TQS assessment is different

When I deliver sessions of TQS assessment I show a slide about the different stages in the assessment process. People listen and nod, but in many cases, they don’t really think too much about what I am saying.

Most people in provider organisations know what to expect in assessments. They know what inspections are like. They know what is coming.

Or do they?

Well, in many cases, they don’t.

Remote assessment

Lots of people still think that the assessment takes place on-site. They think TQS assessment is like Investors in People, or Matrix or OFSTED. It still comes as a shock when they realise that the assessment is completed prior to the on-site visit.

That’s one big difference between TQS assessment and other assessments.

Teaching and learning – who cares?

Another big difference is that the assessors aren’t that interested in the teaching and learning process. All of us who come from the teaching and learning world are drawn back to teaching and learning. We understand the language. We understand the objectives. We understand the issues.

The majority of TQS assessors don’t have that background. They are not steeped in the teaching and learning process. They don’t know the sort of things those of us who have taught for many years take for granted about teaching and learning. They don’t want to read about teaching and learning in TQS applications.

Thus, if you’ve been tempted to cut and paste information from documents you have produced for other audiences and to place it in your TQS application, there can only be one piece of advice. Don’t.

Write about your business

When you write your TQS application, you’re writing about your business. You’re writing about how you help employers either individually or in particular sectors.

Other assessments do not really have this sort of emphasis.

I try to make these points in that slide I mentioned earlier. I reinforce the slide with two questions about how to influence the on-site visit, which is about verification.

• How are you going to drive the assessment in a particular direction?
• How are you going to make sure the assessor has the right information?
  

The answer, of course, is: “Write what’s needed in the application.”

If that doesn’t get the message across, I know that, when I get the application to review, I’m going to be making quite a few suggestions for changes.

See also:

Never mind about the application
Underestimating the job – big mistake number two
Writing for the wrong audience - big mistake number four