International Study Visit Programme
20 February 2015
Arches Room, Radisson Blu Hotel,
Glasgow
Brian Stokes
Quality Enhancement Manager
Scottish Qualifications Authority
About SQA
International
awarding and
accreditation
body
Established
by Act of
Parliament &
work closely
with
government
Staff in
Scotland, UK
& many
regions of
the world
Sharing
expertise,
experience &
best practice
The SQA Centre Management Process
Engage
Disengage
PostPre- Approval
Approval
Approval Process
Process
Normal
Business
Exit
Process
The SQA Centre Management
Process: Pre Approval
 Business Development Managers /Consultants
or International Project Managers decide if we
want to do business with a centre
 Business Development staff or International
Project Officers decide if the application is
complete
 Pass to ASV Team
The SQA Centre Management
Process: Approval
 ASV staff decide whether we can do business
with a centre
System
Approval
Subject
Approval
Centre
Approval
The SQA Centre Management
Process: Approval Cont’d..
 System Approver and Qualification Approver
decide (or recommend) whether approval criteria
have been met
 Decision is either Approved or Not Approved
Systems Approval considers:
 the centre’s management structure
and process to support the delivery of
qualifications
 the internal verification system
Qualification Approval considers:
 Assessors’ and internal verifiers’
qualifications and experience
 the internal verification system
 resources
 assessment material
SQA’s approach to
Quality Assurance
Systems and Qualification Verification
What is our goal?
SQA should have a transparent intelligence-led,
risk based model for quality assurance of
approved centres and potential centres
Features of SQA’s Approach
 Quality Assurance Criteria
 Outcome Statements for Systems and
Qualifications
 Proportionate Sanctions
 Electronic Report Structure
 Detailed on-line guidance for centres
Quality Criteria
 Six Categories:
– Management of a centre
– Resources
– Candidate Support
– Internal Assessment & Verification
– External Assessment
– Records/Data Management
 All signposted to four QA processes
 All pre-rated as High/Medium/Low impact
 All supported by possible sources of evidence
SQA’s Approach to Quality
Assurance: The Four Processes
 Systems Approval
 Qualification Approval
 Systems Verification
 Qualification Verification
Quality Assurance Criteria
Categories
System Approval
Management of a
Centre
X
Resources
X
Candidate Support
X
Internal
Assessment &
Verification
X
External
Assessment
Records/Data
Management
Qualification
Approval
System Verification
Qualification
Verification
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
High/Medium/Low Impact Criteria
 All criteria are important
 However, some are more important than others
 Those that are most important are rated as High
Impact criteria
 Those that are less important are rated as Low
Impact criteria
 In between these two are medium impact
criteria.
 Failure to meet a High Impact criteria will have a
greater impact on the outcome of the visit
Sufficiency of evidence
 No Systems Verifier or Qualification Verifier can
change the impact rating of a criteria.
 For each criterion they verify, they must decide
whether you have presented them with:
– Sufficient evidence to meet the criterion
– Some, but insufficient evidence to meet the
criterion
– No evidence to meet the criterion
Good Practice and Guidance
 As part of the verification visit, Verifiers will
identify good practice that is evident in your
centre.
 They will also give advice and guidance to help
you improve the delivery of our qualifications
 This is a mandatory part of the verifier’s role
Sufficiency of evidence
 We will support you and help you to understand
what sort of evidence you can provide to meet
each criterion
www.sqa.org.uk/qualityassurance
 Once the verifier has made their decision
regarding the sufficiency of evidence, they will
then calculate the Outcome Rating
 This will depend on the impact level of the
criteria and the sufficiency of the evidence
presented
Outcome Statements
How Outcome Ratings are
calculated
 Outcome ratings are given for the outcome of
each Systems Verification and Qualification
Verification visit for each of the 6 categories of
criteria
 These are based on the sufficiency of the
evidence you provide to the verifier
What if non-compliances are
identified?
 Where there is No evidence or insufficient
evidence to meet a criterion, the Verifier will
agree with you, during the visit:
– the action your centre needs to take in order
to become compliant.
– The evidence you need to produce
– Where to send this evidence
– The date by which the action must be taken
What happens then?
 SQA will ask the verifier to consider the
evidence you send us and ask them to consider
whether it is Sufficient or insufficient.
 Depending on the sufficiency of the evidence,
your Outcome Statement will be re-calculated.
Sanctions
 If the outcome of a verification visit results in an
outcome rating of Some strengths and some
weaknesses, Weaknesses outweigh strengths or
Significant weaknesses we may decide to place
a sanction on a centre until the outcome
increases to Significant Strengths or Strengths
outweigh weaknesses.
 The Outcome rating may decrease if the centre
fails to meet action points agreed during a
verification visit.
 Sanctions will only be used where necessary.
Sanctions
Sanction
In relation to Qualification Verification
Outcome Rating
Sanction
In relation to Systems Verification
Significant Strengths
Entry in Action Plan
Suspension of specific qualification certification:
 by verification group
 by qualification
Strengths outweigh
weaknesses
Some strengths and some
weaknesses
Entry in Action Plan
Suspension of all existing qualification approval
Suspension of devolved status
Suspension of approval application by verification group
Suspension of centre certification
Suspension of direct certification claim status:
 by verification group
 by qualification
Suspension of certification for all qualifications with internally
assessed components
Suspension of certification for all qualifications
with externally assessed components
Suspension of specific qualification approval:
 by verification group
 by qualification
Weaknesses outweigh
strengths
Withdrawal of specific qualification approval:
 by verification group
 by qualification
Significant Weaknesses
Suspension of qualification approval application - whole centre
Withdrawal of devolved status
Withdrawal of all existing specific qualification approval
Withdrawal of centre approval
Electronic Report Structure
 Printable e-report
 Clear concise record of visit planning to visit
completion
 Easy viewing of Agreed Actions
Summary and next steps
 Continued Partnership working between centres
and SQA
 Making progress with improvements for the
future
 Questions?