Business Graded Units, Business Management, Economics SEV Review of 2015/16 What we do Business Graded Units, Business Management, Economics

SEV Review of 2015/16 What we do: Role of the SEV Role of the EV/QV New team members and induction Standardisation and working together Allocations Preparation and planning Visits and outcomes Sanctions and actions Feedback and IAR process

1. Role of the SEV To ensure that all approval and verification activities are undertaken by their team in line with SQA policies, procedures and guidelines. 2015/16 saw major changes for SEVs Lead team members and manage the standardisation process Support and develop team members, providing coaching and mentoring as required Monitor the practice of individuals and the overall performance of the team Liaise closely with SQA –QAV and QD

2. Role of the EV/QV To ensure that standards are interpreted and applied correctly and to enhance national consistency in assessment decisions Carry out verification activity In centres or central Remote verification Prior verification Development visits International work

3. New team members and induction Appointees are volunteers who apply. New team members have a three stage induction process 1 - Pre induction day course work 2 - Induction day 3 - Post induction simulation exercise This is always followed by a double banked visit and ongoing training

4. Standardisation and working together There is a small team of appointees for groups 254/258/390 whose membership changes over time Standardisation meeting(s) Agenda Minutes QV Standardisation Decision Record/Log Team discussion and revisiting previous visits and the IARs. Constant contact over the year

5. Allocations Issued to the SEV for approval with a 2 day turn round time Checked for Conflict of interest Personal preferences regarding distance and subjects Availability Released on EV+ and accepted or rejected New integrated system is due for launch shortly

6. Preparation and planning Once the allocations are accepted on EV+ this generates a prepopulated report on QAMS The SEV identifies current Units at HN and NC/NQ The EV contacts the centre using variants of standard emails Centres indicate live activity at the relevant site Visit dates are negotiated Visit plans are sent to the centre

7. Visits and outcomes The visit takes place and a report is completed covering the following categories of criteria: Resources Candidate support Internal assessment and verification Each criteria has an ‘impact weighting’ of High Medium Low

7. Visits and outcomes Green – Sufficient Evidence Each criteria is given one of three ratings based on evidence Green – Sufficient Evidence Amber – Some but insufficient evidence Red – Little or no evidence These ratings in turn determine the category outcome of: Significant strengths Significant strengths outweigh weaknesses Significant strengths and some weaknesses Weaknesses outweigh strengths Significant weaknesses

8. Sanctions and actions SQA can impose a variety of sanctions depending on the outcomes of the report Any amber or red rating will result in an action with a date set for completion All visits have a developmental aspect

9. Feedback and the IAR process All EV/QV reports have to be approved by the SEV. The SEV receives all reports and it is they provide the information that goes into the Internal Assessment Report for each Verification Group. They contain sections: General comments Unit specifications, instruments of assessment and exemplification models Evidence Requirements Administration of assessments Areas of good practice Specific areas for improvement

9. Feedback and the IAR process Key points are noted as EV reports are submitted and this information forms the basis of each IAR. The IARs are created towards the end of July and are published each year by SQA on the website. The IARs and feedback from EVs form the basis for the standardisation meetings held at different times in the year.

SEV Review of 2015/16 As in years past, thank you for all of your hard work