End Point Assessment fees policy

Transcription

1 Quality Services and Governance Version 4 / February 2018 Who and what is this policy for: This policy is mainly for our End Point Assessment customers, namely employers; and, is also relevant as a reference document for Apprentices, Providers, Funding Agencies, EQA Bodies and others involved in the EPA process. The intent of this policy is to clearly outline our approach to setting fees related to EPA, and covers fees for EPA First Attempts and re-sits/re-assessments in full or per required EPA component. The subject of this policy is fee setting; this policy does not cover billing, invoicing, partial delivery, or withdrawals.

2 Pearson Education Ltd Our Mission and Values Welcome to Pearson, the world's leading learning company. We have a simple mission: to help people make more of their lives through learning. Whether it's at home, in the classroom or in the workplace, learning is the key to improving our life chances. We are the UK's largest awarding body and we are regulated by Ofqual (England), SQA Accreditation (Scotland), CCEA Regulation (Northern Ireland) and Qualifications Wales (Wales). We offer academic and vocational qualifications that are globally recognised and benchmarked, with educational excellence rooted in names like Edexcel, BTEC, and LCCI. Our regulatory policies are integral to our approach and articulate in a consistent way how we meet regulatory requirements. These policies are designed to support centres and learners with the design, delivery and award of Pearson qualifications and services. Contents 1. EPA fees policy... 3 How we set our First Attempt fees for EPA... 3 How we set our re-sit or re-assessment fees... 4 Fees for the Partial delivery of EPA... 4 EPA fees related to access and special arrangements Policy review date Useful contacts... 5 Page 2 of 5

3 Introduction We are committed to having a fair and transparent approach to fee-setting. Our fees for End Point Assessment (EPA) are created using the currently available 1 published Apprenticeship Standards and Assessment Plans for which we are registered to deliver end-point assessment services 2. This policy applies to all fees set before and after its approval date. In this policy, you will find information that is relevant to Apprenticeship Standards and Assessment Plans published and approved for delivery as at the published date of this policy. In order to offer value for money, Government policy requires that prices for EPA are negotiated individually between Employer and EPA Organisation. Because of this, we do not intend to publish a price list for individual EPA services, unlike our other qualifications where prices are set and published. We will discuss and negotiate prices for EPA individually with employers. Our fees for EPA are intended for, and payable by, the relevant Employer. Individual Apprenticeship candidates will not be directly charged for any part of their EPA. Our fees and fee-setting methods may vary if there are changes to UK government policy or Assessment Plans; this policy will be reviewed and amended accordingly in response to such changes. 1. EPA fees policy How we set our First Attempt fees 3 for EPA 1.1 Our First Attempt 4 fees are developed with consideration of costs related to: Components of EPA as outlined in published Assessment Plans; Administration, Registration, Assessment and Examination (where applicable) of relevant components; Providing guidance and support and the materials needed to enable delivery of the Assessment; Ensuring trained staff and appropriate premises are available to deliver end-point assessment; Development and maintenance of assessment instruments and tools; Ensuring consistent and robust internal quality assurance (for instance moderation and standardisation of assessment instruments and tools, assessors and assessment decisions); Costs incurred from relevant External Quality Assurance (EQA) body. 1 As at Approval Date of this version of our policy 2 Refer to ESFA Register of End-Point Assessment Organisations: 3 Our fees do include a proportional element linked to profit, as permissible by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). 4 First Attempt is defined as - The first attempt (post-gateway) of all-components EPA for an Apprentice who is registered with Pearson as the EPA Organisation; subsequent attempts of individual components are defined as re-sits/re-assessments. Page 3 of 5

4 1.2 We use the Affordability indicators set out in approved Assessment Plans to help inform our fees. The Trailblazer/Employer-led groups, who write the Assessment Plans, usually indicate expected cost as a percentage of the maximum funding band assigned to the respective Standard; we also ensure to consider the overarching principle of securing value for money within this sector. 1.3 Our fees exclude costs related to: General recruitment, induction and continuing professional development of assessors; Promotional/Marketing activity and materials; Any other services or on-programme activity not specifically related to the direct delivery of EPA; Any activity related to centre approval process. How we set our re-sit or re-assessment fees 1.4 Our fees for full or partial re-sit/re-assessment are created based upon our First Attempt fees for the respective Standard/Assessment plan. These re-sit/re-assessment fees are set at component level per individual EPA; the component fees are set in proportion to the costs related with the delivery of each individual component. 1.5 There are no hidden charges included in our re-sit/re-assessment fees. 1.6 Fees for re-sit/re-assessment are charged and invoiced separately and will be additional to any First Attempt fees for which an Employer may have already been charged; we will agree/negotiate the relevant fee with the Employer before starting delivery of any re-sit/reassessment. Fees for the Partial delivery of EPA 1.7 In the case of partial delivery of EPA, we will charge only for those parts/components of EPA that have actually been delivered or where we can show that costs have been incurred in an attempt to deliver relevant components. This may include where we have provided resource for delivery of assessment, but assessment was not carried out due to action/inaction on the part of the Apprentice/Employer/Provider 5. (Scenarios of this type will be considered in accordance with our policies covering Billing and Refunds.) EPA fees related to access and special arrangements 1.8 Our First Attempt and re-sit/re-assessment fees do not include special arrangements that may be required to support individual apprentices with special educational needs, disabilities or with another temporary or permanent limiting condition. 1.9 We are committed to making sure all candidates can fairly access our end-point assessments. We will discuss Individual needs for candidates with the Provider and Employer, and we will make suitable arrangements so that all candidates have equality of opportunity and fair access to EPA Any extra fees related to these special arrangements are negotiated separately with the Employer, and will be added to the First Attempt or re-sit/re-assessment fee, whichever is relevant to the candidate's individual situation. 5 Exceptional and extenuating circumstances will be considered in relation to Partial Delivery situations. Page 4 of 5

5 2. Policy review date 2.1 This policy will be reviewed in February 2019, revisions may be made before this date if there are changes to government policy or Assessment Plans. 3. Useful contacts 3.1 Rohini Bhattacharya Head of Apprenticeship Services Page 5 of 5