Coronavirus: Student and staff
support for FE colleges
Introduction
These are challenging times for everyone, and hard decisions are having to be made right across Scotland, and the world, which are affecting everyone’s lives.
SQA and Colleges Scotland have provided guidance to colleges in Scotland on the approach to assessing HNC, HND, NC, NPA and NQ units.
- Where necessary, college staff will use their own professional judgement to assess learner evidence and determine grades.
- SQA will operate a reduced external verification model to allow a reasonable level of quality assurance to be done remotely
- We are reviewing the subjects where alternative approaches to assessment may not be suitable, and will provide further guidance
Estimates for National Qualifications
Lecturers - visit our NQ teacher/lecturer support
Students - visit NQ learner support
Further information on HNVQ contingencies and support will be published as soon as we can.
HNVQ - Qualification verification
We are making a change to our Candidate Evidence Retention policy. Centres must now keep candidate evidence for six months after the resulting date of each qualification.
Student questions answered
Which qualifications are covered by the guidance in this section?
The information is relevant to the following SQA qualifications:
- Higher National Certificates (HNC)
- Higher National Diplomas (HND)
- National Certificates (NCs)
- National Progression Awards (NPAs)
- National Qualification (NQ) units, which may be part of college certificated courses.
Why do I need to still undertake assessments?
As you know, face-to-face learning and teaching at colleges has stopped but arrangements have been made in many areas for learning to continue remotely — to enable you to complete your course successfully, despite the very challenging conditions we are all experiencing currently.
By continuing to engage in assessment opportunities, you will ensure that there is comprehensive assessment evidence available for your lecturers to refer to when they decide on a result for you.
How will my course result be determined?
Experienced lecturers will review all the available assessment evidence to assess whether you have met the course aims. Using this evidence, and their knowledge of your engagement and progress, your lecturer will determine your result based on your performance to-date.
I have additional support needs. What does all of this mean for me?
College staff will take the necessary adjustments to make the assessment accessible for you. This will be done in partnership with college student support services. This could include, for example, the use of professional discussion instead of a written exercise if you normally require a scribe.
Shouldn’t all students just pass the course? It isn’t our fault we can’t continue as normal.
It is vital that any award made is supported by a rigorous and fair assessment process. Colleges are working to support you and to ensure that your hard work and achievements are rewarded.
I don’t have computer access to my college. How will my assessment decision be determined? / I have caring responsibilities and haven’t been able to engage with ongoing opportunities for assessment.
We know that for some students there are particular barriers to continuing with learning, teaching, and assessments.
If there is already a significant amount of evidence in place for you, it may be possible for your lecturers to use this to predict your grade.
However, there may simply be insufficient evidence to allow lecturers to make that decision. If this is the case, your entry can be left open and you should be given the opportunity to engage in further learning, teaching and assessment when conditions allow.
Colleges are working to make sure that there is no detriment to learner funding entitlements in these situations.
I have a conditional offer from university and my Graded Units will be impossible to complete. What does this mean for me?
Where it has not been possible to complete the Graded Unit (for example, you have no access to necessary resources or equipment due to the lock-down), college staff will use any Graded Unit work completed to date, plus a range of other assessment evidence, to predict and award a grade where it is possible to do so. This will depend on the quality and amount of evidence available.
What if I don’t get the grade I expected?
If you feel that the assessment outcome reached does not accurately reflect your achievement, you will be able to submit an appeal following your college’s academic appeals process.
I haven’t been able to fully achieve my course because my assessment evidence was insufficient. How and when will I be able to complete any units that I did not get awarded?
Where you have not achieved your award and this is considered a direct result of the impact of college closure, your entry can be left open and you should be given the opportunity to engage in further learning, teaching, and assessment when conditions allow.
Colleges are working to make sure that there is no detriment to learner funding entitlements in these situations.
Can I progress onto other course within my college with an incomplete result?
This will depend on your individual progress. Staff would discuss with you the available options.
Will universities recognise my grades?
Yes. Your result and grade will result from a rigorous evidence-based assessment process.
This will be a valid result that reflects your achievement throughout your course.
College staff delivering NQ questions answered
What is happening to this year’s examination diet?
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 national examination timetable has been cancelled.
The Scottish Government has asked SQA to develop an alternative certification model. This will ensure that learners’ hard work is rightly and fairly recognised.
For this session, teachers and lecturers should continue to exercise their professional judgement and estimate a learner’s grade and band based on their demonstrated and inferred attainment of the required skills, knowledge and understanding for each National Course.
SQA will work to ensure learners receive their results no later than Tuesday 4 August. A free appeals service will be available to ensure that schools and colleges continue to have a mechanism to question any result, and guidance will be provided.
We also recommend that schools and colleges encourage their learners to sign up to MySQA to receive their NQ results by text and/or email. Any learner who has previously signed up to receive their results through MySQA will continue to do so, and we recommend that those learners review their profile to make sure their contact details are correct.
Do learners still need to undertake their practical assessments and/or coursework?
Higher and Advanced Higher
No. SQA has confirmed that schools and colleges are not required to submit learner coursework for marking for Higher and Advanced Higher courses.
Also, we do not require schools and colleges to submit marks for internally assessed coursework.
National 5
We confirmed earlier that National 5 coursework already submitted by schools and colleges will not be marked. We also do not require schools and colleges to submit marks for any internally assessed coursework.
National 2 – National 4
Schools and colleges should provide unit results, based on either existing evidence from assessments that have already been completed, and/or using their professional judgement of other learner evidence, including knowledge of their learners’ progress and achievements to date. The results should be submitted to SQA, in the normal way, by Friday 22 May for schools, and by Monday 1 June for colleges.
National Certificates, National Progression Awards, Skills for Work courses and Awards
We are asking schools, colleges, employers and training providers to provide us with the results of their internal assessment decisions (where some evidence from the course already exists but further progress is not possible), based on teaching staff’s professional judgement of learners’ work from throughout the year.
What guidance is there to help teachers and lecturers with establishing learners’ estimate grades?
For this session, teachers and lecturers should continue to exercise their professional judgement and estimate a learner’s grade and band based on their demonstrated and inferred attainment of the required skills, knowledge and understanding for each National Course. There is no requirement for schools and colleges to set any more prelims or mock exams, or homework tasks for the purpose of determining an estimate grade.
It is also important to remember that it is not necessary for teachers and lecturers to mark any other work that would have been externally marked by SQA. An estimate is a judgement of a grade and band based on a holistic review of a learner’s performance in the assessment evidence available.
The integrity of the estimates we receive this year is very important as it will provide the core element of the certification process, in the absence of national performance data such as marked question papers, and non-question paper components.
Therefore, to assist SQA in the awarding and certification process for 2020, we are taking steps to refine the existing system and ensure it is as fair and robust as possible. Firstly, we will be subdividing each existing band and asking teachers and lecturers to place their learners within these band categories. Secondly, we will be asking teachers and lecturers to rank order their learners within each estimated grade.
This will provide us with the information needed to allow us to adjust estimates where necessary, to ensure consistency both across the country and in comparison, with previous years.
This process may be informed by previous subject and qualification performance at both a national and centre level and prior attainment information where that is available.
Detailed guidance to schools and colleges on how to determine and submit refined estimate information is now available:
Information on Providing Estimates (177 KB)
We understand that teachers and lecturers will need more time to access evidence and have departmental and faculty discussions, in order to provide this information. We are also conscious that this will be more challenging with school and college closures.
We are extending the existing estimates deadline by a month from Friday 24 April to Friday 29 May.
Will SQA continue to offer its Post-Results Services to schools and colleges?
A free appeals service will be available to ensure that schools and colleges continue to have a mechanism to question any result, and guidance will be provided.
Does SQA have enough Markers in place to support this year’s activities?
With the decision to cancel the 2020 exam timetable, and no coursework being marked for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses, there is no need for the normal marking activities, this year.
We thank all those who were due to mark, for their willingness to do so, and for all the work they do for us.
We are currently planning for alternative assessment, certification and post result activities, and we may still need Markers’ help and their expertise to support these activities. We hope that our Markers will be able to continue to support us, and we will be in touch with them, if their assistance in an alternative role is required.
Are all external assessment, and external verifications visits related to the NQ 2020 examination diet, cancelled?
Yes. All external assessment visits, and external verification visits related to this year’s examination diet, have been cancelled. While no further visiting assessment will take place this session, we know that some visiting assessors have already sent us marks from activities that were completed. We can confirm that these marks will not be used in determining learners’ final grades. We have taken this decision to be as fair as possible to all learners, as we do not have a complete set of data for all learners across all subjects that are marked by visiting assessors.
What is the deadline for schools and colleges to submit estimate grades? Is it possible to get an extension to the deadline to the end of the cancelled examination diet?
Yes. We are extending the existing estimates deadline by a month from Friday 24 April to Friday 29 May.
When will we receive further updates or more detailed information from SQA?
We have provided detailed guidance to schools and colleges on how to determine and submit refined estimate information.
Information on Providing Estimates (177 KB)
We will also provide fuller details of our approach to certification, as soon as possible.
A free appeals service will be available to ensure that schools and colleges continue to have a mechanism to question any result, and guidance will be provided.
Are schools and colleges required to send in copies of Internal Assessment Marking Forms?
No – schools and colleges should not send us Internal Assessment Mark Forms (IAMF). The marks and the coursework evidence are no longer required, given the information in our statement on coursework, published on 24 March.
Should schools and colleges still be asking learners to complete coursework, or other assessments, even though SQA no longer needs it?
No. There is no requirement for learners to complete coursework or other assessments. Schools and colleges are not required to set any more prelims or mock exams, or homework tasks for the purpose of determining an estimate grade.
Schools and colleges are best placed to make decisions about the completion of coursework, given their knowledge and understanding of the status of their learners’ coursework and the circumstances in which it can be completed, within current public health advice guidelines.
How will SQA ensure that learners get the grades they deserve
It is vital that we base our decisions on the principles of fairness to all learners, and the safe and secure certification of our qualifications, whilst recognising the current challenges we all face.
Are there any subjects where the grade is based solely on the exam?
Mathematics and Latin do not have coursework, but we use other information during the awarding process to determine grades, including teacher estimates and prior attainment.
Are you going to charge late fees for changes to entries?
No. To help support you through this exceptionally difficult time, we can confirm that we will not be charging late fees, for any changes you make to entry levels or withdrawal of entries for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses, after 31 March. While any new entries that you make will incur the usual entry fee, we will not charge you a late fee as well. In line with our normal data management processes, SQA will continue to monitor the data submitted by centres until certification. However, it is essential that you provide complete and accurate data by the timelines set by SQA to ensure that learners are awarded the achievements they deserve and that they are able to take their next steps into further or higher education, employment or apprenticeships.
Will these qualifications be recognised by universities and employers?
Yes. SQA is in regular discussion with UCAS, Colleges Scotland, and Universities Scotland, who are fully aware of the situation and will help learners to progress on to the next stage of their education or employment. We are also in close discussion with Skills Development Scotland, to ensure employers and their representatives are kept aware of the decisions being made.
Can learners sit their exams next year and use whatever result is better?
Yes, as in any year, learners can sit the exams next year if they wish. All results will be listed on their SQA record of attainment.
If this is all possible then why do we need an exam system from now on?
This is an unprecedented situation, and the closure of schools and colleges for an extended period means that it will not be possible for learners to sit exams.
What about pushing the timetable back in the year?
This was considered as an alternative but with no clear timeline for when schools and colleges would be reopened, the Deputy First Minister asked SQA to develop an alternative certification model.
Who took the decision to cancel this year’s diet and what was the decision-making process?
As outlined in our statement, on 19 March 2020, the Deputy First Minister asked Scotland’s Chief Examining Officer to develop an alternative certification model following the cancellation of this year’s timetable.
