FUNCTIONING IN THE SYSTEM
RESPONSIBILITIES OF AWARDING BODIES
Awarding bodies responsible for validation have certain responsibilities. These are specified by the Act on the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS).
Each awarding body (AB) shall:
- publish detailed information on validation on its website
- have an internal quality assurance system in place
- perform an internal evaluation relating to each market qualification it is authorised to certify (at least once every 3 years), prepare a report on the internal evaluation and send it to the EQAE
- at the end of each quarter, provide – through the Integrated Qualifications Register (IQR) – information on:
- the number of issued certificates
- the amount of validation and certification fees collected
- the amount of income earned in a given quarter from validation and certification fees
On quarterly basis, each awarding body shall pay a fee amounting to 3% of its income from validation and certification fees. The minimum fee amount shall be PLN 1 from each issued document confirming the awarding of a market qualification.
VALIDATION PROCESS
Once the relevant minister has granted authorisation and appointed an external quality assurance entity (EQAE), the awarding body (AB) has the right to perform validation.
The act does not specify the frequency with which the AB is expected to perform validation – this decision is left to the AB. Additionally, there is no set time-frame within which the AB must start performing validation.
Validation fees
Validation is a fee-based service. Awarding bodies set the amount of fees payable for validation of a given qualification and collect all fees from persons who want to undergo validation.
The fee amount depends on:
- the way validation is organised
- the pricing policy adopted by a given awarding body
Validation fees may vary from one awarding body to another, even if they validate the same market qualification.
Each awarding body shall publish information on validation costs on its website.
ENSURING THE PROPERE CONDITIONS FOR VALIDATION
An awarding body (AB) is not required to provide all the resources referred to in the description of the organisational conditions needed for validation – e.g. equipment or its own premises. What is more, it is not required to employ personnel – such as assessors, advisers or validation designers – on a permanent basis.
What an awarding body must do is ensure the conditions for validation identified in the qualification description – regardless of its organisational structure or the principles of its cooperation with other entities.
Cooperation between an awarding body and validating bodies
In practice, it is often the case that awarding bodies cooperate with other entities responsible for validation (validating bodies) – for example when:
- they have a complex structure – e.g. they are national associations with local branches. In such a case, the headquarters of the association has the status of an awarding body and its regional branches handle validation as validating bodies.
- a company specialising in a given area becomes an awarding body and subcontracts validation to training centres. The training centres offer the premises, required equipment and personnel, who can take on the role of assessors.
The interested parties determine the rules of cooperation between an awarding body and validating bodies – in a contract or an agreement. The IQS Act does not impose any specific requirements in this respect.
DThe awarding body is always responsible for:
- preparing the validation process,
- ensuring the quality of validation,
- fulfilling the reporting requirements.
AWARDING BODY PERSONNEL
An awarding body (AB) must employ assessors who meet the requirements specified in the qualification description. Typically, the qualification description will also include the requirements on the number of assessors who should participate in the validation process or sit on the committee.
In the event an awarding body intends to provide the support of a validation counsellorduring the course of the validation process, it shall employ such an adviser and ensure that he/she had been properly prepared for this role.
Validation assessors are experts, who ensure that the candidate has the knowledge and the skills required for a given qualification. An assessor verifies the learning outcomes of individuals undergoing validation.
Apart from the specific requirements relating to a given qualification, the awarding body should prepare the assessors for the validation process in a way that ensures the appropriate quality of the process. Therefore, they must know the work standards and procedures applicable in a given awarding body and act accordingly.
A validation assessor should:
- understand the aims of validation
- be knowledgeable about validation
- know the rules for assessing evidence and statements on the acquisition of learning outcomes
- know how to use assessment methods and tools
- be experienced in assessing learning outcomes
- be communicative
- comply with high standards of work ethics and, particularly, remain absolutely unbiased when performing the assessment
- have professional experience in the sector or industry represented by the qualifications that he/she will be assessing
- have specific knowledge of the validation of learning outcomes required for the qualifications included in his/her scope of competence
- know the required learning outcomes as well as the assessment criteria determined for the qualifications within his/her scope of competence
- know the methods and tools applied to assess the required learning outcomes
- know the criteria for the formal and substantive assessment of evidence attesting to the possession of the required learning outcomes specified for the qualifications within his/her competence
Validation counsellors are experts providing support at each stage of the validation process to individuals applying for a certificate.
An important aspect of the role of a validation counsellor is to support a candidate at the stage of identifying learning outcomes. A counsellor supports the candidate in determining what the candidate already knows and can do and what he/she still has to learn in order to obtain the certificate.
In the event the analysis of evidence and statements is used in the course of the validation process, an advisor can help the candidate collect relevant documents (at the stage of documenting the learning outcomes, i.e. preparing the evidence and statements to be assessed by the assessors in the assessment stage).
A validation counsellor should:
- understand the aims of validation
- be knowledgeable about validation
- be knowledgeable about education institutions and awarding bodies as well as labour market institutions and the services offered by such institutions
- know how to elicit new information
- be familiar with the methods and tools useful for identifying and documenting a person’s competences
- know the principles of assessing theevidence and statementsrelating to the possession of learning outcomes
- know how to work with various individuals – be open-minded
- be free from prejudice
- be willing to listen and be communicative
- be a good motivator
- comply with high standards of work ethics
- have professional experience in the sector or industry represented by the qualifications included in his/her competence as a validation counsellor
- know the required learning outcomes as well as the assessment criteria determined for the qualifications within his/her scope of competence
- know the methods and tools applied for assessing the required learning outcomes
- know the criteria for the formal and substantive assessment of evidence attesting to the possession of the required learning outcomes specified for the qualifications within his/her competence
A validation counsellor meeting the above-mentioned requirements is capable of effectively supporting candidates who have decided to undergo validation. If additionally prepared, an adviser may also be able to fulfil the responsibilities of a validation assessor.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Quality assurance is a priority for the Integrated Qualifications System (IQS). This way, both employees and employers are confident that the certificates confirming given qualifications are credible and valuable.
The high quality of awarded qualifications is important for:
- employees– who can more easily plan their professional development and improve their position in the labour market
- employers – for whom the high qualifications of their employees contribute to the potential of their companies
- society,including the national economy – because the strength of the labour market and the potential for improved opportunities in employment depend on the quality of qualifications
Relevant ministers supervise the validation and certification of regulated and market qualifications included in the IQS.
Every 2 years, each awarding body (AB) submits a report on its validation and certification activitiesto the relevant minister.
The system also includes the services of external quality assurance entities (EQAE). These entities cooperate with ABs as well as the minister. Their task is to analyse how ABs ensure the quality of awarding qualifications (i.e. the quality of the validation process). Every 3 years, each EQAE submits a report on their work to the relevant ministers.
The ministers may decide to have an AB as well as an EQAE audited. They have the right to apply sanctions – for example to:
- revoke the license previously granted to an AB
- remove an entity from the list of EQAE
Internal and external quality assurance systems
In each body, both validation and certification processes are subject to an internal as well as an external quality assurance system.
The internal quality assurance system is designed by the awarding body. The system monitorsthe rules of conduct, procedures, methods and organisational solutions.
Its objective is to ensure the proper course of validation and certification as well as to improve both processes as performed by the awarding body. This is achieved by:
- applying solutions designed to separate the education and training process from validation
- constant monitoring and on-going assessment of validation and certification processes
- periodic external evaluation of validation and certification processes
An external quality assurance entity (EQAE) supervises an awarding body (AB) by fulfilling theexternal quality assurance role.
This is achieved by:
- monitoring the internal quality assurance system used by the AB
- periodically verifying the fulfilment of the requirements specified by the IQS Act by the AB
- conducting a periodic external evaluation of the validation and certification processes as executed by the AB and of the functioning of the internal quality assurance system in place
EQAE functions are assigned to the appointed entity by the relevant minister for a given qualification.
EXTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE ENTITIES (EQAE)
An external quality assurance entity (EQAE) evaluates the quality of validation as performed by the awarding body (AB).
External quality assurance entities are institutions which have been authorised to fulfil such a function by the relevant minister.
An EQAE supports an AB in validation and certification processes.
An EQAE is responsible for:
- constantly monitoring AB activities
- performing a periodic external evaluation of AB activities
EQAE responsibilities include:
- monitoring the internal quality assurance system applied by a given AB (based on the analysis of, among other things: internal evaluation reports, quarterly information communicated by the AB or reports on its activity),
- monitoring the fulfilment of applicable requirements by the AB:
- regarding organizational and personnel-related conditions, which enable performing validation in line with the qualification description,
- related to its economic activity and no arrears with taxes and insurance contributions,
- external evaluation of validation and certification processes carried out by a given AB and of the performance of the internal quality assurance system applied by the AB.
Additionally, an EQAE:
- supports the AB in the process of improving validation and certification processes as well as the internal quality assurance system;
- collects and analyses information intended to improve the requirements regarding validation and quality assurance in the qualification description;
- recommends changes to the requirements regarding validation and quality assurance in the qualification description.
COOPERATION BETWEEN AWARDING BODIES AND EXTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE ENTITIES (EQAE)
An external quality assurance entity (EQAE), among other things, shall have the right to:
- access documents and observe activities of an awarding body (AB) as well as those of its validating bodies – i.e. provided the AB cooperates with validating bodies;
- request additional information from the AB regarding validation, certification and internal quality assurance.
The EQAE must inform the relevant minister immediately if it suspects that the AB does not follow the applicable rules and does not meet the requirements specified in the qualification description.
The relevant minister supervising the qualification should initiate the process of cooperation among all parties involved in a given qualification.
This can be done by holding a meeting of the representatives of the ministry, the AB and the EQAE. Such a meeting provides an opportunity to initiatecooperation in the spirit of partnership among the parties.
A LIST OF EXTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE ENTITIES (EQAE)
At this point, 22 entities assigned to selected groups of qualifications have been authorised as external quality assurance entities (EQAE).
Recruitment of EQAE takes place at least every 3 years and is announced by the Minister of National Education. The announcement is published on theIQS website.
In practice, the minister announces recruitment when there is a need to do so. For example, in the event a qualification is being included in the system in a field for which there:
- is no appropriately authorised entity
- a greater number of such entities is needed
The table below presents the EQAEs assigned to particular groups of qualifications.
