Overview of the Certification Process
How does the QQI Certification Process work?
When will I receive my Certificate? It is important to realise that QQI present awards at various intervals during the calendar year. Depending on when you complete your module and fully graded assessments you will be presented for Certification at the appropriate dates. Once you have completed your course and all of the required assessments work your Tutor will notify the college of your completion.
Based on your course completion date you are then assigned to the next available certification period. Please contact us on 01 2061828 or email: info@theopencollege.com for details on the next QQI Certification dates.
Your completed assessments are then Internally Verified by The Open College before being presented to a QQI External Authenticator for moderation. Final results are issued to you following this process. QQI will then issue all certificates to The Open College which will then be sent to you at the address supplied on the during the enrolment process.
What is Internal Verification? QQI State that the Internal Verification Process involves “verifying that the provider’s assessment procedures have been applied across the range of assessment activities and confirming assessment results by checking learner evidence exists and marks and grades are recorded accurately”
During The Open Colleges Internal Verification process your work is reviewed by the Internal Verifier to ensure that all of the required assessments are complete. The Internal Verifier opens each assessment to check that it has been sent in correctly and that all assignments are present. A sample of your work will be checked for plagiarism using plagiarism detector software and the results will be recorded. Your work may be viewed by the External Authenticator when they visit the college as part of the External Authentication process.
What is External Authentication? QQI/QQI state that the purpose of the External Authentication process is to “ensure fairness, consistency and validity of assessment and of the outcome of assessment for learner results across each major, special purpose, or supplement award. The authentication process will ensure that QQI receive accurate and quality assured learner results.” (www.QQI.ie)
The external authenticator is an independent individual who is selected from the QQI quality assured panel of external authenticators.
The external authenticator visits the college and as part of the External Authentication process and reviews ALL of our students work and reviews the college’s assessment process. Once the reviews are complete they then authenticate the results.
As part of QQI quality assurance procedures final grade cannot be issued to students until the Internal Verification and External Authentication is complete.
If you have any further questions on our Certification process please do not hesitate in contacting us at 01 2061828 or info@theopencollege.com.