Submitting qualifications

Once an awarding body has been recognised by the regulatory authorities, it may wish to submit qualifications for accreditation. In order to do this, the awarding body must ensure that there has been early dialogue with their regulatory authority contact.

If advised to proceed, the awarding body should then complete the appropriate proposal form to demonstrate that its proposed qualifications meet the relevant qualification criteria from The statutory regulation of external qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (2004).

For further information and guidance on how to submit qualifications for accreditation, please consult the Regulatory authorities accreditation handbook and the 'Guidance on age categories for accredited qualifications' page.

Providing regular information to the regulatory authorities

Bi-annual plans

Recognised awarding bodies are required to submit a plan on a six-monthly/bi-annual basis.

This bi-annual plan should contain details of proposed new qualifications intended to be submitted for accreditation, extensions to existing qualifications, notification of any intention not to seek an extension for an existing qualification and requests for early withdrawal of qualifications. It is intended to inform and effect strategic planning and early dialogue between awarding bodies and the regulatory authorities. Any subsequent changes should be incorporated into the next plan.

The first plan, covering the period October 2004 to February 2005, was submitted to mailto:mapprovalsteam@qca.org.uk by 30 September.

For more information on bi-annual plans, please contact QCA's Recognition and Approvals Team at approvalsteam@qca.org.uk. The form to be completed is the 'Awarding body bi-annual plan'.

Awarding body updates

Awarding bodies are requested to keep information on central systems and procedures up to date and to ensure compliance with the revised regulatory criteria that came into effect on 1 September 2004.

In addition, providing a satisfactory recognition update is a key requirement before the regulatory authorities can grant an awarding body access to the five-day accreditation process (details of this process are contained in a consultation pack, which was issued on 6 September).

Based on the pilot evaluation, we have revisited the process to ensure updates are collected and maintained as effectively as possible. We will contact all awarding bodies shortly to advise on the proposed timescales for submission of updates.

Please note that specified key aspects of the information provided through the updating process will become part of each recognised awarding body's bank. Further information on the revised banking procedures will be issued shortly.

The regulatory authroities should be notified of any changes. For advice on whether you need to update information, please contact partateam@qca.org.uk.

Seeking extensions, amendments and withdrawals

An awarding body, at some point, may wish to extend, amend or withdraw its accredited qualifications or extend its range of provision. For detailed information on these processes, please consult the Regulatory authorities' accreditation handbook on the 'Accreditation of qualifications' page.

Before completing any of the forms mentioned below, an awarding body must enter into early dialogue with its regulatory contact.

When an organisation is recognised as an awarding body, its plan of provision outlines what types, levels and sectors/subjects of qualification it has been recognised to offer.

At some point, after gaining recognition, an awarding body may wish to extend the range of qualifications it intends to offer. In order to do so, it must discuss the rationale for this extension with the regulatory authorities via the Recognition and Approvals Team at partateam@qca.org.uk before submitting the relevant sections of the 'Awarding body recognition application'.

Please note that extending the awarding body's range of provision differs from a request to extend the accreditation period of a qualification. For guidance on extending qualifications, please consult the Regulatory authorities' accreditation handbook and 'Accreditation of qualifications' page.

Finding accreditation data

Accredited qualifications and awarding body contact details are shown on QCA's national qualifications database, NDAQ. They are also on the DfES and LSC websites.

It is recommended that recognised awarding bodies regularly consult these databases to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date. If you have any discrepancies between the various databases, please contact the Approvals Team at approvalsteam@qca.org.uk

The public consultation on The statutory regulation of external qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (2004) finished in November 2003. The existing NQF and regulatory criteria will be in effect until 1 September 2004. However, awarding bodies should start making arrangements to comply with the revised criteria and NQF now. The revised criteria and NQF will be in effect from 1 September 2004.

The new criteria replaces Arrangements for the statutory regulation of external qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (2000).