Expert Witnesses
Etutor Alliance encourages the use of expert witnesses as part of the assessment process. Awarding body approval might also be required before an expert can be used. Expert witnesses may be used where there are no occupationally competent assessors for certain specialist fields, to minimise intrusion in the workplace or as a part of a range of assessment methods. All evidence from experts will be verified during quality assurance.
An expert witness must:
– Have a working knowledge of the RQF units for which they are providing witness testimony;
– Be occupationally competent in their area of expertise;
– Have either a qualification that includes assessment of workplace performance or a professional work role that involves evaluating everyday practice of staff.
| How to belome an expert witness? The expert should complete our expert witness occupational competency declaration or provide a copy of their CV and any relevant qualifications. Please inform your assessor during your initial assessment and planning that you seek to use experts. This will need to be acknowledged within your assessment plan.It is important that experts fully understand their role, responsibilities and the range of evidence they can provide. Please share the learning outcomes and assessment criteria of all your units with your expert/s. Inductions, support, and guidance is available to all experts upon request. Please note that any evidence from expert witnesses that have not been formally identified as part of your assessment strategy might not be accepted. Experts will need to either provide evidence on official letterhead or utilise our expert witness form when providing evidence. Evidence from expert witnesses should not appear to be a testimonial but simply a record of what has been observed. Experts should not make an assessment decision. Their primary role is to be a witness. |
Quality of evidence
The evidence from experts should be authentic, reliable, sufficient and current. There should be clear dates of the events or activities being witnessed. The evidence should not be generic but a record of what is being witnessed at a particular time. For example, the following will not be acceptable:
Unfortunately the above is not evidence. The witness has not provided a time frame for their observation. They have simply generalised and also gave an assessment decision regarding competency. The following record below is, however, better and fit for purpose.
