Review of Journalism qualification

FIELD                 COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES

 

Review of Journalism qualification

 

National Diploma in Journalism with strands in Magazine, Newspaper, Radio, and Television [Ref: 0326]

 

The NZ Journalists Training Organisation has completed the review of the above qualification.

 

Date new version published                                                             January 2008

 

The next qualification review is planned to take place during 2012.

 

Summary of review and consultation process

 

The review of this qualification formed part of the review of the level 5 Journalism unit standards undertaken during 2006 and 2007, when working groups comprising representatives from tertiary providers and the media industry were established to look at what was required to update the qualification.  The groups represented the diverse journalism areas for writing, reporting, workplace, technical skills, broadcasting, cultural, and law and ethics.  Assessors and moderators were also invited to contribute to the review, and their feedback was considered along with that of the other groups.

 

The groups acknowledged that the present qualification was unsatisfactory and did not meet the present needs of the industry and the profession and it was agreed that a more flexible qualification be developed, with the intention that a level 6 stranded qualification also be developed in the near future which would be available for those wishing to specialise in a particular sector of news media.

 

Main changes resulting from the review

 

The structure of version 4 of the qualification is significantly different from the earlier version.  The title has changed, and strands have been removed.  The qualification now consists of a compulsory section, which includes two standards from Business Information Processing, and a single elective section from which candidates are required to achieve a minimum of three standards.  The change in structure gives added flexibility to the teaching programmes and to the qualification itself.

 

The content of the qualification was updated to reflect the outcome of the review of the level 5 Journalism unit standards.

 

National Diploma in Journalism with strands in Magazine, Newspaper, Radio, and Television [Ref: 0326]

National Diploma in Journalism (Multi-media) (Level 5) [Ref: 0326]

 

Review category

B

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

 

Changes to structure and content

·           title of qualification was changed

·           core compulsory and core elective sections were replaced with a compulsory section

·           strands were replaced with a single elective section

·           expiring standards listed in the table below were replaced to reflect the outcome of their review

·           expiring standards 10361, 10371, 10372 and 10373 were removed from the qualification

·           standards 117, 16679, and 23108 were included in the compulsory section

·           standard 23127 was included in the elective section

·           credit total increased from 120 to 134 credits.

 

Transition

 

From February 2008, all new trainees will be enrolled in training programmes leading to version 4 of the qualification.  People currently working towards versions 1-3 of the qualification may either complete the requirements for those versions or transfer their results to the new version of the qualification under the guidance of the NZ Journalists Training Organisation.

 

The final date for assessments to take place for versions 1-3 is 31 December 2009.

 

This qualification contains standards that replaced earlier standards.  For the purposes of this qualification people who have gained credit for the expiring standards are exempt from the requirement to gain credit for the replacement standards.

 

Credit for

Exempt from

10372

117

10373

16679

10355, 10356, 10357

23106

10355, 10356, 10365

23106

10359

23109

10366

23111

10367

23111

10368

23111

10376

23116

10377

23117

10378

23118

10379

23119

10360

23121

10381

23122

10382

23123

10358

23124

10362, 10364, 10370, 10383, 10384

23125

10363, 10385

23126

 

It is anticipated that no existing candidates will be disadvantaged by these transition arrangements.  However, anyone who feels that they have been disadvantaged may appeal to the NZ Journalists Training Organisation who will consider appeals on a case by case basis.

 

New Zealand Journalists Training Organisation

PO Box 1066

WELLINGTON

 

Tel                   04 499 2154

Email              mike@journalismtraining.co.nz

 

Key to Qualification Review Categories

 

Category A

The qualification is published as a new version with the same NQF ID

Changes are made to SSB name, contact details or purpose statement

No change is made to title, rules or components of the qualification

No transition arrangements are required

Category B

The qualification is published as a new version with the same NQF ID

Changes are made to title, rules or components

The new version of the qualification recognises a similar skill set to that recognised by the previous version

The SSB is confident that people awarded the new or previous version are comparable in terms of competence

Transition arrangements are required if candidates must gain additional/different credits for the new version

Category C

A new (replacement) qualification is published with new NQF ID

Significant changes are made to the qualification in terms of components, structure, type or level

The SSB views people with the replacement qualification as being significantly different in terms of competence from those with the replaced qualification

Transition arrangements are required

Transition may be limited to phase-out dates

Category D

Qualification will expire.

There is no replacement qualification

Qualification is no longer required by industry

The qualification is designated as expiring and a last date for meeting the qualification requirements is set