Recognising awarding organisations

What the legislation says

Ofqual must recognise an awarding organisation to offer a particular qualification or description of qualifications if it meets the relevant recognition criteria.

If Ofqual refuses an application for recognition, it must set out the reasons for its decision.

Ofqual cannot charge an organisation in respect of recognition.

Ofqual must set and publish the criteria for recognition which an organisation must meet in order to be recognised to offer particular qualifications. Different criteria may be set for different descriptions of awarding organisation, different qualifications and in respect of credits of components of qualifications.

Ofqual must consult relevant persons before setting or revising these criteria.

If an awarding organisation wishes to surrender recognition it must notify Ofqual. In such instances, Ofqual must indicate the date on which recognition ceases; this date may be varied by giving further notice to the awarding organisation.

Ofqual may make transitional arrangements to ensure that changes to the status of an awarding organisation do not impact negatively on learners expecting to obtain any qualifications which it awards.

What it will mean to be a recognised awarding organisation

11.1A recognised awarding organisation will be able to offer regulated qualifications within the scope of its recognition. An awarding organisation will be responsible for its qualifications and awards.

11.2We will have to maintain a published register of awarding organisations and of their regulated qualifications.

Becoming recognised

11.3We will publish recognition criteria which we will use to judge whether we can be confident that an organisation seeking recognition will be able to undertake the functions and fulfil the responsibilities of a recognised awarding organisation, given the qualifications it wishes to award.

11.4An organisation seeking to be recognised will need to demonstrate that it meets the recognition criteria.

11.5Our decision to grant or refuse an application will be made with reference to the criteria. It is our intention that an organisation that is refused recognition should be able to request a review of that decision.

11.6 We have considered what an awarding organisation needs to do to fulfil the role effectively.

11.7We propose that all awarding organisations must:

  • accept that they are responsible for the standard of their qualifications and for the quality of the service they provide and that this should be reflected in their governance and quality assurance arrangements
  • develop and offer only qualifications that will give a reliable indication of the knowledge, skills and understanding demonstrated by a person who holds that qualification
  • ensure assessments are valid, reliable, manageable, comparable, minimise bias and are managed in a way that is secure and protects the integrity of the assessment
  • maintain the standards and comparability of qualifications
  • recognise the diverse needs of learners and protect their interests, including learners with disabilities
  • be financially viable, so as to protect the interests of learners who are working towards a qualification
  • deliver value for money, when charges are being made and
  • promote public confidence in regulated qualifications.

11.8The size of the organisation and the number and range of qualifications it offers will affect the way it works and the skills, expertise and capacity it will need to have in place. Nevertheless, we consider it is reasonable and appropriate that all awarding organisations should be able to demonstrate that they meet these requirements.

11.9An awarding organisation will be recognised to offer certain qualifications or descriptions of qualifications.

Draft recognition criteria

11.10Although recognition will be in respect of particular qualifications or descriptions of qualifications, we propose that there should be generic recognition criteria which all awarding organisations should meet whatever qualifications they want to offer. Draft generic recognition criteria, on which we are seeking comments, are set out below. In addition we indicate what we would expect of an awarding organisation and illustrate the type of evidence that might be submitted by an organisation in support of its application. We would welcome views on whether it would be helpful to develop and publish such indicators and examples of evidence. We recognise that the evidence submitted by an organisation will reflect its particular size, structure and arrangements and that, in terms of evidence, one size will not fit all.

Draft generic recognition criteria:

Criteria1 Indicators that an organisation meets the criteria2 Typical evidence3
1. The organisation:

  • is formally established
  • is governed, organised and behaves in a way that will promote its stability and support the integrity of the awarding function
  • provides for accountability at the highest level for the awarding function
  • identifies and manages any real or potential conflicts of interest between its awarding and other functions
  • Clear lines of accountability for general management and governance and a specific line of accountability to the board or governing body for the awarding function.
  • Adherence to established principles of good governance and risk management.
  • A track record of successful operations.
  • Other activities undertaken by the organisation do not conflict with the awarding function or undermine public confidence in regulated qualifications.
  • Strong and effective governance.
  • Due diligence tests provide evidence of the organisation’s reliability, stability and appropriate behaviour.
  • An organisational structure chart.
  • Job descriptions for key officers.
  • Articles of association (or equivalent).
  • Audit reports.
  • Business plan.
  • Business continuity plan.
  • A risk management strategy.
  • Policies and procedures for identifying and managing conflicts of interest.
  • Information about other activities undertaken by the organisation.
  • Details of key contacts and of their roles.
  • Details of a Board (or equivalent) level contact and of their role.
  • Registration with appropriate authorities such as the Charity Commission, Companies House or their equivalents.
2. The organisation has the resources, including the expertise, necessary to develop, assess and quality assure the qualifications it is intending to offer
  • An information technology system that will support the organisation’s awarding function.
  • Access to people with current knowledge and understanding of the qualifications market and assessment methodologies appropriate to the qualifications the organisation offers or is planning to offer.
  • An understanding of the demand for its (planned) qualifications and of the qualification development and delivery cycle and of the peaks and troughs in activities.
  • Secure business premises.
  • Its information technology strategy.
  • Its human resources strategy.
  • Structure chart.
  • A recent skills audit.
  • Sample key job descriptions and person specifications.
  • Sample CVs for key roles.
  • Sample job advertisements for key roles.
3. The organisation’s operational approach to qualifications development, assessment and awarding will ensure that qualifications and assessments are valid, reliable, manageable and secure, reflect the needs of diverse learners and that standards are maintained between comparable qualifications including over time
  • Qualification development is informed by an understanding of good practice and the needs of learners, employers and higher education, as appropriate.
  • Qualification development complies with any specific external requirements, eg of the regulator, a professional body or a sector.
  • The demand for, and supply of, qualifications is investigated and taken into account at an early stage of the qualification development process.
  • Assessment is managed by people with appropriate expertise.
  • Qualification and assessment design are informed by an understanding of statutory requirements to make qualifications and assessments accessible and by good practice on accessibility.
  • Comparability exercises are undertaken routinely, with other awarding organisations where appropriate.
  • Where the organisation is offering or planning to offer vocational qualifications, effective interaction with the relevant Sector Skills. Council(s) and/or other standards setting or employer based bodies
  • Policies and procedures on qualification development and assessment.
  • The outputs from internal review/approval processes
  • Sample qualification specifications and assessments.
  • Surveys of learners, employers and higher education (if available).
  • Impact assessments used to identify any barriers to access to the qualification.
  • Policies and practices on considering requests for reasonable adjustments.
4. The organisation’s approach to quality assurance is robust and systematically applied and external input provides assurances about quality and the comparability of standards
  • The quality and standard of qualifications and assessments are regularly and systematically reviewed.
  • Feedback from users, including learners, centres and employers is routinely sought and used to inform the reviews.
  • Performance against published service standards is reviewed and the outcome published.
  • External experts input into the quality assurance arrangements.
  • Action is taken to enhance the quality and secure the standards of qualifications and awards.
  • Quality assurance policies/handbook.
  • The outputs of recent internal or external quality reviews.
  • Examples of the mechanisms used to collect feedback.
  • Self-evaluation reports
  • The organisation, nature and influence of external advisers in the quality assurance arrangements.
5. The organisation is financially viable and will deliver value for money for learners in relation to fees charged for regulated qualifications
  • The actual and projected income and expenditure attributable to qualification development, assessment and award are clearly recorded and scrutinised by the board or equivalent authority.
  • The charges to learners and centres are clearly explained and itemise the services to be provided.
  • Statement by directors of financial adequacy.
  • Business accounts.
  • Business plan.
  • Information on fees, charges and costs by qualification.
  • Pricing policies.
6. The organisation is committed to, and has the capacity to, meet the general conditions of recognition
  • An evaluation of the organisation’s capacity to comply with the conditions has been undertaken and reviewed at the highest level within the organisation.
  • Compliance with the conditions has been built into the organisation’s policies and procedures.
  • Confirmation from the chair of the Board or equivalent authority that the application for recognition has the support of the Board, that the information supplied to support the recognition application is accurate, current and complete and that the organisation will comply with the recognition conditions.
  • A self-evaluation by the organisation of its capacity to comply with the conditions, an action plan that sets out any actions it needs to take to ensure compliance and an account of the actions taken to date.

11.11In addition to these generic recognition criteria, an awarding organisation may need to meet specific requirements relating to the qualifications it wishes to award. An organisation seeking recognition will be required to demonstrate that it can meet the recognition criteria in the context of the number, range and nature of the qualifications it wants to be recognised to offer. The organisation would need to demonstrate, for example, that, for the qualifications it wishes to offer, it has access to the necessary expertise, that its IT systems are adequate and that it has put in place arrangements to enable it to assure the comparability of the qualifications.

11.12An awarding organisation that wants to be recognised to offer new specific or descriptions of qualifications would need to seek recognition against the relevant criteria, and demonstrate to us that it met the generic recognition criteria in the context of those qualifications.

11.13An awarding organisation will need to comply with recognition conditions. We propose that these conditions will require that an awarding organisation complies with any published qualification specific requirements, whether or not they are set as accreditation criteria.

Questions:

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  1. What an organisation will need to demonstrate before it is recognised [↩]
  2. The characteristics of an organisation likely to fulfil the criteria [↩]
  3. Examples of the types of evidence an organisation might provide to demonstrate that it meets the criteria
    NB the evidence provided will vary according to the nature of the organisation, its size and its maturity at the time of the application; the examples given below are not prescriptive or exhaustive [↩]

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