Organising for Success

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• Organising for Success
• Organisational planning for effective Diploma
  assessment administration Guidance for consortia

Delivery 08
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Introduction
The successful award of a Diploma will require
Centres within a Consortia to share information
and work together to carry out all administrative
processes accurately, securely and promptly. This
will be key to ensuring that learners get the
right Diploma award on time. For the delivery
of any component qualification or qualification
unit where there are two or more centres involved
decisions need to be made about which centre
undertakes the administrative transactions with
awarding bodies and how information is then
shared between the centres. Understanding and
working closely with the Component Awarding
Bodies (CABs) will be important. First unit
assessments of principal learning will be in
January, with the entries deadline in October.
Consortia should have organised themselves ready
for the autumn term. Key transactions to be
considered include qualification and unit
entries, payments, reasonable adjustments, access
arrangements, estimated grades, PLTS and work
experience completion, external assessments,
internal assessments, results, enquires about
results, and special considerations. CABs can
accommodate certain different approaches to
consortium organisation and different centres
providing information for qualification
administration. However, not all forms of
consortia CAB interactions will be possible in
September 2008 and there are some risks
associated with certain options which although
they can be worked-around in practice, could be
avoided if a different model is selected at the
planning stage. CABs will only work with centres
that have been approved by them for that
qualification and are also constrained in other
ways. This guidance provides information on each
of the key administrative transactions required
between CABs and centres within a consortium and,
if they have not already been organised within
the consortium and with the CAB, a pragmatic
solution for 2008.
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Overview

• For many centres involved in the Diploma, being
  part of a consortium is a departure from normal
  ways of working
• Ensuring Diploma delivery and examinations can be
  effectively administered, centres will need to
  undertake all the required administration with
  awarding bodies accurately, securely and promptly
• As part of a consortium, administering the
  Diploma will be different from how qualifications
  have been traditionally managed by exam officers
  in individual and independent centres
• To successfully complete all the administration
  required within a consortium, centres will
  benefit from good coordination, clear roles and
  responsibilities and timely communication
• This guidance is designed to support consortium
  in deciding how best to organise the
  administration requirements of the Diploma
  between all centres in light of awarding body
  requirements and local conditions

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Summary of the pragmatic guidance for September
2008

• Home centres should
• 1. Maintain oversight of learners and their
  progress at qualification level, requiring
• Good communication between home centres and
  delivery centres on a unit basis confirming
  actions are complete
• Data sharing capability (technical and legal)
  between centres in line with data protection
  legislation.
• 2. Make qualification entries and have the
  responsibility to ensure all unit entries are
  made
• 3. Apply for reasonable adjustments and access
  arrangements on a qualification basis and
  communicated to all centres within the consortium
  hosting any assessment activity for that learner
• 4. Conduct the external assessments to avoid
  learners need to travel during the exam periods
  (even if the home centre does not deliver the
  teaching of the unit)
• 5. Input the completion of work experience and
  PLTS into the Diploma aggregation service
• Delivery centres should
• 1. Conduct the internal assessments (even if the
  external assessment is hosted by the home
  centres)
• 2. Confirm unit entries are made to the home
  centres

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Summary of the pragmatic guidance for September
2008

• All centres in a consortium making entries or
  hosting assessments must be recognised/ approved
  with the CAB for each qualification
• For all two-tier qualifications, the assessment
  centre should make the unit entry
• By default, following an entry/ registration,
  most CABs will communicate and assume
  responsibility lies with the centre that made the
  entry/ registration for
• Payment
• Results
• For qualifications where there is no entry at
  qualification level, but only at unit level/
  registration (e.g. some ASL qualifications,
  Project and Extended Project)
• Home centres should make the unit entries (and
  where ever possible host the assessment for that
  unit)
• When the assessment is NOT held at the home
  centre specific arrangements must be made with
  the CAB to arrange for assessment papers to get
  to the correct centre
• Functional skills qualifications should be
  entered by the assessment centre (normally this
  will also be the learners home centre). If the
  assessment centre is not the learners home
  centre, the results that follow entry will need
  to be transferred within the consortium.
• Chosen CABs should be kept informed of consortia
  plans and their guidelines followed. Any need for
  alternative arrangements must be discussed and
  arranged with the CAB for the specific component
  qualification

• Assessments
• Special consideration cases

• Estimated grades
• Enquiries about results

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Summary of transactions
This figure shows at a high level the different
transactions that need to take place between
centres in a consortium and between centres and
the CABs. For every transaction a decision needs
to be made on how it will be managed and
coordinated between centres within the consortium
and which centre interfaces with the CAB. The
guidance will walk through how this picture can
come together.
Both home or delivery centre may be the
assessment centre (see slide 7)
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Context of the guidance within consortia support
activities

• To help position this guidance, we have
  conceptualised Diploma delivery as comprising
  three areas of work the teaching and learning
  underpinning the Diploma, the qualifications that
  make up the Diploma and the administration of
  Diploma learning and awarding.
• The focus of this guide is to support Diploma
  administration and it complements other NAA and
  DCSF support activities

Qualifications
Organisation support To support consortia to
organise their centres to effectively coordinate
the administration of the Diploma inline with the
requirements of awarding bodies. This is the
purpose of this guidance.
The Diploma
NAA Getting ready for the Diploma readiness
guide and events Providing support to the exams
office to prepare for administering the diploma
within centres
Teaching and learning
Administration
NAA systems support guidance and events
Provision of training for the Diploma aggregation
service, the Unique Learner Number (ULN) and
Learner Registration Service (LRS) to support the
management of the Diploma
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Use of this guidance

• There are many appropriate ways a consortium can
  organise itself to ensure the Diploma is
  effectively administered.
• Some centres are comfortable working as part of a
  consortium and will have organised themselves in
  a way that best accommodates the consortia/
  centres needs.
• Senior leaders in consortia should agree how they
  are going to coordinate centres and ensure roles
  and responsibilities are clear to all parties,
  especially the exams office.
• If the consortium has not yet decided how to
  organise itself to administer the Diploma, this
  guidance provides a pragmatic solution for
  September 2008. For centres that have already
  made arrangements with their chosen CABs this
  guidance may act as a useful test for the plans,
  however it does not mean other approaches to
  coordination are wrong.
• This guidance should be used in conjunction with
  detailed and specific guidance provided by
  awarding bodies on managing the administration of
  their Diploma qualifications. Communication with
  awarding bodies on their requirements and
  flexibilities in administering the Diploma is
  essential.
• This guidance focuses on the coordination of
  Diploma administration across a consortium and
  therefore focuses on administering Diploma
  component qualifications in conjunction with
  Component Awarding Bodies (CABs). Interactions
  with Diploma Awarding Bodies (DABs) occurs on a
  centre by centre level and thus is not a focus of
  consortia coordination. Support on Diploma
  awarding administration is provided by NAA and
  DABs themselves.

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Terminology

• The following definitions describe the terms used
  throughout this guidance
• HOME centre
• is the centre where a learner is enrolled
• have pastoral responsibility for their learners
• DELIVERY centres
• are the centres that deliver teaching to learners
• have special facilities/ expertise for a
  particular Line of Learning (LoL)
• may also be a learners home centre
• ASSESSMENT centres
• are centres where assessment for each unit takes
  place
• are, normally, the home centre for external
  assessments and the delivery centre for internal
  assessments
• may be the home or delivery centre

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Diploma administration
This guidance provides information on the
following administrative transactions that will
need to be completed to ensure the Diploma may be
successfully awarded

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Implications of consortium working

• The home centre is accountable for the learner,
  including
• Monitoring learner progress towards their Diploma
• Ensuring that learners are entered for all the
  right qualifications and units
• The home centre should provide the learner with
  their results at qualification level. This is so
  that all results can be provided together on
  Diploma results day and the home centre can
  provide support as needed
• Learners should be able to do their assessments
  at a centre that is convenient for them. This is
  likely to mean
• Normally, home centres host the external
  assessments
• Normally, delivery centres host the internal
  assessments
• NB. This may be dependant on the Line of
  Learning as in some instances teachers may move
  centres, rather than learners.

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 1. Cohort lists
• It is important for all centres to know which
  learners will be coming to them for teaching
  for what qualification at what level.
• Centres should communicate with their chosen CAB
  for each qualification as to whether they require
  upfront notification of learners pursuing a
  qualification.
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Home centres compile cohort lists for each
  qualification
• Home centres send delivery centres the cohort
  lists for the qualifications they teach
• If required, home centres provide CABs with
  cohort lists (as part of upfront registration)

The pragmatic solution is intended to provide
guidance to consortia that have not made
arrangements for 2008 on the way they will
coordinate their centres to administer the
Diploma. This is not the only way to manage
Diploma administration
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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 2. Learner entry/ registration
• Most qualifications require centres to enter/
  register at the qualification level and for each
  unit
• Home centres should be responsible for ensuring
  all their learners have been entered for every
  required assessment/ unit by the correct centre
• For many CABs, the entry/ registration process
  dictates where invoices, assessment papers,
  results etc. are sent i.e. to the centre that
  made the entry
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• QUALIFICATION entries are made by the home centre
  either before unit entries are made or afterwards
  (allows the home centre to maintain oversight of
  the qualification for a learner and procedurally
  allows the overall qualification result to be
  sent to the home centre, where the learner is
  enrolled)
• UNIT entries are made by the centre that will
  host the assessment home or delivery centre (to
  ensure further assessment related transactions
  take place with the assessment centre)
• If the home centre makes the entry the learner
  may still undertake their learning in a delivery
  centre, but still have the external unit
  assessment in their home centre.
• Internally assessed units are entered by a
  delivery centre

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 3. Payment
• CABs will expect payment for entries/
  registration in different ways and different
  times check with your CAB for their
  requirements
• Normally CABs will expect payment to come from
  the centre that made the entry/ registration
• Funding exchanges/ agreements between home and
  delivery centres may therefore be necessary
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Central learner funding is provided to the
  home centres
• Home centres pay for qualification entries/
  registration directly to the CAB
• Home centres transfer the funds to the
  delivery centre who pays the CAB for unit entries

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 4. Reasonable adjustments and access arrangements
• Applications for reasonable adjustments and
  access arrangements must be agreed with the CAB
  for each qualification
• Arrangements agreed will need to be applied by
  the assessment centre
• Sharing this personal information between centres
  may have implications under the Data Protection
  Act that must be complied with when sharing data
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Home centres make the request to CABs for
  reasonable adjustments or access arrangements
• The arrangements agreed with the CAB are then
  communicated by the home centre and applied to
  the learner for that qualification across all
  centres in the consortium that host an assessment
  for the learner

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 5. External assessment pre-release materials
• For some external assessments CABs will need to
  send materials to delivery centres in advance of
  the exam
• Most CABs will assume to send these materials to
  the centre that made the unit entry/ registration
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Materials to support the external assessment will
  be sent by the CAB to the home centre that made
  the entry
• If a home centre receives materials, but is not
  delivering teaching (only the assessment), these
  materials must be securely transferred to the
  delivery centre

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 6. External assessment papers
• External assessment papers will be securely
  delivered to, and collected from, recognised
  centres
• Many CABs will only deliver assessment papers to
  the centre that made the entry/ registration for
  the unit/ exam
• If assessments are not being held in the centre
  that made the entry, external exam papers could
  be sent to the wrong centre unless alternative
  arrangements are made with the CAB
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• The CAB sends assessment papers to the home
  centre (only if they made the unit/exam entry)
• The home centre that made the entry hosts the
  external exam (avoids learners needing to travel
  to other centres during the examination period)

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 7. Internal assessment marks and internal
  moderation
• Internal assessment marks will be generated by
  delivery centres teaching the internal unit
• Standardisation of internal assessments will be
  the responsibility of the delivery centre and
  should ideally be ensured across the consortium
• CABs will assume sampling or that moderators will
  visit the centre that made the entry for the unit
  unless alternative arrangements can be made
• See www.naa.org.uk for the NAA guide Delivering
  the Diploma A guide to managing internal
  assessment for further details on conducting
  internal assessment for the Diploma
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Internal assessments are likely to be held at the
  delivery centre (they conduct the teaching)
• Delivery centres send internal assessment marks
  to the CAB and if required to the home centre
  (the marks will be expected to come from the
  centre that made the entry by most CABs)
• Moderators request samples from each delivery
  centre
• Delivery centres provide the moderator with
  coursework for taught learners or arrange a visit

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 8. Special considerations
• Applications for special consideration for any
  particular examination will be expected by most
  CABs to come from the centre that made the unit
  entry
• It is likely that in learner-orientated special
  consideration cases the home centre will be best
  informed and in examination derived cases, the
  assessment centre will be best informed
• Communication between home and delivery centres
  will be essential in order that all information
  can be collated when making an special
  consideration application
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Whichever centre made the unit entry applies for
  special consideration to the CAB
• Home centres will need to inform the delivery
  centre of any need for making a special
  consideration application and the corresponding
  learner details

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 9. PLTS and work experience completion
• All Diploma learners will need to have their
  completion of Personal Learning and Thinking
  Skills (PLTS) and the required amount of work
  experience monitored and recorded
• Confirmation of the completion of PLTS and work
  experience must be inputted into the Diploma
  aggregation service before a Diploma can be
  claimed
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Home centres confirm the completion of PLTS and
  work experience in the Diploma aggregation service

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 10. Absence and sickness records
• To inform special consideration applications and
  the home centres pastoral role, centres need to
  share and cross-reference absence records (from
  delivery centres) with notification of absence
  (likely that the learner provides to their home
  centre)
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Centres will need to share information on learner
  attendance and reasons for absence

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 11. Estimated grades
• Some CABs will expect estimated grades to be
  provided on a unit and/or qualification level
  from the centre that made the unit entry
• For home centres to aggregate a learners
  estimated grade on a qualification level, they
  will need sight of all unit estimated grades
  provided by delivery centres
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Delivery centres teaching units send estimated
  grades for the unit to the CAB and, if required,
  the home centres
• Home centres send the qualification level
  estimated grade to the CAB (would require
  estimated unit grades from other delivery centres)

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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 12. Results
• For qualifications where results are released on
  either A-level or GCSE results day, learners are
  expected to collect their results from their home
  centre (to avoid travelling)
• Most CABs will only send the results to the
  centre that made the entry for the qualification
  or unit
• Results will often be available electronically
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Overall qualification results will be sent by the
  CAB to the home centre (that entered the learner
  for the qualification)
• Unit results will be sent to the centre that made
  the unit entry (the assessment centre for the
  unit)
• Unit results will be passed on from delivery
  centre to home centres

Home centre
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Managing Diploma administration in a consortium

• 13. Enquiries About Results (EAR)
• Most CABs will require any enquiries about
  results to be raised by the centre that made the
  unit entry
• Home and delivery centres will need to share
  information about a learner to identify and make
  the appropriate enquiry. In some situations the
  EAR may not be raised by the party who initially
  believes it is necessary
• A pragmatic solution for September 2008
• Enquiries about results will be made by the
  centre that made the entry for that unit in line
  with JCQ guidelines
• Home centres would need to inform delivery
  centres of their view on whether an enquiry is
  warranted for any of their learners
• Delivery centres would need to inform the home
  centre if they believed an enquiry about results
  was warranted based on their understanding of
  performance during teaching

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Glossary

• Component awarding body (CAB)
• A component awarding body meets the requirements
  for, and is recognised by, the regulators to
  award constituent units and qualifications of
  Diplomas.
• Diploma aggregation service
• Previously called Minerva, the Diploma
  aggregation service will support the awarding of
  Diplomas to learners. It will be used by exam
  centres and awarding bodies engaged in the
  delivery of Diplomas to share data and record
  learners progress towards a Diploma award.
  Typically, users at exam centres will access the
  service through a web browser, although they may
  also access it via an existing management
  information system (where a link has been
  established to the service). Larger awarding
  bodies will link their own systems directly to
  the service. As well as recording Diploma
  constituent qualification results against each
  learner, the service will aggregate these results
  and apply rules of combination to determine
  whether sufficient units and results have been
  gained for a Diploma to be claimed through the
  service.
• Personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS)
• The framework of skills that will equip all
  young people for successful employment and
  lifelong learning. PLTS require learners to be
• independent enquirers
• creative thinkers
• reflective learners
• team workers
• self-managers
• effective participators.