Your Progress
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The course is designed for individuals who just want to have an understanding of quality assurance. You will need to complete an additional practice unit in order to become a qualified internal quality assurer. The course is flexible and delivered by blended learning, which includes distance learning and workshops
You will be expected to relate to your specialist area and demonstrate how course themes apply to you. Unlike academic courses the Level 4 Award in Understanding the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice course does not have a grading system or work on average passes? You are expected to meet all course requirements which includes learning outcomes and the assessment criteria.
The Unit
Unit 1: Understanding the principles and practices of internally assuring the quality of assessment
Course Assessment
This course is assessed by a paper based Portfolio of Evidence. You will be expected to compile the portfolio using the “Portfolio Index” provided and your Feedback Reports. If you visit our Training Centre, attend any of our face to face workshop or has face to face contact with your assessor you will be given our Complementary Ring binder which will contain some paperwork. If you have not attended any face to face induction and would like one sent to you please pay for postage by visiting our Services page. You can alternatively purchase your own Black 4 Hole Ring binder and download all the portfolio contents from the links located under the next topic.
All course work will be published by your assessor through “Communication and Assessment Centre”.
Ground Rules
1] You are expected to take responsibility and ownership of your work. It is your responsibility to embrace the learning opportunities provided including web conferences and face to face sessions.
2] You are expected to follow our complaints, appeals and any other policies highlighted in the Candidate Handbook.
3] The course does not just involve completing assignments. The assessment criteria is made up of learning outcomes! You are expected to demonstrate how you have met at least 45 Guided learning Hours by the end of the course. You will be expected to participate in course activities such as the online forums and web conferences.You will need to focus on both participating in course activities and completing course work. You can also attend any of our face to face sessions which usually take place at the end and beginning of every month. You are encouraged to supplement the support by requesting tutorials.
Guided learning Hours which can only be met by interacting with course staff. Assessors might withhold your assessments if your course participation is below expectation.
You are expected to complete at least one learning log per week. You will also be expected to gain some hours by participating on web conferences and interacting on the online forums. The online forums also act like a virtual classroom where you are expected to interact with your peers and gain support from the course staff. You are also encouraged to attend face to face workshops which normally take place in Stoke On Trent and London every month. London sessions only take place subject to demand and learner numbers.
Your interaction cannot just be at the end of the course, it has to be consistent over a period of time to demonstrate learning has taken place. You will need to provide evidence of your online journal and forum entries when you submit your Portfolio of Evidence. You will not be signed off even if you complete all the assignments without meeting guided learning hours and providing evidence that is deemed reliable, sufficient, authentic and current?
We support fast track as long as you are able to work at a reasonable pace without compromising the quality of the course. Rushing for the sake of rushing will not enable you to complete quicker.
4] You are expected to login at least twice on this platform to read about any new information, announcements and events. It is your responsibility to inform your assessor about any changes that affect your learning. You are also responsible for responding to any emails and notices sent from the system. Your assessor will be withdrawn after 8 weeks of no contact. You may be withdrawn from the course after 15 weeks of no contact. A reinstatement fee applies if we agree to continue with your assessments after a period of no contact.
5] You should use the initial ticket opened for you when you were given your login details for this site to submit your work and establish contact with your assessor. Please do not open any further tickets as they might not be seen by your assessor and could result in delays getting back to you. You should only open new tickets when contacting our admin, submitting specialist forms or booking on course events such as web conferences.
6] As already highlighted above course work should be submitted through Communication and Assessment Centre. Candidates should not email assessors directly as this will interfere with the audit trail of your evidence. Quality Assurers and admin staff rely on the information that is on the platform. Communication and Assessment Centre can only accommodate 20MB at a time. Audio files should be submitted in MP3 format. You should submit video evidence on a memory stick.
7] You will need to use the assignment template when completing assignments. Please do not change the document extension from (.doc). You will need to submit your Assignments through “Communication and Assessment Centre” as already highlighted.
Where there is a word count you can submit your work with a range plus or minus 200 words? Please ensure you state the number of words you have used at the end of the assignment! References are not counted.
Assignment drafts are not appropriate for this level of study. Any work submitted as a draft will be assessed as a final submission.
The expected turn around for feedback per assignment is 14 working days. The 14 working days are counted from the first course dedicated day, Monday.
All feedback will always be factual and based on the standards set for the course. You will need to ensure that your work is at level 4 standard or above!
You will be expected to use the first person ‘l’ to take ownership and responsibility when your competency is being assessed? Using the third person such as ‘we’ might not be sufficient to demonstrate how this affects you? For example if someone would write ‘We British give a lot of money to third world countries?’ Although you would have associated yourself with your generous country men and women it does not mean you personally give anything?
You are encouraged to use reflective writing and be analytical rather than descriptive in order to demonstrate understanding. Examples from your practice should always be given. You will be expected to demonstrate use of a variety of sources and should always make links to theory, evidence based practice, regulations and legislation when ever possible to reflect the level of study?
Achievement at level 4 reflects the ability to identify and use theoretical and technical understanding, methods and skills to address problems that are well defined but complex and non-routine. It includes taking responsibility for overall courses of action as well as exercising autonomy and judgment within fairly broad parameters. It also reflects understanding of different perspectives or approaches within an area of study or work. .
Level 4 is considered to be equivalent to the first year of an undergraduate degree while Level 3 is equivalent to A levels. Level 5 is considered to be equivalent to the second year of an undergraduate degree. The presentation of your portfolio should show the appropriate level and be supported by references. You are required to use Harvard Referencing and be analytical. There is an expectation that you will make links to underpinning knowledge, theory and research. Please do not include any graphs or images within the body of the assignment? You can include these as part of your bibliography after the references.
Your learning logs, CPD records and reflective journals have to be detailed as it is your chance to step away from the questions and express what you have learned. The evidence from them carries more weight; as it is your declaration of how course themes blends with your practice. This is your opportunity to demonstrate how course key themes will be part of your practice.
Your portfolio will need to be internally moderated at least twice. The first time is usually a few weeks after enrolment and the second time is when you submit your portfolio of evidence on completion.
8 ]Expert Witnesses
We encourage the involvement of expert witness as part of your assessments and learning. 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 occupationally specific units or to minimise intrusion.
An expert witness must:
– Have a working knowledge of the QCF units for which they are providing witness testimony;
– Be occupationally competent in their area of expertise;
– Have either any qualification that includes assessment of workplace performance or a professional work role which involves evaluating everyday practice of staff.
The expert should complete our expert witness occupational competency declaration or provide a copy of their CV and copies of any relevant qualifications. It should be made clear within your assessment plan that expert witnesses are going to be used. Expert witnesses must be inducted into their role by Focus Training Professionals.
Please note that any evidence from witnesses that have not been formally identified in your assessment strategy and have had no induction from Etutor Alliance will not meet the observation requirements.
9] Observations can either be face-to-face, by Skype or video? You will need to discuss with your assessor, which is the best option for you. You need to consider issues such as access to resources, consent and any safe guarding when considering the best option for you. Observations can also be carried out by an expert witness. The expert will however be expected to be a qualified teacher.
Witnesses can also provide evidence of what they have observed you doing. Their testimony should however be a description of what they have seen. They should not assess or pass their opinion regarding your competency, as this is the job of your assessor.
Quality Assurance
Your work will be internally quality assured at least three (at initial, formative and summative stage) times. This involves your work being submitted for quality assurance where our quality assurer audits your evidence, learning records and assessment decisions. The quality assurer will use the assessment criteria and course specification to determine if you have indeed fully demonstrated competence.
It is possible for the quality assurer to disagree with your assessor and request additional work. If this happens you will be informed about this and given guidance on the actions required. It is also possible for you not to even hear there was a problem with your work depending on a number of factors such as alternative available evidence from forums, reflective journals, learning logs or CPD records
Internal quality assurance will also involve auditing your learner journey, checking how well you have engaged in course activities. It is important you fully demonstrate how you have met all learning outcomes and guided learning hours.
When all areas of your practice are satisfactory a claim for your certificate is made to the awarding body. They will request to sample your evidence. Your work will undergo further quality assurance from an external perspective. If everything is okay you will be signed off and your certificate will be issued. E-certificates will be forwarded to you as soon as possible. When paper-based certificates are issued these will also be posted out to you by recorded delivery as soon as they arrives.
Support
We hope to be interacting with you on the forums where you will get support and guidance.
All candidates are entitled to tutorials as an additional source of support. Assessors will regularly carry these out as part of their normal assessment practice. For example you could be asked to get in touch for a tutorial after being given feedback. Candidates should however be aware that tutorials are not an alternative to participating on workshops. They are also not to be used to discuss assignments. Candidates who require a tutorial will need to use the following template to request the tutorial.
Communication with assessors should be established through our Communication and Assessment Centre . If you would like to speak with your assessor by phone or Skype please make sure you book an appointment at least 48 hours before.
Our normal opening hours are from 9:30am till 3pm Monday to Friday. You need to arrange an appointment at least 48 hours earlier in as assessors are not always ready to speak with you! We also operate a duty system where your assessor might be allocated other tasks when they are on duty. They are therefore not able to divert away from these duties if there is no appointment. Please call between 3pm and 4pm if you require general support from the team?
