QQI Statutory QA Guidelines, January 2016 Karena Maguire QQI Statutory QA Guidelines, January 2016

QA in General Quality Assurance In an education and training context, quality assurance has to do with matters such as: whether the education, training, research and related services provided by a provider are fit for their professed purpose; the trustworthiness of the qualifications awarded or recognised; accountability, openness and transparency; and the standards of awards. In all cases, quality assurance is the responsibility of the provider.

Recap since December 2014 Legal obligations for DABs and Linked Institutional Approach to Review Quality and Quality assurance European Standards & Guidelines QA Guidelines IEM

Legislation and Linked Providers QQI issue and publish guidelines for the establishment of provider QA procedures (relevant and linked providers) DABs ensure that linked providers have regard to QA guidelines QQI may issue different guidelines for different providers or groups of providers Before issuing guidelines QQI consult with providers and HEA

QA Guidelines Communicate expectations about the quality of provision, assessment and the teaching and learning experience in the Irish education and training community; Bring greater coherence into, and between, different parts of the education and training system; Are the starting point for providers’ establishment of their own QA procedures. are a “springboard” for improvement and enhancement for all providers, not a compliance checklist; Will be adapted and continuously evolve to remain fit-for-purpose for the needs of the education and training community and the qualifications system; Can be expected to have different purposes and different impacts in each sector and topic that they address. The impact of the guidelines upon a provider will depend upon the scope of their provision and the sector in which they operate.

QA Guidelines Do not prescribe the manner in which providers must implement their QA procedures. Are intended to guide providers through their legal responsibilities for the development of quality assurance procedures Providers shall have regard to when establishing QA procedures Focus on a provider’s scale and scope of activity will determine the level of complexity of their QA procedures Highlight the central role of the Internal provider QA system

Core 1 applicable to all providers Significant overlap in requirements general statutory requirements European International Standard practice Recognition that providers have more diverse provision (HE & ELT/HE& FE&ELT/ ) less burden in one core Assisting inter-institutional collaboration (Consortia) One core for learners and stakeholders

Core SQAGs: Chapters GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT OF QUALITY Management of Quality Assurance DOCUMENTED APPROACH TO QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMMES OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING STAFF RECRUITMENT, MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT TEACHING AND LEARNING ASSESSMENT OF LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT SUPPORTS FOR LEARNERS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION AND DATA PUBLIC INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION OTHER PARTIES INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SELF-EVALUATION, MONITORING AND REVIEW

Sector Specific QA guidelines These guidelines a supplement to the Core QA guidelines. They capture the varying relationships QQI has with the different groups of providers and the standing that those providers are afforded by virtue of their position as reflected in the legislation, e.g. DABS; IOTs; Private Independent/ETBs PEU; DABs; Relevant Providers

Guidelines for DABs - Sector Additional legislative requirements for DABs based upon their standing as: Autonomous independent awarding bodies Designated Awarding bodies cooperating with the NFQ; awards to be recognised; responsibilities for Linked Providers Quality assurance of linked providers captured formally DABs to ensure Linked providers have regard to QA Guidelines – Core and other as appropriate

Guidelines for Independent/Private scope and complexity reflected in the guidelines Governance and legal context – sustainable – Additional policy context for programmes … Scope of the quality assurance procedures Staffing and the full range of awards

Topic Specific Guidelines This includes topics that are optional for providers depending upon the range and type of their provision: Flexible Distributed Learning Apprenticeship Research - June 2016! More……..

Flexible Distributed Learning Additional specialist guidance to stakeholders on good practice in the quality assurance and enhancement of delivery models for education and training where learners may be remote from: Other learners Teachers and assessors The provider physical campus Learning resources and support services For all or part of their programme of study Feedback on terminology; structure; content; fit for purpose

Timeline for consultation 15 February, 2016 – Core; Sector; FDL 15 February, 2016 - Apprenticeship