BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to Quality Assurance ...

1 BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to Quality Assurance and Assessment 2021-2022 BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to External Examination (UK) Prepared by HN Assessment team / Authorised by HEQ Deputy Director Version September 2021/ DCL1 Public 2 / 109 Contents Contents ..2 Summary of Changes ..7 Introduction ..9 Which qualifications does this Guide cover? .. 10 Self Regulated (SRF) Higher Nationals (from September 2016) .. 10 Qualification Approval .. 11 Approval to deliver the BTEC Higher Nationals at additional sites .. 12 Collaborative Arrangements .. 12 Distance 13 Removal of Centre Approval .. 14 Essential guidance .. 14 BTEC qualification specification .. 14 BTEC Centre Guide to External Examination .. 15 Pearson support materials .. 15 HN Global .. 16 Edexcel Online (EOL) .. 17 Forms and templates .. 17 Regulation and Oversight .. 17 The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) .. 17 QAA Review Methods.

2 18 The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).. 19 The Competition and Markets Authority .. 19 Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) .. 20 Office for Students (OfS) .. 20 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) .. 21 Quality Assurance .. 22 What is Quality Assurance ?.. 22 External Examination .. 23 BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to External Examination (UK) Prepared by HN Assessment team / Authorised by HEQ Deputy Director Version September 2021/ DCL1 Public 3 / 109 What is external examination? .. 23 Annual Programme Monitoring Report (APMR) .. 24 Annual Student Survey .. 24 The programme 25 Staff qualifications .. 26 Staff handbook .. 27 Student handbook .. 28 Programme specifications .. 29 Planning .. 39 Units, credits and Total Qualification Time (TQT) .. 40 Programme structure .. 40 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) .. 41 Modes of study .. 42 Engaging with employers .. 42 Engaging with students .. 42 Resources.

3 43 Planning assessment .. 43 Conflict of interest .. 44 Planning internal verification .. 44 Student recruitment and induction .. 46 Student recruitment .. 46 Entry Requirements and Admissions .. 46 English language requirements .. 47 Enrolment records .. 47 Student induction .. 48 Student attendance .. 48 Annual student fee .. 49 Unit 50 Planning units .. 52 Learning strategies .. 53 BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to External Examination (UK) Prepared by HN Assessment team / Authorised by HEQ Deputy Director Version September 2021/ DCL1 Public 4 / 109 External links .. 54 Assessment strategies .. 54 Peer and self assessment .. 55 Group work .. 55 guidelines on assessing group work .. 56 Time constrained assessment activities .. 57 Integration within a unit assessment plan .. 58 Spread of assessment activities .. 59 Structure of a test .. 59 BTEC assessment 60 Authenticity and authentication .. 61 Plagiarism .. 62 Observation records and witness statements.

4 63 Observation records .. 63 Witness statements .. 64 Assignment design .. 66 Assignment briefs .. 68 Assignments involving group work .. 70 Internal verification of assignment briefs .. 71 Assignment planning .. 72 Assessment and grading .. 74 Assessment tracking and recording .. 74 Formative assessment .. 74 Summative assessment .. 76 Marking spelling, punctuation and grammar .. 76 Grading Higher National 77 Grading Higher National units (QCF).. 77 BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to External Examination (UK) Prepared by HN Assessment team / Authorised by HEQ Deputy Director Version September 2021/ DCL1 Public 5 / 109 Generic grade descriptors and indicative characteristics .. 78 Contextualising the generic grade descriptors .. 81 Grading Higher National units (RQF).. 82 Submission of late work .. 82 Meeting assessment deadlines and mitigating circumstances .. 82 Extensions .. 83 Resubmissions .. 84 Resubmissions (QCF) .. 85 Resubmissions (RQF).

5 87 Repeat Units .. 88 Repeat Units (QCF) .. 89 Repeat Units (RQF) .. 90 Internal verification of assessment decisions .. 92 Student appeals .. 92 Student complaints .. 94 Recognition of Prior Learning .. 94 Mapping achievement .. 95 Retention of student evidence and assessment records .. 95 Assessment Boards .. 97 Preparation for an Assessment 97 Membership .. 98 Assessment Board decisions .. 99 Minutes .. 100 Confidentiality .. 100 Calculation of the final qualification grade (QCF) .. 100 Pass qualification grade .. 100 BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to External Examination (UK) Prepared by HN Assessment team / Authorised by HEQ Deputy Director Version September 2021/ DCL1 Public 6 / 109 Qualification grades above Pass grade .. 101 Qualification grades .. 101 Calculation of the final qualification grade (RQF) .. 102 Conditions for the award of the HNC .. 102 Compensation provisions for the HNC .. 102 Conditions for the award of the HND.

6 102 Compensation provisions for 102 Calculation of the overall qualification grade .. 103 Example materials .. 104 Glossary of BTEC terminology .. 105 BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to External Examination (UK) Prepared by HN Assessment team / Authorised by HEQ Deputy Director Version September 2021/ DCL1 Public 7 / 109 Summary of Changes Welcome to the Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to Quality Assurance and Assessment 2021-22. As part of Pearson s annual review of Centre guidance and documentation, we have provided more information throughout this handbook concerning the delivery and assessment of BTEC Higher National programmes. As in 2019-20, the 2020-21 academic year brought challenges and changes for everyone. External Examination will again be completed remotely this year, via a remote visit as outlined in the BTEC Centre Guide to External Examination. There is a separate BTEC International Quality Assurance Handbook for 2021/22 for international centres only, which covers specifics relating to international Quality Assurance visits from Pearson.

7 Any updates to this document during the 2021-22 academic year will be shown in yellow and be communicated additionally via the HEQ newsletter. You can sign up for the newsletter here. In line with Ofqual regulations, no Unit Level Teacher Assessed Grades (UTAGs) can be awarded for students completing assessments after 31st August 2021. Pearson has created a Guide to help centres with the teaching and learning for Pearson BTEC Higher National qualifications in 2021-22. There is recognition that there could be future disruption to teaching and learning, as centres and students are affected by self-isolation rules that still apply. Additional guidance has been added to the Plagiarism section on page 56. The Pearson timescales for the deletion of student registrations currently remain the same, as outlined in section of the Information Manual, however the Office for Students (OfS) (Regulator of Higher Education providers in England) will consider Higher National students not deleted within 50 days of enrolment as non-completions, so you may wish to review your Higher National deletion request timings in order to meet OfS requirements.

8 BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to External Examination (UK) Prepared by HN Assessment team / Authorised by HEQ Deputy Director Version September 2021/ DCL1 Public 8 / 109 Any questions regarding the assessment and internal verification of Higher Nationals qualifications can answered by centres External Examiners (EEs) or Pearson s Higher Nationals Assessment team at BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to External Examination (UK) Prepared by HN Assessment team / Authorised by HEQ Deputy Director Version September 2021/ DCL1 Public 9 / 109 Introduction This Guide is designed for Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals programme teams and provides essential guidance on the planning and implementation of internal assessment. All BTEC Higher Nationals units are assessed through internal assessment, which means that centres can deliver the programme in a way that suits students and relates to local needs. The way in which centres deliver the programme must ensure that assessment is fair and consistent as defined by the requirements for national standards and that these standards are consistent over time.

9 To achieve this, it is important that centres: Make sure that there is a Programme Leader in place, who can support the whole programme team in understanding Higher level assessment standards Make full use of materials provided by us which define and exemplify assessment requirements such as specifications, published assignments, other support materials and guidance Plan the assessment of units to fit with delivery the plan should allow for the links between units, such as where one unit needs to build on another Write suitable assessments (for example, assignments, projects or case studies) or select assessments from available resources, adapting them as necessary Plan the assessment for each unit in terms of when it will be authorised by the Programme Leader, when it will be taught and assessed, and how long it will take Ensure each assessment is fit for purpose, valid, will deliver reliable assessment outcomes across Assessors, and is internally verified before use Provide preparation and support for students before the start of the final assessment Make careful and consistent assessment decisions based only on using the defined assessment criteria and unit requirements and the overarching approach to grading Ensure that all student evidence submitted for assessment is valid and authentic Validate and record assessment decisions carefully and completely Work closely with us to ensure that implementation, delivery and assessment are consistent with national standards.

10 BTEC Higher Nationals Centre Guide to External Examination (UK) Prepared by HN Assessment team / Authorised by HEQ Deputy Director Version September 2021/ DCL1 Public 10 / 109 Which qualifications does this Guide cover? This Guide applies to centres in the UK and internationally. This Guide covers: This Guide does not cover: BTEC Higher Nationals at Levels 4 to 5 (QCF) BTEC Higher Nationals at Levels 4 to 5 (RQF) BTEC Higher Nationals at Levels 4 to 5 delivered as the knowledge-based component of BTEC Higher Apprenticeships Higher Nationals on Pearson s Self Regulated Framework (SRF) centres should also refer to the Self Regulated Framework (SRF) Quality Assurance Handbook BTEC Levels 3 to 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (FAD) BTEC Professional qualifications at Levels 4 to 7 BTEC Professional qualifications at Levels 4 to 7 delivered as the knowledge-based component of BTEC Higher Apprenticeships Self Regulated (SRF) Higher Nationals (from September 2016) Through the commissioned Higher National service, the Centre is able to commission Higher National qualifications.