Diane M. Barrafato Named a Worldwide Branding Executive of the Year for a Distinguished Career in Quality Assurance and Academic Leadership

    ONTARIO, CANADA, October 7, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Diane M. Barrafato, President and Secretary of COVENTRY HIGHER ED. CONSULTING LTD., has been named a Worldwide Branding Executive of the Year in Quality Assurance and Academic Leadership While inclusion in Worldwide Branding is an honor, only a small selection of members in each discipline are chosen for this distinction. These special honorees are distinguished based on their professional accomplishments, academic achievements, leadership abilities, years of service, and the credentials they have provided in association with their Worldwide Branding membership.

As the founder of COVENTRY HIGHER ED. CONSULTING LTD, Ms. Barrafato brings more than two decades of industry experience to her position as the firm's president and secretary. Prior to her current role, she held positions at Mohawk College as professor, associate dean, acting executive dean and chairperson. The consultancy, started by Ms. Barrafato in 2013, provides quality assurance consulting services to the higher education sector. Recognized for her expertise in auditing and quality assurance, she calls upon her extensive background in higher education. With first-hand experience and research in program development, program evaluation and review processes, program accreditation and institutional level quality assurance audits and processes, Ms. Barrafato is uniquely qualified to advise academic organizations on quality assurance practices and processes to assist with internal and external reviews and ongoing continuous improvement.

Ms. Barrafato holds an Executive MBA degree from Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada, earned in 2012. While completing the MBA degree, her research, entitled "Program evaluation in Ontario community colleges: Developing a provincial program performance scorecard," provided a critical examination of the literature of current practices related to program evaluation and measurement of "quality" in postsecondary education in Canada. This study examined current approaches to regular program evaluation and review in the 21 of 24 Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) that participated in this study. Reflecting on these approaches and the available literature, a proposed College Program Scorecard was developed that offers a balanced, comparative and quantitative approach to regular evaluation of college programs. Regular program evaluation, for the purpose of this study, refers to the annual or biennial process used to evaluate all active programs of instruction that a college offers.

With such an extensive professional background, it comes as no surprise that Ms. Barrafato has been honored with numerous awards throughout the course of her career. She received the Alumni of Distinction Award from Mohawk College in 2000, and was also nominated by Mohawk College for the Premier's Award of Excellence in Health Sciences in 1994. In addition, Ms. Barrafato was presented with the Trillium Award in 1984 and 1980, The Percy Ghent Memorial Award in 1984, and, in 1980, the Jack Coones Memorial Award and the Silver Medal for the Gevaert (student) Essay Competition at the Canadian Level.

Ms. Barrafato decided to establish a consulting business because she had previous experience in higher education and she saw the need for consulting services within the industry, specifically in the area of quality assurance in higher education. She feels her success can be most aptly attributed to hard work and her long-term vision. In order to stay current in her field, Ms. Barrafato maintains a professional affiliation with a number of organizations including the Ontario College Quality Assurance Services and the College of Medical Radiation Technologists of Ontario. She makes charitable contributions to World Vision, Inc., and enjoys spending time with her family and traveling. In the future, Ms. Barrafato plans to expand the firm's consulting services to colleges and universities across Ontario.

About Worldwide Who's Who
With over 500,000 members representing every major industry, Worldwide Who's Who is a powerful networking resource that enables professionals to outshine their competition, in part through effective branding and marketing. Worldwide Who's Who employs similar public relations techniques to those utilized by Fortune 500 companies, making them cost-effective for members who seek to take advantage of its career enhancement and business advancement services.

Worldwide Who's Who membership provides individuals with a valuable third-party endorsement of their accomplishments, and gives them the tools needed to brand themselves and their businesses effectively. In addition to publishing biographies in print and electronic form, it offers an online networking platform where members can establish new professional relationships.

For more information, please visit http://www.worldwidewhoswho.com.

Contact:
Ellen Campbell
Director, Media Relations
[email protected]

# # #