Overview Of The Development Or Revision Process

We recommend that the development or revision of an HNC or HND be done in three stages:

• Initial review involves setting up a Qualification Design Team to establish the need for the Group Award, and the extent of development required. This should be done by reviewing existing market research such as Futureskills Scotland and National Occupational Standards; determining the strategy for initial consultation with key stakeholders; consulting and analysing feedback; determining the extent of revision (major/minor); agreeing draft Group Award title, rationale and principal aims, draft access requirements and main subject areas; determining which existing Units can be incorporated, and which new Units require to be developed; agreeing the proposed Graded Unit model (project or examination) and a strategy for the development of Core Skills and any other ‘soft’ skills (eg customer handling, enterprise).
• Development Stage is where the Qualification Design Team: manages the writing process for revised or new Units, and the development of the Group Award’s Graded Unit(s); signposts the development of Core Skills and other ‘soft’ skills; holds further consultation with stakeholders to agree articulation and credit transfer arrangements; develops approaches for the delivery and assessment of the qualification; prepares and reviews the validation document, presents the case for the Group Award at the validation meeting and reviews and actions any resulting conditions/recommendations; prepares and reviews the validated document; and launches the Group Award.
• Implementation stage happens once the Group Award (or group of related Group Awards) has been validated and launched. In this stage, a qualification support team should be formed, whose specific remit will be to:
  1. monitor, evaluate and address issues arising from the delivery of the revised HN Group Award (including practitioner comment on specific Units and reports from Moderation activity)
  2. advise on the development of resources/meetings which exemplify national standards
  3. keep abreast of related developments, (eg in National Occupational Standards, National Qualifications, SVQs and degrees and in relevant progression pathways and qualifications)
  4. position the award for five-yearly review

These three stages are summarised in the following activity list, which also shows how validation fits in to the process:

Stage 1:	Initial review
1	Set up the Qualification Design Team.
2	Identify potential qualifications for development and agreeing the proposal with SQA.
3	Establish the need for the qualification by consulting stakeholders.
4	Evaluate stakeholder responses.
5	Determine the scope of the project.
6	Carry out market research and develop the rationale and aims of the Group Award.

Stage 2:	Development of the qualification
7	Plan the work of the Qualification Design Team.
8	Identify the tasks and timelines to take the development forward.
9	Write or revise Units and get them validated.
10	Write group award Graded Units.
11	Signpost Core Skills in Units.
12	SQA validation of the Units (see step 9 above).
13	Produce a Validation Proposal Document for the Group Award.
14	Appoint a Validation Panel for the Group Award.
15	Hold a Validation meeting for the Group Award.
16	Produce a Validated Document (ie HN Group Award Arrangements document).

Stage 3:	Implementation
17	SQA coding of the Group Award and all new Units and informing Students Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).
18	Gain centre or SQA approval.
19	Launch the Group Award.
20	Develop or revise assessment instruments and teaching materials.

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