How to become an Internal Quality Assurer

What’s the role that an Internal Quality Asssurer plays?

All training providers need to have an internal Quality Assurer on their team. Quality Assurance takes place to make sure that the provider of training is running at the best they can.

The centre’s IQA will be responsible for quality-checking the decisions made by the Assessors of the centre. This is done to ensure that these decisions , as well as the Assessors’ procedures are maintaining the centre’s standards. Just some of the tasks that an IQA can undertake are:

Insuring that all Assessors are appropriately trained, qualified and able to perform their roles efficiently;
Monitoring the assessment practices and procedures through the execution of sampling activities, such as;
The review of learners at different stages of delivery of the program and the assessment process
Assessment of the effectiveness of plan
Making sure that assessment decisions are consistent and standardised
Making sure that the centre’s equity and diversity policies are being implemented;
Conducting a minimum of two regularisation meetings each year.

If quality assurance isn’t being implemented There are dangers to the consistency, accuracy, and fairness of training and assessment methods. This could result in a significant disadvantage to learners.

What Is An IQA?

An IQA carries out a very important part of the learning and evaluation process. They ensure that things run smoothly. This covers everything from study and learning that the apprentice takes on up to the final exam (and everything between!). An IQA helps in the standardisation process, ensuring that the tests given are consistent and fair between learners.

The “internal” part of an IQA is that Quality Assurance is being taken place within the training centre itself, by an employee within the training centre. The responsibility of an IQA typically falls on the Supervisor or Manager within an educational centre. In the event that they’re not responsible for ensuring their own assessment quality, an IQA may still function as an Assessor and perform both tasks.

Responsibilities of An IQA

The duties that an IQA can vary, especially when they continue to be assessing simultaneously. Here are some of the most common things an IQA is accountable for:

Verifying that Assessors are qualified for their job.
The planning and preparation of activities will allow for the observation of assessments
Ensure the uniformity of assessment procedures (working with Assessors as well as trainers and employers)
Inspecting the trainer’s and assessor’s performance and providing constructive feedback
Recording assessment of samples and making decisions or grades awarded
The learners will be able to meet with the students themselves.
Facilitating and identifying best practices within the organization

Having an IQA within an organisation is crucial when it comes to assessments and ensuring that good practices are observed. It is very common when issues are discovered when it comes to the delivery of the qualification, it could be traced back to the absence of quality control within the organization.

Benefits of Become An IQA

So now that we have explained in detail the role for IQA, and the role of an IQA and the requirements you need in order to become one, let’s look at brief look at some advantages of becoming an IQA.
Let’s begin with the most crucial one first, which is the financial gain! The average salary for IQAs is in the region of PS23,000 – PS35,000 per year. This is an upgrade for Assessors with experience, since being an IQA will add extra value to the business. It removes the need for businesses to hire an outside IQA to carry out their quality assurance as they can have their own employees perform the task instead.

Continued Professional Development (CPD) is yet another motive to earn an IQA. As an Assessor you will already know the importance of maintaining your CPD record up to date and getting an IQA certification will aid in this. Even if your goal isn’t to become a leading IQA, even just completing the knowledge certification will help you be a better Assessor in the role you currently hold.

So, there are currently 3 IQA Qualifications that are available; however, only 2 of them can be used to earn Quality Assure.
Level 4 Award for Understanding the Internal Assessment Quality Assurance of Assessment Methods and Practice

To begin, with the simplest of all the IQA Qualification, this course doesn’t actually allow you to take an internal quality assurance assessment. But, it does provide you with the background knowledge of IQA. This award is an ideal way to earn CPD (Continuing Professional Development) particularly for managers. By completing this qualification you will be able to:

The context and the principles behind Internal Quality Assurance;
How to plan the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment;
Techniques for monitoring, maintaining and increasing the quality of assessment internally;
How can you manage information in accordance with lawful and ethical requirements in an Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment.

Level 4 Award for the Internal Quality Certification of Assessment Processes and Practice

Now, moving onto this next qualification, it’s similar to the old Internal Verifiers certification. It lets you make quality-assurance of assessments and assessment decisions, but it does not allow you as the Lead IQA of your training provider. By completing this qualification you will be able to be able to:

Plan for the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment;
Follow legal and good practice guidelines when internal monitoring and maintaining the quality of assessment;
Keep track of information pertinent to Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment;
Internally evaluate, maintain and improve the quality of assessments.

Level 4 Certificate for Leading in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice

In the end, the most highly regarded IQA certification is called it is the Lead IQA. This is the perfect qualification for those who would like to become the Lead IQA of your training provider, as it gives you all the required skills needed to not only Quality Assure qualifications, but also to lead and oversee the entire QAS process. After completing this certification you will learn and be qualified to:

Quality Assure accreditation;
Control the Internal Quality Assurance processes for a training centre;
Manage other IQAs;
Create and draft Internal Quality Assurance policies and procedures;
Manage External Quality Assurance (EQA) visits.

Who do these qualifications apply to?

The vast majority of individuals who study to become an IQA have been trained and certified as assessors. Most people find that the IQA program is the most logical progression path to take after their professional profession as an assessment.

Although, the role the role of an Internal Quality Assurer is quite different from that of an assessor. So , it is crucial that you are sure on what the roles of an IQA include.

If you are already V1 or IV-certified and are not sure, it could be the case that you want to update yourself with the latest knowledge based component in the IQA suite. If this is the situation then you should consider the Level 4 Award that only has unit 1 as its focus will be the qualification you need.

It is the Level 4 Award that incorporates units 1 and 2 . It is the credential you’ll require if you’re currentlyor soon to be a part of the internal process for ensuring the accuracy of assessments.

Effectively, you’re evaluating the assessor! Every NVQ candidate needs to have an assessor and every assessor requires an Internal Quality Assurer.

You’ll need the Level 4 Certificate for Leading in the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice in the event that you’re planning to be the leader of IQA within your company.

This course can prepare you to take charge of ensuring that all requirements are met in the training process and within the organisation that provides training as in general.

What are the responsibilities of IQA? IQA?

If you’re thinking of pursuing taking a course in order to become an internal Quality Assurer (IQA), then you can expect the following duties to be a part of your role as an IQA:

Plan, operate and evaluate the internal quality assessment as well as assurance systems
Assist and develop tutors, and/or assessors
Improve the quality of assessment practice
Use policies, procedures and laws to ensure compliance with the requirements of external regulators and other authorities.

What exactly is the IQA course itself involve?

Naturally, it is contingent upon the level of qualification you’re doing in relation to what the course will involve. Below are the titles for the three units and an overview of what they cover.

If you’re doing unit one or the full three-unit qualification, this short unit overview should give you an idea on exactly what you’ll cover in your course.

Unit 1 – Understanding the Principle and Procedures for Internally Assuring Quality of Assessment

This is the knowledge-based component. You will gain the knowledge and understanding needed in order to verify the validity of the assessment.

The course’s theory includes the following areas involved in Internal Quality Assurance:

The Principles
The Techniques, and
The Planning

The method of delivery for this unit could be via online or in classroom sessions.

Unit 2 – Internally Ensure the Qualitative Assessment

This unit involves you putting the theories into practice. In this course it is expected that you to supervise two assessors, each with a minimum of two candidates of their own.

This is a competency based module, meaning you’ll need to be observed working with the two assessors.

Unit 3 – Set Up, Allocate, and Manage work in the area of Responsibilities

This is a different competency-based unit that is based on competencies. As part of unit 3, you would learn to plan, organize and supervise work in the area you are responsible for. In addition, you will also learn to make the necessary changes to the original plans for work.

The evidence from this unit would come from you working with real learners/staff/customers.

We hope that this article has helped you gain an comprehension of what an Internal Quality Assurer does, and even more importantly, if it’s something that will be beneficial for you.