After the site visit: relevant documents and notices of accreditation, preliminary findings reports, accreditation reports submitted to schools for comments and their feedback, accreditation reports submitted to the WCAME, evaluation of the team members by the assessment team chair and evaluation of the expert group by the accredited schools, final decisions on accreditation, feedback following the accreditation and the materials of the schools for on-going improvement, and the materials for review visits.
(d) Others: relevant systems and constitutions, complaints or appeal documents, documents for standards revision, correspondence with the accredited schools and other institutions, and meeting materials, hard copy or electronic materials required by international experts during the accreditation process and other necessary supporting materials in English version provided by the schools when international experts are involved, and materials for international communication.
III Document Security and Safekeeping
vi Paper-based archives shall be filed and stored in separate filing cabinets for proper arrangement so that it is easy to find. Do not make it exposed or bundled in a mess.
vii The electronic archives shall be encrypted for storage and backed up. The backup files and source files should be kept separately.
viii All documents to be archived and saved are permanently stored
ix If the members of the expert group for site visit use the computers provided by the accredited schools during the site visit, they should permanently delete the accreditation-related documents stored in the computers before leaving.
x After the accreditation report is completed, the Secretariat and the expert group for site visit are obliged to destroy the following materials in a safe manner:
(a) original accreditation materials and other supporting materials submitted by the school (except public materials);
(b) records involving confidential or sensitive information of accreditation;
(c) emails related to confidential or sensitive information of accreditation;
(d) documents and other materials that the school is reluctant to disclose.
xi It is the responsibility of the Secretariat to follow the principle of confidentiality, i.e., do not give the personal information provided by the experts to the Secretariat (including contact and account information, etc.) to any irrelevant parties in any way.
IV Use of Archives
xii The relevant documents can be consulted as needed, and shall be returned to the original place after use.
xiii Documents borrowed by persons other than the WCAME members should be registered after confirmation by the Secretary General of the Secretariat, and should be returned within one month.
xiv Paper-based documents shall not be altered, folded, cut or torn, and electronic documents shall not be modified, marked, cut or deleted.
V Supplementary Provisions
xv The additions, deletions and modifications to the charters of this Methods shall be discussed and approved at the working meeting of the Secretariat.
xvi The Methods take effect on the date of release and the Secretariat reserves the right to interpret.
The Secretariat of the Working Committee for the Accreditation of Medical Education,
the Ministry of Education
28 July , 2013
