Organisations have appropriate operating procedures to ensure they are effective and sustainable and provide their products/services whilst being able to respond to market needs and changes.
Example of positive indicators:
The organisation:
a) has a business plan, appropriate to the nature and scale of the organisation, to aid sustainability and growth and its ability to identify and respond to changes in the marketplace
b) identifies, establishes and manages links, as appropriate, with other organisations, partnerships and networks to enhance their products/services
c) has a marketing strategy, appropriate to the nature and scale of the organisation, to promote its products or services in an accessible manner to all identified target groups or individuals
d) understands and complies with all existing and future legal requirements that may impact on the delivery of its products/services, eg. H&S, data protection, safety and welfare, equal opportunities
e) has clear managerial and staffing structures, appropriate to the nature and scale of the organisation, and lines of communication between all levels of management and full, part-time and associate staff
f) has documented, implemented and continually reviewed policies and procedures with regards to risk identification and management and self assessment and continuous improvement
g) links staff performance within their role to the aims and objectives of the organisation and requirements of the products/services it provides and reviews this in a method appropriate to the size and scale of the organisation
h) supports staff members to design and implement innovative and creative improvements to products/services
i) has sufficient resources and facilities, appropriate to the nature and scale of the organisation, to meet the demands of its planned delivery model and uses them effectively to aid the delivery of the product/service
Organisations have appropriate assessment and quality assurance arrangements in place to maintain the integrity of the delivery of programmes of learning
Example of positive indicators:
The organisation:
a) clearly sets out the behaviours, knowledge, skills and qualifications required by staff members and has strategies in place to develop these where not already possessed
b) supports staff members to undertake continuous professional development and provides both time and opportunities to help with this
c) provides assessment and quality assurance staff with sufficient time, resources and authority to perform their duties in a manner appropriate to ensure the integrity of the delivery of programmes of learning or qualifications
d) has documented, implemented and continually reviewed policies and procedures with regards to:
standardisation of assessment and quality assurance activities
receipt and secure storage of assessment materials, coursework and other learner work as well as learner certificates
timely registration and certification of learners
conflicts of interest
maladministration and malpractice
event notification, ie. notification of unforeseen events that may have caused or have the potential to cause an adverse effect in the delivery or integrity of programmes of learning or qualifications
sampling strategies to aid continued quality assurance of programmes of learning or qualifications
e) has arrangements in place to encourage the use of a range of assessment methods to aid the delivery of programmes of learning or qualifications and identify the individual needs and assessment requirements of learners and meet them where possible
f) has arrangements in place to provide learners with information about their rights and responsibilities throughout the learning experience, eg. course description, assessment and quality assurance requirements, appeals and complaints, whistleblowing, reasonable adjustments and special considerations, information about the Awarding Organisation and Regulator, if applicable and potential progression routes
g) has arrangements in place to address learning, medical and physical needs of learners who access its products/services