BTEC Higher Nationals Enhanced quality assurance
With our quality assurance process for all BTEC higher-level programmes we can be sure our centres are meeting national standards.
Our enhanced quality assurance (QA) processes are in place for all Pearson BTEC Higher National qualifications. The enhanced processes embed specific higher education expectations alongside Pearson’s QA expectations for its other BTEC qualifications. This enables us to work with approved centres to ensure that our qualifications are delivered to the required, UK Higher Education, national standards.
Higher Technical Qualifications offered by Pearson are subject to the same approvals and re-approvals process as BTEC Higher National Qualifications. Pearson will work with you to make sure this process is as smooth as possible.
> Find out more about Higher Technical Qualifications
New centres: Providers who do not currently deliver any BTEC Higher National Qualifications will need to apply for centre approval. You can do this by filling out the below form, and somebody will be in touch to assist you.
Existing centres with new programme approval: Providers who have received centre approval to deliver BTEC Higher National qualifications will be subject to a qualification approval process, more aligned with that used in UK higher education. See below document for more information.
Re-Approval: Providers who are already delivering BTEC Higher National Qualifications that have been awarded Higher Technical Qualification status will need to apply for re-approval for the re-validated qualification.
If you have any questions about this process, please email hnqa@pearson.com
Any provider wishing to deliver BTEC Higher National qualifications will need to become a Pearson approved centre.
Approval to deliver BTEC Higher National qualifications
Having received centre approval, providers wishing to deliver BTEC Higher National qualifications will be subject to a qualification approval process, more aligned with that used in UK higher education.
Pearson approved centres may need to apply for re-approval to continue to deliver our BTEC Higher National qualifications due to re-validation of the qualifications, undertaken approximately every five years.
We will contact centres individually about this process, which will involve the head of each centre signing the declaration form below. If you need any further advice and guidance about this process please contact us via email at hnqa@pearson.com.
Once your centre has been approved to deliver BTEC programmes, we’ll work with you to ensure the approval criteria continue to be applied consistently and that your internal verification of assignments and assessments meets the expectations of a UK higher education programme.
We will appoint External Examiners (EEs) and give all centres the opportunity to present evidence that their internal processes to verify their standards continue to be suitable and are being used to ensure that the right standards in assessment are being applied.
As part of our commitment to work closely with Pearson approved centres, we have dedicated QA webpages detailing the quality assurance procedures for all BTEC programmes.
BTEC Higher National qualifications are subject to our enhanced quality assurance processes, and we have created a quality assurance handbook which provides more detailed guidance about the processes.
As BTEC Higher Nationals should be delivered to meet the levels 4 and 5 of the UK’s Framework for Higher Education Qualifications it is important that our centres meet the expectations of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) quality code.
The mapping document, found below, aims to help our approved centres meet the expectations of the quality code.
The Annual Programme Monitoring Review is a written annual review form that provides an opportunity for providers to analyse and reflect on the previous teaching year. Providers who are Pearson approved centres are required to engage with the APMR on an annual basis by completing the online form and submitting it to us.
By working in collaboration with providers, the information can be used by Pearson to further enhance the quality assurance of the Pearson BTEC Higher National programmes, by sharing good practice, identifying problems and supporting providers.
Further guidance, information and access to the online APMR form can be found on HN Global. You can also download the offline version below.
As part of our commitment to gather feedback and continually improve the Pearson BTEC Higher National qualifications, we have a worldwide annual student survey for all Higher National students, conducted by an independent third-party company.
The survey has been designed to provide valuable and quantifiable feedback on Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals to:
- Inform the future design of the qualifications.
- Support the development of resources for BTEC Higher National students globally.
- Provide centres with custom reports to assist with teaching and support.
To ensure students are free to give honest feedback, Higher Education providers will only see anonymised responses.
As part of our responsibilities as the awarding organisation for Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals and to align with the expectations of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Quality Code regarding student experience, the results from the survey will provide us with data to better inform the future of our Pearson BTEC Higher National qualifications and ensure that they provide students with the intended learning and skills.
Pearson has a responsibility to consider and act on information received. We will seek to address what may be common issues, and where necessary we'll provide appropriate support to both students and our providers.
A unique feature of the Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals Student Survey is the anonymised custom report, which all eligible providers will receive (subject to the required minimum number of student responses being met). The bespoke report compares the results at the individual provider level with the average responses from all other providers.
Further information (including the dates for the current Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals Survey), guidance and access to the online survey can be found on HN Global.
The Registration Threshold Monitoring process is a vital element of enhanced QA that underpins the effective delivery of Pearson BTEC Higher Nationals and Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs), and it is part of our commitment to ensure our centres recruit with integrity.
All registration figures are monitored against those agreed upon at the time of approval for each qualification. To encourage manageable growth, an additional 50% increase to the agreed figure is automatically added to the approved number (subject to any quality concerns) and submitted via a new application or Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) Declaration form. Please note that the growth figure is static and not a year-on-year increase. Please also note that all sub-sites and collaborative partner sites are included within the agreed registration capacity and are the responsibility of the lead centre.
If a provider exceeds the 50% growth rate, we will contact them to advise that there is a risk that a suspension of registrations will be put in place. The provider can request an increase to their maximum number of registrations, but no further registrations will be permitted without confirmation that the registration capacity increase has been agreed upon.
Registration thresholds are agreed in line with the resources available to deliver the RQF Higher Nationals and HTQs. When agreeing on a threshold, a provider’s previous registration history and quality profile are considered.
We reserve the right not to approve a registration increase request that does not appropriately demonstrate an ability to manage the growth effectively while maintaining the student experience quality.
You can submit a Higher Nationals Registration Increase Request to our team via our form. If you need any further advice and guidance about this process, please contact us at hnqa@pearson.com.
Further guidance and support
In the UK we have a dedicated Vocational Quality Assurance team who can help with quality questions and provide dedicated support for Quality Nominees.
Centres based outside of the UK can get in touch with our International Centre Management team who can answer any questions relating to approval, registration and certification. You can contact them via: internationaleo@pearson.com
We also have a dedicated team who can help answer questions about assessment and progression of students and who are responsible for the External Examiners. They can be contacted via: hnqa@pearson.com
For all other queries, and support with the HN Student Survey, APMR or re-approval of your qualifications, please get in touch with our Higher National Quality Assurance team: hnqa@pearson.com
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