FIELD                 COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES

 

Change of Standard Setting Body, change in responsibility of Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan and Review of Diving unit standards

 

Subfield

Domain

Id

Diving

Diving ‑ Instruction

8270, 8274-8297

 

The Sport Fitness and Recreation Industry Training Organisation has taken responsibility of the Diving unit standards and has completed the review of the unit standards listed above that were first registered in November 1995 and September 1996.

 

Date new versions published                                                 July 2005

 

New comments by date                                                            July 2007

 

Expiry date of new versions of the unit standards           December 2008

 

Summary of review and consultation process

 

The Diving Industry Training Organisation (DITO), prior to its disestablishment, reviewed the Diving – Recreational and DivingInstructional unit standards in 2003.  Pending the disestablishment of DITO, the Sport Fitness and Recreation Industry Training Organisation (Sfrito) made an application with the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) to take responsibility of the Diving unit standards and the Accreditation and Moderation Action plan (AMAP).  TEC granted Sfrito the responsibility for these unit standards and the AMAP in March 2004.

 

Subsequently, Sfrito updated these unit standards to comply with the current technical criteria.  These changes do not affect the overall outcome of the unit standards.  The changes were made to add context and clarity to the elements and the performance criteria.

 

In the agreement to pass responsibility to Sfrito, DITO had assured Sfrito of the following:

 

·        All known assessors against diving unit standards had been asked to comment on any need for unit standard modifications during the review process.

·        The New Zealand Underwater Recreational Training Council (NZURTC) through its members (all registered dive employers in NZ) and through its international affiliation with the USA based Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC) had consulted dive employers for their views on training related needs.

·        That New Zealand wide, approximately 2500 students per year participated in tertiary programs based on Diving unit standards and Sfrito anticipated this demand to continue.

 

Main changes resulting from the review

 

While the review had found continued support for the unit standard purposes and learning outcomes for both domains, as the industry had anticipated, there was a unanimous call for the credit values of the units standards to properly reflect the learning and teaching time required for learners to achieve the desired outcomes.  There was a strong opinion expressed that the current credit value of many of the unit standards did not provide enough time for the valid and reliable assessment of learner competence nor sufficient time for the learner to apply the knowledge and practice the skills to enable them to reach a level of competence acceptable to the industry.

 

Credit values originally allocated to the dive unit standards were based on a recreational training history and only took account of direct contact hours spent with highly motivated fee-paying learners on compressed courses of up to five days.  This process did not account for self directed study, varying learning styles, the unsuitability of such short course intensity for typical tertiary learners or the practical experience required for students to progress from one level to another.

 

Summary of changes are as follows:

·        Credit values of the unit standards adjusted across the two domains.

·        Minor amendments to titles to add context to the outcome.

·        Name of the standard setting body updated to reflect the change in responsibility from the former Dive Industry Training Organisation to the Sport Fitness and Recreation Industry Training Organisation.

·        The addition of special notes to update or clarify information

·        Rewording the performance criteria in the Diving – Instruction unit standards to reflect the procedures used for instruction and practice.

 

Impact on existing provider accreditations

 

None.

 

Impact on Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP)

 

AMAP 0180 has been updated to reflect the change in responsibility of the standards setting body.

 

Impact on existing qualifications

 

None.

 

Summary of main changes to standards’ Ids, classification, titles, levels, and credits

 

The following summary shows the changes made to the standards as a result of the review.  All changes are in bold.

 

Key to review category

 

A

Dates changed, but no other changes are made - the replacement standard carries the same Id and a new version number

B

Changes made, but the overall outcome remains the same - the replacement standard carries the same Id and a new version number

C

Major changes that necessitate the registration of a replacement standard with a new Id

D

Standard will expire and not be replaced

 

Subfield          Diving

Domain          Diving ‑ Instruction

Id

Title

Level

Credit

Review Category

8270

Instruct specialist dive courses

Instruct clients on specialist dive courses

6

2

5

B

8274

Instruct recreational divers in open water

6

10

15

B

8275

Instruct rescue diving courses

Instruct clients on rescue diving

6

2

5

B

8276

Instruct clients to supervise and control dive operations

Instruct trainee supervisors to supervise and control dive operations

6

2

 

5

B

8277

Instruct underwater navigation for recreational divers

Instruct recreational divers in underwater navigation

6

2

B

8278

Instruct computer aided diving

Instruct clients in computer-aided diving

6

2

3

B

8279

Instruct night dives

Instruct clients in night dives

6

2

3

B

8280

Instruct underwater photography diving courses

Instruct clients on underwater photography diving

6

3

5

B

8281

Instruct underwater video diving courses

Instruct clients on underwater video diving

6

3

5

B

8282

Instruct drift diving courses

Instruct clients on drift diving

6

2

3

B

8283

Instruct search and recovery diving courses

Instruct clients on search and recovery diving

6

2

3

B

8284

Instruct cavern diving courses

Instruct clients on cavern diving

6

2

4

B

8285

Instruct altitude diving courses

Instruct clients on diving at altitudes greater than 300 metres

6

2

4

B

8286

Instruct wreck diving courses

Instruct clients on wreck diving

6

2

4

B

8287

Instruct diver propulsion vehicle (DPV) diving courses

Instruct clients on diver propulsion vehicle (DPV) diving

6

2

 

3

B

8288

Instruct deep diving courses

Instruct clients on deep diving

6

2

4

B

8289

Instruct ice diving courses

Instruct clients on ice diving

6

2

4

B

8290

Instruct marine species identification diving courses

Instruct clients on marine species identification diving

6

2

 

3

B

8291

Instruct hunting and collecting diving courses

Instruct clients on hunting and collecting diving

6

2

3

B

8292

Instruct diving off boats

Instruct clients about diving off boats

6

2

3

B

8293

Instruct diving off the shore

Instruct clients in diving off the shore

6

2

3

B

8294

Instruct oxygen (O2) administration courses for divers

Instruct clients on emergency oxygen administration for divers

6

2

B

8295

Instruct clients to complete a dive using Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx)

6

2

4

B

8296

Instruct snorkel diving

Instruct clients in snorkel diving

6

5

2

5

B

8297

Instruct dry suit diving courses

Instruct clients in dry suit diving

6

2

3

B