STA Quality Assurance Procedure Update
Posted on 19th January 2018
Update: 1st February 2018
Following on from the communication sent 19th January 2018 regarding changes to STA’s quality assurance model and moderation procedures (available below), STA would like to issue an addendum to the incoming changes.
STA has made the decision to extend the original deadline date of 12th Feburary 2018 for which course organisers must have an internal quality assurer (IQA) assigned to courses to 13th August 2018. This now gives course organisers six months’ notice to recruit or assign an IQA for their courses to conduct quality assurance activities, and to monitor the learner journey.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
Original: 19th January 2018
To ensure high standards, STA must uphold a robust quality assurance model. In order for us to maintain this system the current moderation procedures will cease and moderations will no longer be organised by STA’s course department.
From 12th February 2018, all STA courses registered by a course organiser must have an STA internal quality assurer (IQA) assigned to that course to conduct quality assurance activities, and to monitor the learner journey.
Please refer to STA’s Internal Quality Assurance Procedures for course organisers (which is available to download from the tutor resources section on STA Online) for further information on this process. The following guidance may also be a useful resource: Joint Awarding Body Guidance on Internal Verification of NVQs
Upon registering each course, it will be the responsibility of the course organiser to appoint a tutor, assessor and internal quality assurer (IQA).
Once appointed, the IQA is responsible for creating a sample plan (please refer to STA’s Internal Quality Assurance Procedures for further guidance as above), detailing the assessment evidence that will be scrutinised as part of the quality assurance activity. There are three methods the IQA can use to assure the quality of assessment – these are:
- Sampling of assessment evidence
- Observation of delivery and assessment practices
- Gathering feedback from learners
It is not necessary for the IQA to use all of these techniques during every activity, but all the methods must be utilised within a twelve-month period by an IQA for each qualification that they conduct quality assurance activities. The exact frequency will depend on the number of courses that an assessor is delivering, and the risk posed to the delivery and assessment processes.
For course registrations on STA Online, there will be a field in the course builder where course organisers will be required to enter the details of the assigned IQA for that course. If this information is not provided, then the course cannot be registered.
(Note: Some of the terminology on STA Online may remain as ‘moderator’ and ‘moderation’ throughout the transition period.)
For paper-based courses, the course organiser will be required to provide STA with the details of the assigned IQA on submission of the CAPP form.
The generic email reminder for a moderation to be completed will remain active whilst the quality assurance procedures are phased in across all STA courses. The email is purely a prompt for tutors and assessors to remind them that an IQA must complete an observation on the delivery and assessment of STA qualifications.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.