These guidelines describe the quality assurance approval process for education organisations to assess standards listed on the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards (DASS). This process is called consent to assess.
The DASS is organised by domains, subfields and fields and is aligned to the levels of the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).
On this page
When do I need consent to assess?
Consent to assess may be granted for individual assessment standards, or all assessment standards classified in a domain up to a specified NZQCF level.
Consent to assess is required when assessment standards are to be assessed either individually or where they are included as part of an approved programme of study or micro-credential.
In these instances, an education provider also needs accreditation to provide the programme or have micro-credential approval.
You can apply for consent to assess when you apply for accreditation to provide an approved programme, or for a programme or micro-credential approval.
Consent to assess for individual standards is not required if it is already held for the relevant domain and at the appropriate NZQCF level.
Standard-setting bodies
Standards listed on the DASS are set by a recognised standard-setting body.
Standard-setting bodies include workforce development councils (WDCs) and NZQA's National Qualification Services and Māori Qualification Services.
Each standard-setting body specifies the criteria that an education organisation must meet when assessing against the assessment standards for which they are the standard setter.
These criteria are specified in the relevant Consent and Moderation requirements (CMR).
Go to the Consent and Moderation Requirements page
An application for consent to assess is required to provide evidence of the education organisation’s ability to meet the CMR criteria.
The regulatory authority for NZQA Rules is section 452 of the Education and Training Act 2020 (the Act). Consent to assess is required under section 449 of the Act.
The New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework
NZQA is responsible for protecting the integrity of New Zealand qualifications listed on the NZQCF and therefore assuring the quality of programmes and education organisations to provide them.
The NZQCF is designed to optimise the recognition of educational achievement and its contribution to New Zealand’s economic, social and cultural success.
The NZQCF will list qualifications that:
- convey the skills, knowledge and attributes a graduate has gained through completing a qualification
- are integrated and coherent
- enable and support the provision of high-quality education pathways
- enhance confidence in the quality and international comparability of New Zealand qualifications
- contribute to Māori success in education by recognising and advancing Mātauranga Māori
- represent value for money, are sustainable and robust.
Quality assurance
NZQA’s quality assurance integrates ‘front-end’ quality assurance with the ongoing self-assessment activities an education organisation undertakes to assure itself of the quality of the graduate outcomes it achieves for its learners and stakeholders.
These quality assurance activities include consent to assess.
Quality assurance uses an evaluative approach to reach judgements on a transparent, robust and credible basis, underpinned by the following principles:
- strategic and needs based
- focused on outcomes
- quality as a dynamic concept – including ongoing improvement
- flexibility
- high trust and accountability.
Te Hono o Te Kahurangi
Te Hono o Te Kahurangi is the framework used for the Mātauranga Māori quality assurance approach for consent to assess standards that are distinctively based on kaupapa Māori principles.
The following kaupapa are used for quality assurance using Te Hono o Te Kahurangi:
- rangatiratanga
- manaakitanga
- whanaungatanga
- kaitiakitanga
- pukengatanga
- Te Reo Māori.
Using the evaluative approach
The decision to grant consent to assess is based on the quality and sufficiency of the information and evidence in the application. It accurately reflects the assessment practice on which the application is based.
Using an evaluative methodology enables decisions about quality, value and importance to be reached on a consistent and reliable basis, and requires NZQA to:
- be explicit about the information and evidence on which judgements are made as well as the logic of their interpretation and
- write the outcome in a clear, concise report which explains the key factors and reasons for the final decision.
Decision to grant consent to assess
The decision to grant consent to assess is made by answering the evaluation question:
To what extent does the organisation have the demonstrated capability and resources to assess against the assessment standards?
The decision to grant consent to assess using Te Hono o Te Kahurangi is made by answering the evaluation question:
Kei te tutuki ngā āhuatanga o te whare ako i nga kaupapa o Te Hono o Te Kahurangi
NZQA reviews the information and evidence provided in the self-assessment report and reaches the decision about whether or not to grant consent to assess using the following rubric, which sets out the expected levels of performance in relation to the evaluation question.
Good evidence is:
- relevant to answering the evaluation question and makes sense in the context of the question
- obtained from more than one source (that is, is corroborated or triangulated
- of more than one type (for example, quantitative and qualitative data).
Rubric: Criteria for rating answers to the evaluation question to grant consent to assess
| Criteria | |
|---|---|
| Consent to assess is granted |
ALL of the following:
|
| Consent to assess is not granted |
ANY of the following:
|
Granting consent to assess
NZQA will accept applications for consent to assess from NZQA-recognised education organisations including schools and tertiary education organisations.
Applications for consent to assess must be made online in the providers portal:
Applications for consent to assess
The following section explains the requirements for organisations seeking consent to assess in a range of situations.
National Certificates in Educational Achievement (NCEAs)
There are specific requirements for organisations, including schools and tertiary education organisations seeking consent to assess for achievement standards leading to the National Certificates in Educational Achievement.
Go to the secondary school consent to assess page
Schools
Where a school seeks an initial consent to assess or to extend its consent beyond base scope, it must submit an application stating the scope of the consent sought.
If the application relates to unit standards, it must also include evidence from the standard setting body of the school’s ability to meet the consent and moderation requirements.
Tertiary education organisations
All tertiary education organisations applying for consent to assess must submit a self-assessment report that answers the evaluation question and provides information and evidence:
1. The education organisation has met the consent requirements specified in the CMR.
These may relate to requirements for:
- particular skills and knowledge of teachers and assessors
- any special resources required for assessing against the standards
- learner access to resources
- practical experience.
2. Confirmation from the relevant standard setting body that the education organisation has the ability to meet the consent and moderation requirements specified in the CMR.
Education providers - where the application is not linked with an application for accreditation
Where the application is not associated with a related application for accreditation to provide an approved programme or micro-credential approval, the self-assessment report must also:
- explain how the scope of the consent to assess fits with the education organisation’s overall business planning, education delivery and assessment intentions
- include evidence on the organisation’s ability to design, deliver and assess study or training, particularly in respect of the standards in the application.
In particular, the education provider needs to demonstrate it has sufficient capability and physical, teaching, learning and other resources to assess the standards and meet reporting requirements.
This includes experience of teaching staff, teaching and learning facilities and learner support services.
Reporting requirements include reporting assessment information to learners and external agencies as well as reporting credits to NZQA within three months of assessment.
Some of this information may already be covered in meeting the specific consent requirements.
Meeting specific consent requirements
Process for getting standard-setting body confirmation
The standard setting body states the process and reasons for the education organisation to demonstrate how it will meet the industry or sector specific requirements.
A clear justification is required if the requirements include site approval of the education organisation.
Particular skills and knowledge of teachers and assessors
Information includes a description of the skills, knowledge and experience of relevant teachers and assessors or how the education organisation intends to obtain and maintain these.
Any special resources required for assessing against the standards
Consent requirements may specify specialised equipment required for both learning and assessment against specific standards.
The education organisation needs to include details of its arrangements for access to specialised equipment.
This may include evidence of purchase and maintenance, memoranda of understanding with an owner or other suitable arrangements.
Learner access to resources
Where consent requirements specify access to particular resources, the education organisation needs to clearly identify the arrangements for its learners.
Practical experience
Consent requirements may specify practical experience the learner needs to undertake. The education organisation needs to include in its application details of the arrangements for how it will meet this requirement.
Agreements between organisations
Sub-contracting
An education organisation can arrange for another organisation or individual to deliver education and assess standards on their behalf. This is deemed to be a sub-contracting arrangement.
There are different requirements when an education organisation engages a sub-contractor depending on whether the sub-contractor involved holds consent for the standards to be assessed.
If the education organisation proposes to use a sub-contractor, and both have consent to assess, then the education organisation should notify NZQA of the arrangement prior to the assessment being undertaken.
If the education organisation has been granted consent to assess, but the sub-contractor does not hold consent to assess for these particular standards, the education organisation must apply to NZQA for approval to engage the sub-contractor and provide the following information:
- the name of the sub-contractor
- the assessment standards to be assessed under the arrangement
- the reason for the proposed sub-contracting arrangement
- a copy of the sub-contracting arrangement between the education organisation and the sub-contractor
- evidence of internal quality assurance approval by the education organisation, through an Academic Board or similar facility.
The sub-contracting arrangement must specify:
- the names of the parties to the arrangement
- the term of the arrangement
- procedures for resolving any differences which might arise between the parties to the arrangement
- compliance with the arrangement and NZQA rules
- the ongoing monitoring of the arrangement and delivery
- assessment and moderation arrangements
- provision of resources (both physical and human resources)
- arrangements for maintaining and reporting student academic records
- a clear process for reviewing and terminating the arrangement, and
- procedures for protecting learners if the arrangement is terminated.
Criteria for approving sub-contracting arrangements
NZQA will grant approval to an application where it is satisfied that it meets the requirements of the relevant Rules in all sub-contracting arrangements:
- The education organisation remains responsible for the sub-contractor meeting all of the obligations that are relevant to the consent, including all relevant obligations in the Education and Training Act 2020 and rules made under section 452 of the Act.
- There is a formal documented arrangement between the education organisation and the sub-contractor that includes provisions to ensure that NZQA is able to exercise its quality assurance and enforcement powers, and functions in relation to the sub-contractor’s assessment of standards.
- The information and advertising for the assessment of standards related to the consent must clearly state that it is provided through a sub-contracting arrangement.
- All student enrolments are through the education organisation, which must also maintain academic information.
- The education organisation holding the consent will report credits for the learners and pay the relevant credit reporting fee.
Rules and legislation for consent to assess
NZQA Rules are made under section 452 of the Education and Training Act 2020 (the Act), which gives NZQA the authority to make rules for the quality assurance processes for which it is responsible.
Consent to assess is required under section 449 of the Act.
The NZQA rules covering the granting of consent to assess are:
Consent to Assess Against Standards on the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards Rules 2022