Conditions of recognition

Summary

12.1 All awarding organisations must comply with the relevant general conditions at all times while they are recognised as awarding organisations. We will monitor compliance with the conditions on an on-going basis and take appropriate steps to ensure compliance, where this is necessary.

12.2 We propose that the general conditions should promote:

• public confidence in awarding organisations and the qualifications they offer
• the comparability of qualification standards where appropriate
• the design of qualifications that meet the needs of learners, employers and other users of qualification
• efficiency and value for money in the qualifications market
• fair and equal access to qualifications for a diverse range of learners
• any specific requirements of particular qualifications or types of qualifications.

Draft general conditions of recognition

Background

12.3 We would welcome comments on the draft set of general conditions. The draft is largely based on existing requirements on awarding organisations and on a project undertaken jointly by Ofqual and the regulators in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We propose to continue to work with our fellow regulators with a view to ensuring that we apply common requirements where possible. This will make it easier for awarding organisations to understand how they need to work in each country and minimise any burden placed on them from different requirements.

Governance, management and quality assurance

The draft conditions proposed in this section address the on-going requirements for an awarding organisation to take responsibility for, manage and quality assure the qualification development and awarding role in a way that protects the interests of learners, safeguards standards and promotes public confidence in regulated qualifications.

An awarding organisation must:

1. take all reasonable steps to ensure it acts in a way that is fair and equitable for the diverse needs of learners
2. fulfil its awarding functions efficiently and offer regulated qualifications that represent value for money
3. have a nominated single point of accountability for the quality of its regulated qualifications
4. identify and manage risks that could impact on its regulated functions
5. have in place contingency plans to maintain business continuity in the event of systems failures, breaches of security and other unexpected or unplanned events
6. use its quality assurance arrangements systematically to review, monitor and improve its qualifications or units, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and have due regard to the requirements of the qualifications regulatory framework
7. identify, manage and minimise any potential conflicts of interest which may arise from any of its operating practices, and from activities undertaken by employees and others who contribute to the awarding function
8. minimise the administrative burden it places on others
9. operate from non-residential premises.¹

Resources and expertise

The following proposed conditions address an awarding organisation’s capacity to offer the qualifications for which it is recognised.

An awarding organisation must:

10. have the relevant expertise, technological, financial, human and physical resources to carry out its regulated functions during the life of the qualifications and units it offers
11. provide an annual statement to that effect signed by a director, if a company, or similar representative if a differently constituted body
12. offer only those qualifications and units for which it has the necessary skills, resources, expertise and capacity.

Responsibilities to Ofqual

The proposed conditions in this section address how we might expect an awarding organisation to work and cooperate with us.

An awarding organisation must:

13. deal with Ofqual in an open, cooperative way, and must disclose to Ofqual any information or issues of which a regulator would reasonably expect to be aware
14. notify Ofqual of any new regulated qualifications it is proposing to offer, where these are not subject to an accreditation requirement, in order that these can be added to the register, and confirm that the qualifications have been developed and will be offered in accordance with regulatory requirements and conditions
15. cooperate with arrangements set up by Ofqual to investigate complaints and appeals
16. make available to Ofqual on request published accounts and data on achievements, fees and other charges
17. provide any other information that Ofqual reasonably considers necessary for the discharge of its functions and achievement of its objectives.

Communication and customer service

The interests of learners and public confidence in regulated qualifications will, we believe, be enhanced if an awarding organisation provides a good quality of service. Effective feedback from, and communication with, users of qualifications should support an awarding organisation’s quality assurance arrangements. Clear and timely information about fees and associated charges should enhance the efficiency of the market. The following proposed conditions address these requirements.

An awarding organisation must:

18. publish clear information on its products, services and associated charges and fees in reasonable time and in a format to inform learner and centre choice
19. provide clear, accurate and timely information in response to reasonable enquiries it receives from customers
20. provide opportunities for feedback from learners, centres, employers and higher education and give due consideration, including in their quality assurance arrangements, to comments received.

Information and data management

An awarding organisation may need to collect, analyse and retain information and data for many reasons. In the following draft conditions we propose a minimum set of information and data that should be collected by an awarding organisation and shared with Ofqual as required. The information and data it is proposed should be collected would inform an awarding organisation’s quality assurance arrangements and provide assurances about the comparability of standards over time. We will need to understand if unjustifiable barriers are preventing some learners from gaining qualifications. Data will therefore need to be collected by awarding organisations so they can assure themselves, Ofqual and others that they are identifying and addressing potentially unjustifiable barriers in their qualifications and assessments. Compliance with data protection legislation will be necessary.

An awarding organisation must:

21. collate and retain management information and data, to inform and improve the quality of regulated activities including on:
    1. the nature and number of complaints it has received and responded to
    2. the number of enquiries about results and appeals it has received and dealt with
22. retain under secure conditions sufficient evidence of learner achievement to support awarding outcomes, decisions, enquiries and appeals and monitoring across qualifications and centres, including over time, including relevant data for monitoring access to qualifications for different groups of learners²
23. 23) record details of how the effect of any barriers to assessment will be mitigated, including the use of reasonable adjustments.

Qualification development

We must have regard to the needs of employers, including as expressed through bodies such as Sector Skills Councils and Standards Setting Bodies, and users of qualifications, such as employers and higher education institutions. Learners and employers need to be able to identify qualifications that are relevant for them and be confident that the qualifications offered are fit for purpose. The following proposed conditions address these needs.

An awarding organisation must:

24. ensure that qualifications and units are developed with a clear purpose and target audience, that they consider and record the rationale and justification for the qualification being needed and work cooperatively with appropriate bodies representing the needs and interests of any sector for which a qualification is being developed
25. be able to demonstrate that their qualifications have appropriate support from the employment or education sector for which a qualification is being developed
26. clearly state when a qualification meets the requirements for a particular sector or profession.

Qualification design

Good qualification design is clearly at the heart of an awarding organisation’s awarding role. The following draft conditions reflect this. Specific requirements about designing inclusive qualifications are also covered in the draft conditions.

An awarding organisation must ensure that:

27. the design of qualifications and units meets the purpose of the qualification
28. the subject areas and areas of knowledge, understanding, skills and competence are clearly defined and set out for each qualification
29. progression or outcome opportunities for learners are clearly identified in terms of qualification pathways or employment opportunities
30. requirements of the qualifications and/or credit framework to which the qualification is to be referenced are met
31. where it uses units and rules of combination developed by bodies other than itself, for the award of a qualification, those units and rules are subject to Ofqual’s requirements.
32. the design of the qualification provides for assessment methods that:
    1. allow the generation of evidence that is relevant and which can be authenticated
    2. enable learners to demonstrate their abilities against the full range of qualification requirements
    3. clearly define centre requirements for controlled conditions
    4. use language and terminology that is appropriate for the target group
    5. are appropriate to the particular qualification.
33. there are no unnecessary barriers to the assessment of the qualifications it designs and/or offers for different groups of learners and that there is consultation with appropriate groups about potential barriers
34. any unavoidable barriers are identified and their inclusion is justified only and explicitly in terms of the integrity of the qualification and in line with relevant equality legislation.

Qualification title

Learners and other users of qualifications need information about qualifications that enable them to make informed choices and comparisons. Clear and consistent use of qualification titles facilitates this. The following proposed conditions reflect this need.

An awarding organisation must:

35. ensure that qualification and unit titles are:
    1. clear, meaningful and consistent
    2. specify the relevant subject area
    3. include the accredited level of the qualification where relevant
    4. comply with the requirements of the qualifications/credit framework to which the qualification is referenced.

Centre requirements³

The Education Act 1997 required that regulated qualifications needed to be external, that is, not awarded and taught or otherwise delivered by the same organisation. This is not a feature of the new legislation. Nevertheless, it is expected that many awarding organisations will continue to offer their qualifications through external centres. The relationship between an awarding organisation and the centres it uses is key to the successful and secure award of qualifications. The following draft conditions propose minimum requirements for all awarding organisations to build into their centre arrangements.

An awarding organisation must:

36. require centres and centre partnerships to:
    1. have in place the relevant expertise, quality assurance procedures and technological, financial and human resources for the qualifications and/or units they offer
    2. ensure that learners are uniquely identified⁴
    3. identify clear points of accountability for the quality assurance of qualifications
    4. collate and retain information and data to inform and support quality improvement
    5. keep records of, and respond to, complaints and cases of malpractice and maladministration.
37. require centres and centre partnerships to:
    1. maintain the security of assessments
    2. provide right of access to the qualifications regulators and awarding organisations for monitoring activities and investigations of appeals and malpractice where relevant
38. require centres to collate and retain information and data, under secure conditions where appropriate, in order to:
    1. inform and improve the quality of regulated activities including information on the nature and number of complaints received about the qualification or about the service received from the centre or the awarding organisation
    2. support awarding outcomes, decisions, enquiries and appeals
    3. support monitoring across qualifications, centres and over time, including relevant data for monitoring access to qualifications for different groups of learners.

Assessment arrangements

The standards of regulated qualifications will only be protected if assessments are properly designed, delivered and marked. Standards and public confidence may be undermined if arrangements for the delivery of assessments and are not robust or secure. Responsibilities for the different aspects of assessment need to be clearly defined. These draft conditions set out a minimum set of requirements that an awarding organisation should follow.

An awarding organisation must:

39. ensure that assessments are accessible and produce results which are valid, reliable, comparable, manageable and minimise bias by:
    1. producing evidence and results that demonstrate the maintenance of appropriate standards and coverage of the qualification specification, and provide comparability of standards between centres, and over time
    2. ensuring that internal and external assessment decisions are robust, meet defined standards and are supported by standardisation of marking and moderation and/or verification
    3. defining roles and responsibilities and points of accountability to ensure that assessment methods are subject to the necessary scrutiny and testing
    4. using clear procedures for the sampling of marking unless marking is automated
    5. ensuring that those responsible for assessments have appropriate skills and experience
    6. where appropriate, working with awarding organisations offering the same qualification or type of qualification to ensure that comparable standards are maintained, and having regard to requirements specified by Ofqual as to processes that must be followed for the maintenance of standards.
    7. ensure that learners receive accurate and timely awards
    8. make clear how pass marks and any grade boundaries are determined, and specify explicitly the grading scale and the criteria against which learners’ performance will be differentiated[5]
    9. clearly state the form in which the qualification and/or unit results will be reported.

Awarding and grading

Clear and consistent approaches to awarding and (in relation to qualifications where it applies) grading are important so that learners are treated fairly, and so that users can have confidence in qualifications. These proposed conditions set out the basic requirements an awarding organisation will need to have in place. We will publish general conditions relating to particular qualifications and types of qualifications, which will need to be additionally met by awarding organisations recognised to and offering those qualifications.

An awarding organisation must:

40. 1. ensure that learners receive accurate and timely awards
    2. make clear how pass marks and any grade boundaries are determined, and specify explicitly the grading scale and the criteria against which learners’ performance will be differentiated⁵
    3. clearly state the form in which the qualification and/or unit results will be reported.

Certification

Certificates are important to learners and users of qualifications. Certificates need to be clear and facilitate understanding and comparability of learners’ achievements. The careless or fraudulent issue of certificates can undermine confidence in, and mislead those who value, qualifications. The following proposed conditions address the need for clarity, consistency and care when certificates are designed and issued.

An awarding organisation must:

41. ensure that certificates meet the minimum design requirements specified by Ofqual
42. ensure that certificates reflect learner achievement, are only issued on the basis of a valid claim and within a reasonable and clearly communicated timescale
43. take reasonable measures in the design and issuing of their certificates to protect against the fraudulent use of those certificates including by:
    1. implementing safeguards to prevent fraudulent or mistaken claims for certificates
    2. ensuring that replacement certificates are labelled as such, and are only issued after steps have been taken to authenticate the claims.

Complaints

An awarding organisation will receive complaints from time to time. People must know how to complain and complaints should be taken seriously. Complaints can inform an organisation’s quality assurance arrangements. These proposed conditions set out minimum requirements for complaints handling and investigation.

An awarding organisation must:

44. deal with complaints on a fair and equitable basis, in line with its published procedures and timescales. Where a complaint is upheld it must take appropriate, corrective and/or preventative action for all learners affected
45. make statistics on complaints available to Ofqual in a specified form.

Enquiries and appeals

Awarding organisations will put in place arrangements for dealing with enquiries and considering appeals about results or other assessment outcomes. The following draft conditions propose minimum requirements for such policies and procedures.

An awarding organisation must:

46. have clear, fair and equitable published procedures and timelines for dealing with enquiries about results and appeals
47. keep statistics on the number and nature of enquiries about results and appeals it has received and dealt with and make information available to Ofqual
48. ensure that the resolution of appeals includes independent consideration and that appropriate records are kept
49. cooperate with any external complaints and appeal arrangements put in place by Ofqual.

Malpractice and maladministration⁶

Incidents of malpractice and maladministration can compromise the integrity of a qualification, disadvantage learners and undermine public confidence in regulated qualifications. The proposed conditions set out below would require an awarding organisation to guard against such incidents and notify us of any incidents where certificates may have been invalidated, and prevent reoccurrence.

An awarding organisation must:

50. ensure that reasonable steps are taken to prevent malpractice and maladministration and demonstrate that such steps are included in any policies, procedures, instructions, plans or protocols, as appropriate
51. investigate suspected malpractice and maladministration. Where malpractice or maladministration is identified that has resulted in a certificate being invalidated, the awarding organisation must inform Ofqual, ensure appropriate steps are taken to protect the interests of past, current and prospective learners and, where appropriate, develop and implement corrective action plans to prevent further occurrence.

Connected activities

The legislation gives us the power to keep under review any ‘connected activities’ of an awarding organisation. The following draft conditions would require an awarding organisation to consider whether any of its connected activities might compromise its responsibilities as an awarding organisation, to address any concerns identified and to cooperate with any investigations we undertook into connected activities.

An awarding organisation must:

52. take reasonable steps to prevent and monitor the occurrence of any incidents and activities, including those undertaken outside of the UK, that could bring regulated qualifications into disrepute, or otherwise undermine public confidence in regulated qualifications. It must take corrective actions and report any such incidents and activities to Ofqual
53. evaluate whether any of its activities could, or could be perceived to, compromise the integrity of its awarding function or damage public confidence in regulated qualifications and take steps to address any concerns about connected activities identified by themselves or others
54. cooperate with any reasonable investigation Ofqual undertakes using this power
55. cooperate with any reasonable investigation Ofqual undertakes using the connected activities power.

Surrender of recognition

An awarding organisation that wishes to surrender its recognition will be required to take steps to protect learners’ interests. There is otherwise a risk that learners who have invested time and money preparing for a qualification will be unable to complete it.

An awarding organisation wishing to surrender recognition in respect of the award of a specified qualification or a description of qualifications must:

56. give reasonable notice to Ofqual of its intention to surrender recognition in respect of specific qualifications or descriptions of qualifications and provide information about the steps it will take to protect learners’ interests
57. take all reasonable steps to protect the interests of learners
58. provide information about the learners who will be affected by its decision
59. continue to make the qualification(s) available until the date on which Ofqual specifies that the awarding organisation’s surrender of recognition will take effect
60. amend its plans as reasonably required by Ofqual.

Questions

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1. We propose to include this condition because we will not be able to use an entry and inspection condition where an organisation operates from a private dwelling. [↩]
2. For the avoidance of doubt an awarding organisation will need to collect and analyse data about the gender, age, ethnicity and any reported disability of individual learners to enable it to identify and address any aspects of its qualifications that unjustifiably discriminate against particular learners. [↩]
3. This condition applies only where an awarding organisation uses centres in the course of its qualifications delivery or assessment arrangements [↩]
4. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Unique Learner Number (ULN) is increasingly used to identify learners. [↩]
5. Specific regulatory criteria will be set for some qualifications [↩]
6. Malpractice is a deliberate activity, neglect, default or other practice that compromises the integrity of the assessment process, and/or the validity of certificates. Maladministration is any activity, neglect, default or other practice that results in the centre or the regulated organisation not complying with the specified requirements for delivery of the qualifications and as set out in the relevant codes of practice [↩]