Denise Edens Edens Education Ltd Edens Education Ltd 2015 Slide 1 of 25 Are you completely new to qualification development Yes Im new Ive got some experience I dont work directly in qualification development ID: 481292
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Slide1
How to develop a new qualification
Denise EdensEdens Education Ltd
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 1 of 25Slide2
Are you completely new to qualification development?
Yes I’m new
I’ve got some experience
I don’t work directly in qualification development
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 2 of 25Slide3
Ofqual qualification framework transition
QCF (Qualifications and Credit Framework) in process of being replaced by RQF (Regulated Qualifications Framework) RQF only tells us the level and size of a qualification and is a storage system
QCF is also about design, structure and assessment and is a unit sharing systemQCF is still open, can upload new units
Awarding organisations can design RQF quals as they wish: no need for units, or unit template containing Learning Outcomes (LOs) and Assessment Criteria (ACs)RQF lists Total Qualification Time (TQT)
for a learner to complete the qualification. TQT = supervised hours (taught and assessed Guided Learning Hours GLH) + unsupervised hours. Use your organisation’s policy on how to calculate TQT.
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 3 of 25Slide4
Ofqual requirements
Your Head
of Qualification Development will have set up processes to ensure
your awarding organisation meets these requirements.
Ofqual
General Conditions of Recognition
September 2015, plus
new Supporting Guidance, to support move to
RQF
Your Awarding Organisation must have a robust
process for qualification development
to ensure compliance with Ofqual General Conditions of Recognition - see Section E Design and development of qualifications
Your AO must have a
validity strategy.
Validity
= a valid form of assessment measures what it is supposed to measure. Important to build in validity at design stage Decide upfront how you will store development records to show regulator that you are using your AO’s processes
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 4 of 25Slide5
Decide if there is a need
Is there enough stakeholder support for
it? e.g
. centres who want
it
Develop a robust business case (may be done by business development team): will it sell? does it fit your portfolio?
d
oes it boost your AO’s reputation? can centres/learners afford to pay the fee? will your AO gain a return on investment
?
can you commit
resources to development and ongoing delivery? will you be able to run it once it goes live?
See if your AO or competitors already offer a similar qualification, via websites and Ofqual Register of Regulated Qualifications
Decide if it needs to be an Ofqual regulated qualification
Decide if it should be a pilot, e.g. for limited centres and time
Gain senior management agreement to the development, including use of people’s time and budget
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 5 of 25Slide6
Set up a project group
Explain what people’s roles are in the project
Gain buy-in from people’s managers to use their time
Some project group members may not need to be involved at all stages
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Role
Likely
job title
Project manager
Qualification Development Leader
Internal
u
ser
Assessment
Leader:
represents team which will run the qualification
End
user
Product Development Manager,
Marketing Manager, represents customer. Can also include carefully selected range of customers/employers/SSC
Developers
Writers
,
Reviewers, Scrutineers: often freelance subject experts
Any other relevant expertise
Subject Advisor, Assessment Design, Online Assessment Systems Developer
Slide 6 of 25Slide7
Produce an overview plan
Plan
stages of development,
using your AO’s system or a tool such as MS Excel or Project.
Your organisation may have its own set process for qualification development.
Stages
are likely to
overlap.
Get senior management agreement to these delivery dates.Regularly update the % done to help you manage development. Estimate the percentage completed e.g. 5%, 60% and check if you are still on target to meet the end date.
Stage
Start
date
End date
Done
Research
04.01.16
29.01.160%Develop01.02.16
30.06.160%Market01.03.16
30.11.16
0%
First
d
elivery
01.09.16
30.11.16
0%
Review
03.12.16
23.12.160%©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide
7
of 25Slide8
Plan each stage in detail
Task
Sub-task
Stage
1:
Research
Start
End
Lead person
Done
1.
Establish a business case
1.1
Ask existing
customers if interested
01.12.15
04.12.15
NC
50%
1.2
Ask
potential new customers if interested
03.12.15
04.12.15
JF
100%
1.3
Research
competitors for similar qualifications07.12.1508.12.15NC100%1.4
Review internal environment
09.12.15
16.12.15
AK
25%
1.5
Review
external environment
09.12.15
18.12.15
AK0%
Project Manager creates this plan and updates it regularly.
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide
8
of 25Slide9
Section of the Development stage
Task
Sub-task
Stage
2:
Develop
Start
End
Lead person
Done
5.
Outline the qualification
5.1
Decide on working title
04.01.16
14.01.16
NC
0%
5.2
Decide on size
04.01.16
14.01.16
NC
0%
5.3
Decide on level
04.01.16
14.01.16
NC0%5.4Decide if having units: if so,
number of units
04.01.16
14.01.16
NC
0%
5.5
Decide on grading
04.01.16
14.01.16
NC
0%5.6
Decide on purpose of qualification04.01.1614.01.16
NC0%5.7
Outline
profile of likely learners
04.01.16
14.01.16
NC0%
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 9 of 25
Free adaptable project planSlide10
Outline the qualification
Title, Size, Level
Number of units (if using units)
Grading
Marks/weighting per unit if needed
Purpose e.g. employment, occupational competence, personal growth
Profile of likely learners e.g. age range, in work/at college, UK/ international, employees of a range of employers
Likely funding of learners i.e. private (self-funded or company) or public
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 10 of 25Slide11
Outline the assessment
Assessed/quality assured by computer
, examiner, moderator or verifier
Evidence,
model assignment,
or examination
Online, paper, recorded, witnessed
On
demand, examination date
or window
Exam question types: long or short open
response, multiple
choice
Multiple Choice Questions: number
of
distractors
Ask stakeholders: which type of assessment is most valid for this qualification? Document the reasons for each of these decisions.
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 11 of 25Slide12
Agree the outputs in writing
S
ample
assessment
materials/ model assignments with mark schemes
Specification including units
and
indicative content
Assessment Strategy
Support materials
B
rochure, web content, presentations
Review of development
Get
senior management agreement to the outputs.
During the project, check you haven’t added outputs: scope creep can derail your project.
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 12 of 25Slide13
Plan the budget
Calculate funds needed to research, develop, launch and review the qualification
Build in contingency funds
Establish how you will manage and report on the budget
Agree the budget with senior management
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 13 of 25Slide14
Start developing
Involve your customers and potential customers: opinions, focus groups, writing and reviewing units and sample assessment materials, testing and trialling in their centres
Select and train your developers
Sign contract with developers
Provide clear written brief to developers which can include detailed setters’ guidelines
Can provide templates to developers
Decide the extent to which you might use National Occupational Standards or new
Apprenticeship Standards
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 14 of 25Slide15
Manage writers and reviewers
Set writers realistic deadlines
Let writers know expectations
for frequency and date of redrafts
Give clear written instructions e.g. setter’s guidelines
Can set initial small task first
Ask a reviewer to review the drafts, then can hold review meeting with writers and reviewers. You may wish to review the drafts too
Give honest, constructive, timely
feedback to writers and reviewers
Give
writer time to reflect on feedback and consider what
to
accept or
reject and how to amend the next draft
W
riter
writes next draft(s) – iterative processAllow for changes of mind
Pay developers
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 15 of 25Slide16
Manage project
Monitor budget
Manage timelines
Manage quality
of work
F
eed
in
updates
from customers and industry e.g. via customer focus groups
Manage internal and external project team members
Report
to
senior
management on
progress, key risks and issues
Be prepared to recommend stopping the project
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 16 of 25Slide17
Coping with googlies
Project stress points:
Quality, Time, Resources
: which of these can give?
Actively identify
risks
(problems that may happen
) and mitigate
against them
Actively manage
issues
(problems that are already happening)
Keep a log of risks and issues
Report key risks and issues to senior management, recommending resolutions
Be flexible to change
Make decisions and put them into action without delay
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 17 of 25Slide18
Check the validity of the assessment
The assessment tool measures the knowledge, understanding and/or
skills we need to measure
The assessment will maintain standards over timeThe assessment will be reliable year on yearThe assessment is fair
The test content and mark scheme is appropriate
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 18 of 25Slide19
Finalising the qualification
A
sk a fresh pair of eyes (
scrutineer
) to sit the model assignments/exams as a learner would, and give feedback
Edit your documents
Proof-read
your documents
Add any design
Sign off final documents (project manager, senior management)
Get supporting letters from stakeholders
In some AOs, the project manager does the editing, proof-reading and design. In other AOs they are done by dedicated teams or outsourced.
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 19 of 25Slide20
Marketing
Contribute to the marketing plan
Give regular, sufficient, timely, information about qualification to marketing team
C
heck draft marketing materials for accuracy
Give marketing team the details of customers who could help to market e.g. via testimonials, presentations, social media, articles, events
Let marketing team know about any specialist websites, conferences which could be used to market the qualification
Keep customers updated on development progress e.g. via newsletters
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 20 of 25Slide21
Submitting to Ofqual
RITS = Regulatory
IT System
(changing
to Portal spring 2016
)
Find or become a designated RITS qualification submitter in your organisation
Find out what information you’ll need to submit e.g. target age groups, sector area code, letters of approval and collate all information
S
ubmit units first, then structures, then qualification to RITS
https
://
www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-use-ofquals-regulatory-it-system-rits
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 21 of 25Slide22
Applying for public funding
When you submit the qualification to Ofqual via RITS, tick the
public funds
you
believe
are applicable
For adult learners
, the
Skills Funding Agency
fund learners
on further education
qualifications. They automatically approve some categories of qualification for funding; for others you apply via a form and supporting letters from employers/training organisations. The SFA runs the approval process every three months
For learners aged pre-16 to 18+,
the Department of Education (DfE) takes information from RITS and assesses the suitability of the qualification to be delivered to pre-16,16 to 18 or 18+ learners. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) then completes a funding validity process for quals for ages pre-16, 16-18, 18+ and some 18-24. Allow up to 7 weeks
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 22 of 25Slide23
First run of qualification
Pass qualification information to the team who’ll run the live qualification
Be on hand to support first run
Gain feedback from internal and external users on first run
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 23 of 25Slide24
R
eview
Conduct a review of development (what went well, what we’d do better next time)
Share review findings with project team, senior management, colleagues who may run similar projects
Make any tweaks necessary e.g. withdraw an assignment which is not working; amend a question in the item bank
Celebrate!
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 24 of 25
With thanks for image from Pixabay.comSlide25
Further support
F
ree adaptable qualification development plan
Q
ualification development consultancy
Email
denise@edenseducation.com
(m) 07789064767
(o) 01525 229440
©Edens Education Ltd 2015
Slide 25 of 25