Review of Business Administration qualifications

FIELD BUSINESS

Review of Business Administration qualifications

National Certificate in Business Administration and Computing (Level 2) [Ref: 0008]

National Certificate in Business Administration and Computing (Level 3) [Ref: 0633]

National Certificate in Business Administration (Level 4) [Ref: 0634]

National Diploma in Business Administration (Level 5) [Ref: 0370]

NZQA National Qualifications Services has completed the review of the qualifications listed above.

Date new versions published May 2011

The next qualification review is planned to take place during 2014.

Summary of review and consultation process

The review of these qualifications accompanied the review in 2010 of all the unit standards in subfield Business Administration, as part of scheduled maintenance of unit standards and qualifications, to ensure that they are fit for purpose and technically sound.

Consultation was initiated in January 2010, when expressions of interest in review outcomes and feedback on the unit standards were invited from stakeholder groups. Business organisations, Industry Training Organisations, tertiary education organisations, private training enterprises, secondary schools, existing business networks, and government agencies were advised of the review and asked to disseminate the information to the stakeholders whose interests they represented. From the responses received, review panels were established, representative of major stakeholders.

The review panels met between March and July, with frequent contact with a network of other stakeholders who offered feedback on the panel's recommendations for amendments to the unit standards and the qualifications. The reviewed unit standards were registered in October and December, but the qualifications were delayed by the need for a Generic Computing unit standard to be revised before being included in two qualifications as a compulsory standard.

The reviewed qualifications have received widespread support from stakeholders.

Main changes resulting from the review

As a result of this review:

· The structure and content of the qualifications were updated.

· The information in the qualifications' purpose statements was updated.

National Certificate in Business Administration and Computing (Level 2) [Ref: 0008]

Review category

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

Changes to structure and content

· Unit standards 2781 and 6743 were added to the Compulsory section, and the minimum credits required for Set C were therefore reduced from 9 to 5.

· The title and credit value of reviewed unit standard 497 were updated.

· The minimum credits required for Elective Set F were reduced from 4 to 2.

Transition

People currently working towards version 5 of this qualification may either complete the requirements for that version before December 2014 or transfer their results to version 6 of the qualification.

Providers are encouraged to offer programmes based on the new requirements from January 2012.

National Certificate in Business Administration and Computing (Level 3) [Ref: 0633]

Review category

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

Changes to structure and content

· The qualification's structure was updated to include standards 2781 and 6743 in a new Compulsory section.

· Set D no longer specifies standard 16612.

· The minimum credit requirement for Elective Set E is now 2 credits (instead of 3).

· Expiring unit standards 10479-10481 were removed from the Balance section.

· The credit value of reviewed standard 14950 (which is specified in Set H) increased from 4 to 6.

Transition

People currently working towards versions 2 or 3 of this qualification may either complete the requirements for those versions before December 2014 or transfer their results to version 4 of the qualification.

Providers are encouraged to offer programmes based on the new requirements from January 2012.

National Certificate in Business Administration (Level 4) [Ref: 0634]

Review category

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

Changes to structure and content

· The Elective section now requires a minimum of 35 credits (instead of 36).

· The Elective requirement for Set A was increased from a minimum of 20 to a minimum of 25 credits.

· The requirement in the Elective for a minimum of 5 credits from the Generic Computing domain was removed, and replaced by a new option to choose standards from that domain in the Balance section.

· The option to choose standards from the expiring Educational Administration and Management subfields was removed from the Balance section.

· The requirement for Set D Service Sector - Core Skills (previously Set E) was reduced from 3 to 2 credits.

· The option to choose standards from the Generic Computing domain was added to the Balance section.

· Expiring unit standards 10479-10481 were removed from the balance section.

· The credit value of reviewed standard 14950 (which is specified in the Balance section) increased from 4 to 6.

Transition

Providers are encouraged to offer programmes based on the new requirements from January 2012.

National Diploma in Business Administration (Level 5) [Ref: 0370]

Review category

See Key to Qualification Review Categories at the end of report

Changes to structure and content

· Elective 1 Set 1 now requires at least 20 credits at level 5 or above.

· In Elective 1 Set 2, the Management subfield was removed as it has been designated expiring.

· Elective 2 now specifies a minimum of 12 credits from specified classifications.

· Candidates can now choose from anywhere on the DAS to make up the balance of credits to meet the qualification's requirements.

Transition

People currently working towards versions 2, 3, 4, or 5 of this qualification may either complete the requirements for those versions before December 2014 or transfer their results to version 6 of the qualification.

Providers are encouraged to offer programmes based on the new requirements from January 2012.

It is not intended that any existing candidates are disadvantaged by this review. However, anyone who feels disadvantaged should contact the standard setter at the address below.

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