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    Auditor Training Manual

    The programme provides a framework for training students who will perform audits on social responsibility at universities.

    The auditor training programme has been designed to enable student participants to reach the following outcomes:

    • Students will gain an understanding of the concept of University Social Responsibility (USR);
    • Students will gain an understanding of audits and will be able to perform an auditing process on social responsibility at a university;
    • Students will be able to conduct interviews and focus groups as tools to carry out an audit and collect data;
    • Students will be able to analyse the data collected and reflect on it;
    • Students will have skills in writing and presenting a report as feedback to the institution audited;
    • Students will be able to self-reflect and self-assess personal learning.

    Students participating in the programme also gain valuable "soft" skills: they improve their skills of teamwork, critical thinking, time management, foreign language, and social abilities to work in an international and team setting.

    The Auditor Training Programme developed during the project is organised as a process: observe/reflect, explore, act, evaluate and modify.

    • During the "Observe" phase students carry out desk research on University Social Responsibility, get acquainted with the concept of social responsibility
    • The "Explore" phase addresses a problem and challenges and includes some online and workbook readings.
    • The "Act" phase is intended for actual training of students on audits, auditing of social responsibility and institutions. This phase involves collecting, analysing data and generating evidence by means of interviewing, meeting with focus groups and final reporting.
    • The "Evaluate" phase is related to the assessment of learning and the completion of a reflective learning log and provision of feedback, defined as "lessons learned" that might indicate room for improvement.
    • The "Modify" phase is related to the development of new aims and setting of new directions with an aim to move forward and increase social responsibility at the institution audited.

    The Auditor Training Programme comprises the following units: Introduction to the project and main USR  concepts; self-introductions and expectations from the training; USR Audit and auditing, auditor skills, team-building; USR Benchmarking criteria; Methods of auditing; Simulation of USR audit; Report writing.

    The programme is designed as a three-phase process organised in a blended mode: an online preparatory phase, a face-to-face 6-day (approximately 40 hours of a total of 100 hours for completion of the Certificate in Social Responsibility Auditing in its entirity) auditor training and individual work carried out by students after the course, prior to the audit.

    Download the manual for facilitators delivering the auditor training programme here.

    Download the training resources to support delivery of the auditor training programme here: