Have you ever heard of your teacher mention of an IQA?

Your tutor could mention you are going to be IQA’d, Or the IQA is going to visit or perhaps your work will be invigilated. 

However, you may come across this term, it can also sound a daunting process. Let me explain to you who the IQA  is, what they are and how you will be involved in this process throughout the course.

Why do I have to see a IQA?

Every student has to be internally invigilated on every training course. Previously this term has been called an internal verifier role but most recently changed to a internal quality assurance role. Your center may have a internal verifier or internal quality assurance staff member that will do this role for the whole center in their qualifications that you are all done. The center might have more than one IQA or different staff members for different departments of the education for example hair or beauty.

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning

Regardless of if this member of staff is always at your center or an external person that is brought in for the role, the process is the same.

The internal verifier is there to check your assist as work students work and centers policies in relation to your course. There will be a date set between the IQA and the assessor along your course program. There will be other students being internally verified at the same time as you but also from the same course or even across the same units that you are taking.

What do they look for?

The IQA will be looking for various policies against a set criterion that they are looking for in your work, your assessors work, and the centers policies. The IQA will be looking for various admin points such as your registration number if you are on the right course as well as other policies such as uniform, your portfolio, all your paperwork. They will look at various documentation such as your assignments and how they are marked, and tests and how they are invigilated. They are looking at your work as well as how these documents are marked and locked in your portfolio so don’t think it’s just about your work it’s also about policies and procedures that are put into place. 

Staff will then be looking at a performance section based on your practical observations. They will be looking at your treatments and how they are performed, along with how you are assessed and if the correct assessment procedure has taken place. They are looking at the assessment procedure how it is planned how it is full of through and also then how it is finalised and marked as a competent or not competent assessment.

These two main areas the IQA is looking for a long way center policies and procedures are each individual center put into place. This is where they may ask you questions about how you are on your course and any support that is given. they may spot check on questions for you about your course and even about the treatments that you are providing.

The IQA puts all of this into a spreadsheet that is standardized for the center. They will then bring up any of these issues raised with the assessor on the day and put this into a standardization meeting about how the center can move forward with any issues raised or any great points that I think need documenting.

Relax… they are there for you and your course.

It’s not that much of a daunting process but we can understand how this can make you feel pressured. We are here to make you feel as comfortable as possible through your assessment process and having somebody watch you that you’ve not met before or worked with can be nerve wracking. Speak to your assessor about your nerves and how we can put you into a relaxed state before your assessment.

Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.

Take a read of my other blog about an EQA or external verifier which is another person that you may see throughout your course.