It is our intention to make this process easy to follow and easy to complete.
The steps to accreditation are as follows:
1. Ensure you have trawled through the ACCRIN Standards on the Standards and Evidence page. Contact us if you have any queries.
2. Contact us. Let us know the type of course for which you are seeking accreditation. We’ll reply with a note of our fees structure and other useful information regarding our streamlined accreditation process. The accreditation process can be completed in weeks – not months.
3. If you are happy with the fees structure and wish to proceed, we will send you our Guidelines and Application for Accreditation. You then return the completed Application Form to us together with the Initial Accreditation Fee payment paid by bank transfer to our company account. We will forward our bank account details when you decide to proceed.
4. After sending the completed Application Form and Initial Accreditation Fee, you then need to complete our Standards and Evidence Form which we’ll email to you. You return this to us with your evidence, which includes access for us to a copy of your course(s). The accreditation-related questions on this document will mirror the ACCRIN Standards and you will be asked to provide your evidence against each Standard. There may be some Standards for which you cannot provide evidence – this may be as a result of the type of course or method of delivery. Don’t worry – we’ll help you with any query.
5. Our Accreditation Advisory Team will inspect your submission and documents in evidence. We may need to get you to submit additional or different information, but we’ll help you with that too. Then we will advise you that accreditation has been granted, deferred or declined. If deferred or declined, we’ll help you to get things right at that time. However, if you have been keeping in touch with us throughout the process, there is much less chance of your submission being deferred or declined.
6. Once accredited, you can display our logo on your site and documentation and this will demonstrate to customers that you are a high quality Provider and you meet the demanding ACCRIN Standards of quality assurance.
7. From the date of accreditation there will be external moderation activity (see below) as required for each course accredited (see note below).
It’s as easy as that!
Notes re Moderation
This is a fairly extensive note about moderation which will no doubt serve to illustrate its importance in educational activity. We will cover the key points here but all aspects of the moderation policies, processes and procedures will be covered in-depth during the accreditation process and during the submission of your completed Standards and Evidence Form.
Note that moderation and verification are inter-changeable words. They mean the same.
Moderation ensures that candidates are assessed in a consistent, accurate and well-designed manner. It ensures that all assessors who assess a particular unit, standard or qualification are using comparable assessment methods and are making similar and consistent judgements about candidates’ performance.
Moderation of assessment must be carried out:
internally by the Provider itself (internal moderation) and
externally by an external moderator/verifier, i.e. ACCRIN and our highly experienced personnel in our main company TI Select Training Ltd, of which ACCRIN is a division (external moderation)
It is paramount to have robust internal and external moderation practices to ensure that assessors apply assessment criteria consistently, and that there is a shared understanding of the standards candidates are expected to achieve. In a nutshell, moderation ensures that assessment is operated fairly within programmes and that assessment policies and principles are applied consistently.
As all assessment is devolved to the Provider and its assessors, the importance of moderating systems cannot be over-emphasised. Moderation will ensure that the system is credible and that assessors and candidates behave in ethical ways. Furthermore, moderation is a means for professional interaction and upskilling of assessment practitioners so as to continuously improve the quality of assessment.
The main functions of moderation systems are:
To verify that assessments are credible, fair, valid, reliable and practicable
To identify the need to redesign assessments, if required
To provide an appeals procedure for dissatisfied candidates
To evaluate the performance of assessors
To provide procedures for the de-registration of unsatisfactory assessors
To provide feedback on unit standards and qualifications
How does Moderation Occur?
Moderation systems combine internal and external moderation. Both external and internal moderation systems must ensure that all assessors produce assessments that are credible, fair, valid, reliable and practicable and that assessors and candidates behave in ethical ways
1. Internal Moderation
Internal moderation ensures that assessments conducted are consistent, accurate and well-designed. The three main stages of internal moderation are:
a. Design:
The choice and design of assessment methods and instruments are appropriate to the unit standard and qualifications being assessed.
b. Implementation:
The assessment is appropriately conducted and matches the specifications of unit standards and qualifications. This includes ensuring that the appropriate arrangements have been made and that there are regular discussions among assessors.
c. Review:
Any lessons learnt from the two previous stages are considered and the necessary changes are made.
Role of the Internal Moderator
An internal moderator must be an experienced assessor in whom other assessors have confidence. He/she needs to have undergone training in internal moderation and have wide knowledge of the learning area.
In the Provider Team, the role of internal moderator is carried out by the Lead Assessor.
The internal moderator/Lead Assessor should:
Establish systems to standardise assessment, including the plans for internal moderation
Monitor consistency of assessment records
Through sampling, check the design of assessment materials for appropriateness before they are used, monitor assessment processes, check candidates’ evidence, check the results and decisions of the assessors for consistency
Co-ordinate assessor meetings
Liaise as necessary with external moderators/verifiers
Provide appropriate and necessary support, advice and guidance to assessors
2. External moderation
External moderation is a means of ensuring that the Provider’s assessors are assessing consistently to the standards set, and in a well-designed manner. Individuals appointed as external moderators must be experienced, know the learning area well, have undergone training for moderation, and have credibility among assessors and within their area of knowledge and expertise. A high level of personal and interpersonal skills is also required.
External moderation involves:
Checking that the systems required to support the provision of learning and assessment programmes across the Provider’s Centre are appropriate and working effectively
Providing advice and guidance to the Provider’s Centre
Checking that all personnel involved in assessment are appropriately qualified, experienced and competent
Checking the credibility of assessment methods and instruments, and learning procedures
Checking internal moderation systems through sampling, monitoring and observing assessment processes and candidates’ evidence to ensure consistency across providers
Checking assessors’ decisions
3. Planning for Moderation
The following questions are example questions raised to stimulate thought when planning a moderation system:
How much moderation?
Will all registered standards be moderated?
Will all candidates be moderated? If not, what percentage?
Will all assessments be moderated? If not, what percentage?
Will all training programmes be moderated?
Each unit standard, assessment material and assessor falls within the moderation process. Moderation activities need to be sufficient to protect the integrity of standards and awards. The quality of the registered assessors and internal moderation systems will be a key factor. Initially, fairly frequent moderation will be a requirement and there may be a need to conduct spot checks on a case-by-case basis in an evolving system. This could reduce gradually to a less frequent basis once the Provider Centre demonstrates it has the capacity to maintain credible assessment systems.
Who is responsible?
Who will conduct the moderation?
Regardless of whether the appointed moderators are internal or external, they have to be of good standing and should have unquestionable skill in the curriculum and assessment practices. Also, they should have a good understanding of the expectations of all users. Any person who is appointed as internal assessor/lead assessor, external moderator, or chair of a moderation panel should have sound communication and interpersonal skills. Criteria and procedures for the selection of moderators must be established.
When will it take place?
Continuously?
Monthly? Quarterly? Annually?
Before assessment? Post assessment? Both?
Moderation can take place at different intervals. However, all assessment guides should be moderated prior to the assessments. Recently trained assessors may require more regular moderation of their ability to conduct assessments than more experienced assessors, but all assessors need to be moderated at designated intervals. ACCRIN will discuss with you, advise on, and agree with you a robust moderation system to meet the needs.
How will it be structured and managed?
Who within the Provider Centre will draw up policies for particular standards and qualifications, and how will this be done?
Who within the Provider Centre will implement these policies and how will this be done?
Who within the Provider Centre will evaluate policies and implementation and how will this be done?
What will the costs of setting up and operating a moderation system most likely be?
How will the best use of resources be achieved?
What materials do moderation activities require? Materials might include the following:
Assessment activities or assessment activity exemplars
Assessment guides or assessment guide exemplars
Case studies or exemplars
Assessed candidates’ work samples
Assessor training/CPD records
ACCRIN will need to consider the Provider’s moderation proposals in the light of the management structures available, the functions allocated to the moderation system and the moderation methods proposed.
The key question to be asked is:
What is the minimum amount of moderation needed to ensure that assessments are credible, fair, valid, reliable and practicable?
4. Moderation Methods
It will be necessary to plan for the moderation systems to evolve and develop. This will require changing the methods used over time. The range, including combinations of methods, could include:
Revising exemplars of assessments and benchmarking materials against established criteria
Doing statistical moderation
Conducting external assessments which will serve as a moderating instrument and could possibly justify less internal moderations
Common assessment activities and assessment guides
Having external moderators undertake site visits
Having external moderators conduct panel meetings
Establishing site consultative committees
Whatever the form the moderation system takes, it will be regularly reviewed by ACCRIN and our highly experienced personnel in our main company TI Select Training Ltd of which ACCRIN is a division, as external moderator/verifier to ensure that the system meets the expectations, and that the proposed arrangements are efficient, accessible and make optimum use of resources.
and our highly experienced personnel in our main company TI Select Training Ltd of which ACCRIN is a division, as external moderator/verifier to ensure that the system meets the expectations, and that the proposed arrangements are efficient, accessible and make optimum use of resources.
