Role Changes in an Assessment
When an accreditation file needs to be revised—whether due to updated guidance or a shift in applicability—there’s a better way than deleting all your hard work. In fact, when assessors suggest a standard should be marked Not Applicable or an exemption should be used, it doesn’t mean all your attachments and highlighting need to vanish. The better move? Change the role of the attachments.
On a recent assessment, I came across an agency with a petty cash fund that hadn’t been used in years. The city had transitioned to purchase cards, and the fund sat untouched. Still, the agency was doing timely quarterly audits. My recommendation? Return the funds to the city’s finance department and mark the standard Not Applicable.
But here’s where it gets practical: instead of deleting the attachments, I showed the accreditation manager how to change the role of each file so the work would be preserved in case it was ever needed again. It was a game-changer—especially since she hadn’t activated the Team Member role yet.
You might build a file you believe hits every bullet, only to have a mock assessor say it's too much. Then a formal assessor wants more proof. Or maybe your agency changes direction, and the standard no longer applies. Either way, you shouldn’t lose what you've already built.
Instead of deleting:
Change the role of the attachments to Team Member (or another internal-only role).
Bring them back later by switching the role back to Accreditation Manager.
This preserves your highlights, labels, and structure—especially if there's a chance you might want to use it again. The key here is to only give assessors observe rights to the Accreditation Manager role. That way, any attachment in a Team Member will not be visible to assessors.
Navigate to the root of your assessment by clicking on its name.
Click the Assignments tab.
If the Team Member role isn’t active:
Click + Add New Assignment.
In the User/Group field, enter your username or group.
Select Team Member as the role.
For Responsibility, choose Participate, then click Save.
Navigate to the standard(s) you want to update.
For each attachment:
Click the slide-out menu next to its name.
Select the pencil (edit) icon.
Change the Role dropdown to Team Member, then click Save.
Repeat for each file you want to hide from assessors.
To revert: Simply return to each file and change the role back to Accreditation Manager.
This small shift can save you hours. Whether it's a file you're unsure about, or something you want to preserve for future assessments, using role changes lets you keep your work handy with the ability to restore in an instant.
Who do you know that could benefit from these accreditation-friendly tips and resources? Consider sharing this link with a colleague so they can sign up and get these straight to their inbox too:https://www.accreditationacademy.net/signup
Areaka P. Jewell
Accreditation Academy
areaka@accreditationacademy.net
(305) 360-1075