Guidelines for Accreditation of MQF Level 7 Courses

National Commission for Further and Higher Education Alamein Road, Pembroke PBK 1773 MALTA Tel: 00356 27540051 www.ncfhe.org.mt Guidelines for Accreditation of MQF Level 7 Courses 1. Introduction This document sets out guidelines of minimum requirements for the accreditation of Malta Qualifications Framework Level 7 (MQF L7) courses by the National Commission for Further and Higher Education (NCFHE). These guidelines are inspired by Legal Notice 296 of 2012. In line with Malta s obligations as signatory to the Bologna Process and the Lisbon Recognition Convention, they are based on a three-cycle system of higher education, with one cycle typically leading to the next. In the following guidelines, all references of MQF requirements include also equivalent EQF qualifications as duly recognised by the Malta Qualifications Recognition and Information Centre (MQRIC). 2. Categorisation of courses The NCFHE considers that the following terms may be used only as follows: Post-Graduate Certificate: At least 30 ECTS, of which not less than 25 must be at MQF L7 Post-Graduate Diploma: At least 60 ECTS, of which not less than 40 must be at MQF L7 Master s Degree: Typically at least 90 ECTS, of which not less than 60 must be at MQF L7, and including a dissertation, research project or research component/s of equivalent standard to which not less than 20 ECTS are assigned. The NCFHE may consider exceptional requests for Masters degrees that have less than 90 ECTS but not less than 60 ECTS. In such cases not less than 60 ECTS must be at MQF L7. In such cases the dissertation, research project or research component/s of equivalent standard should still be not less than 20 ECTS. MQF L7 courses that have less that 30 ECTS of which less than 25 ECTS at MQF L7 may not use the words Certificate, Diploma, Post-Graduate Certificate, Post-Graduate Diploma or Masters in the title. MQF L7 courses that have less that 60 ECTS of which less than the established number of ECTS are at MQF level 7 may not use the words Diploma, Post-Graduate Diploma or Masters in the title. 3. Minimum entry requirements The aim of establishing minimum entry requirements for MQF L7 courses is to ensure that prospective students can pursue their selected course meaningfully and with profit. The minimum entry requirements for MQF L7 course with more than 30 ECTS are as follows: Post-Graduate Certificate: An MQF/EQF 1 L6 degree, OR A relevant MQF/EQF L5 award of at least 30 ECTS plus a portfolio evidencing at least two years of relevant work experience. 1 The Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) is equivalent to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).

Post-Graduate Diploma: An MQF/EQF L6 degree, OR A relevant MQF/EQF L5 award of at least 60 ECTS plus a portfolio evidencing at least three years of relevant work experience Master s Degree: A relevant MQF/EQF L6 degree at second class, OR An MQF/EQF L6 degree plus a portfolio evidencing relevant work experience for at least 3 years, OR An MQF/EQF L5 full qualification, AND a portfolio evidencing i. appropriate writing and analytical skills to ensure that the prospective candidate can fully and meaningfully participate in course, and ii. work experience at professional and/or executive level for at least 5 years. The NCFHE shall consider proposals for supplementary or preparatory programmes and other exceptional entry requirements on a case-by-case basis. Where a student does not have the requisite language skills in terms of the language of instruction and assessment of the course, licensees shall set minimum language requirements not less than the equivalent of MQF L4 in the target language. Article 24 of LN 296/2012 shall apply as relevant. 4. Minimum qualification requirements for tutors 2 Courses at MQF L7 require tutors who have a full relevant qualification at least one Level up from the course being provided. Degrees and other courses at Level 7 need to have course/module coordinators with a full relevant qualification at Level 8. Such courses may include input from tutors that have a full relevant qualification at Level 7 and at least 10 years of relevant high level / executive experience in the field, which needs to be specified in the application. The academic/theoretical aspects of such degrees still require input from tutors with a full relevant qualification at Level 8. 5. Minimum course requirements Entities providing MQF L7 courses need to have in place the following minimum course requirements: The minimum amount of time required to complete the course, considering that the ECTS system is based on the convention that 60 credits measure the workload of a full-time student for one academic year; The maximum amount of time within which a student will be allowed to complete a course, given temporary suspension of studies and extensions to complete course requirements; Procedures for taking temporary suspension of studies; Procedures for granting extension for duration of course; Appropriate student information and support systems in line with the National Quality Assurance Framework for Further and Higher Education. Applications for course accreditation as per clause 9 overleaf shall have this information clearly labelled for ease of reference. 2 In this document, tutors refers to any lecturer, tutor, teacher or other person providing tuition of any kind, including supervised and distance learning.

6. Minimum assessment requirements Any Master s degree must include a dissertation, research project or research component/s of equivalent standard to which not less than 20 ECTS are assigned. Entities providing MQF L7 courses need to have in place an assessment policy that includes: Descriptors for the range of grades/marks to be assigned per module/unit/for the whole course, as well as the final classification of the course; Procedures for selection of dissertation tutors; An Ethics Approval System and related committee to process all relevant research requests, including dissertations; Procedures for dissertation, research project or research component/s of equivalent standard and other examining boards; Procedures in case of plagiarism and other forms of misconduct; Procedures for appeals. 7. Quality assurance requirements All courses accredited at MQF L7 shall be subject to IQA and EQA requirements as per the National Quality Assurance Framework for Further and Higher Education. Additionally, all new MQF L7 courses will undergo course-based EQA after the first complete cycle of provision. However the NCFHE shall retain the right to undertake spot-checks as required. 8. Compliance with FHE QA Framework All the above requirements must be in compliance with the National Quality Assurance Framework for Further and Higher Education. In any case of conflict of interpretation, the Framework is considered to be the primary guiding document. 9. Accreditation procedure Applications for MQF L7 courses are to use the Application Form provided in Appendix 1. After the internal verification of the form by NCFHE staff is carried out, MQF L7 courses with more than 30 ECTS are submitted to the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) for initial evaluation. This initial evaluation shall include, but may not be limited to: Course entry requirements Minimum qualifications for lecturers/tutors Course assessment. The first cycle of feedback sent to applicants shall include the outcomes of the initial verification by NCFHE staff and the initial evaluation of the QAC. Following the resubmission of the application, if it is fit for purpose in terms of the feedback sent, it is forwarded to external assessors. The number of assessors shall be as follows: Post-Graduate Certificate Not less than two Post-Graduate Diploma Not less than two Master s degree Not less than three However, in all cases the number of assessors shall in the final analysis depend on the complexity and variety of the modules of the course, and the range of expertise of the assessors.

The evaluators shall issue one evaluation report. This consolidated evaluation report shall be sent to the applicants for feedback. The report with applicants feedback is then reviewed by the QAC, and a decision taken accordingly. The QAC may recommend further improvements to the applicants before it is considered sufficiently robust to be recommended for approval to the NCFHE Board. 10. Distance-learning based courses These requirements are generally applicable to distance-learning based courses as well. The NCFHE shall issue a separate document that will specify requirements for this category of courses. 11. Dual/Joint courses These requirements are generally applicable to dual/joint and distance learning courses as well. The NCFHE shall issue a separate document that will specify requirements for this category of courses. Sandro Spiteri Head of Quality Assurance Unit 13 th Nov 2014

APPLICATION FORM i FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF FULL HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS ii WITH THE MALTA QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK Section A Overall Application Form 1. Date of application 2. Details of applicant Name Email address Telephone/mobile no. 3. Name of the education and training provider iii 4. Brief profile of the education and training provider iv (If available on website, pls indicate specific page URL.) 5. Tuition license Licensed, but requiring revised license due to this application (License number: ) Not licensed, and requesting accreditation through separate application 6. Title of the qualification/ award 7. Proposed MQF level v MQF level 8. Course type: (please tick as appropriate) and Duration of Course vi full-time part-time weeks/months weeks/months 9. Date of First Intake vii 10. Target group 11. Entry requirements 12. Course Rationale viii (optional)

13. Overall course objectives ix 14. Learning Outcomes for Communication Skills x for the whole course 15. Learning Outcomes for Learning Skills for the whole course 16. Course outline xi 17. General pedagogical guidelines and procedures for this course xii (If available on website, just include specific page URL.) 18. General minimum qualifications for tutors/lecturers for this course xiii (If available on website, just include specific page URL.) 19. General assessment policy and procedures xiv (If available on website, just include specific page URL.) 20. Hours of total learning xv Contact hours: Supervised practice hours xvi : Self-Study hours: Assessment hours: 21. Total Number of ECTS for course completion ECTS

Section B Procedures Checklist (Please fill Section B before proceeding to Section C) Procedures Do you have procedures and structures in place for: taking temporary leave of absence granting extension for duration of course appropriate student information and support systems in line with the National Quality Assurance Framework for Further and Higher Education d) selection of dissertation xvii tutors e) ethics approval system, where applicable xviii f) dissertation and other examining boards g) plagiarism and other misconduct h) appeals YES It is available here: (Pls include specific page URL) YES It is attached to application NO Do not proceed to Section C of this application until the above procedures, where applicable, have been marked YES. Additional Notes as required:

Section C Profile for each module/unit of the qualification (fill Section C for each module/unit listed in Section A16) Sub-Section C. xix 1. Title of the module/unit 2. Module/Unit Description xx (optional) 3. Learning Outcomes 3.1 Competences: at the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired the responsibility and autonomy to: 3.2 Knowledge at the end of the module/unit the learner will have been exposed to the following xxi : 3.3 Skills at the end of the module/unit the learner will have mastered the following skills: 3.3.1 Applying knowledge and understanding 3.3.2 Judgment Skills and Critical Abilities xxii 3.3.3 Additional Module-Specific Communication Skills xxiii, if required.

3.3.4 Additional Module-Specific Learner Skills xxiv, if required. 4. Hours of total learning for this Module/Unit Contact hours: Supervised practice hours xxv : Self-Study hours: Assessment hours: 4. Total Number of ECTS of the module/unit ECTS 5. Please explain how this module/unit will be taught in line with Section A xxvi 6. Please explain how this module/unit will be assessed in line with Section A xxvii 7. Reading list xxviii 8. Additional xxix minimum formal qualifications and experience required to teach this module/unit N.B. Please attach the Curriculum Vitae of the person who will be delivering this module/unit if the person is already identified. The Manual for the Conversion of Qualifications into the ECVET System is focused on vocational provision in further education; however it does give useful pointers on how to fill in this application. It is available at http://www.ecvetmalta.org.mt/uploads/filebrowser/ecvet%20conversion%20manual_1.pdf. Further useful information on how to write Learning Outcomes for higher education courses is available at: http://www.um.edu.mt/apqru/usefullinks. More resources will be made available by the NCFHE and communication through its website at www.ncfhe.org.mt. The endnotes on the following page will assist you in filling in this Application Form correctly. i ALL the application form needs to be filled in electronically in Word format to allow for efficient processing and feedback.

ii This application should be used for all full courses at MQF L5-8, with AT LEAST the following amount of ECTS: L5: 30 ECTS; L6:180 ECTS; L7: 60 ECTS. iii The entity already licensed or requesting new or revised license from the NCFHE. iv Information should include, where applicable: ethos/philosophy, business model, organigram, experience and expertise in training provision. v For further information of the Malta Qualifications Framework please visit the relevant section in the NCFHE website www.ncfhe.org.mt. vi Full-time and part-time refer to full courses that have the minimum amount of ECTS as indicated in footnote ii above. All courses below these minimum benchmarks are considered as short or partial courses. vii Envisaged month and year are sufficient. viii In this optional section please explain your reasoning behind wishing to provide this course / what is the market need for this course, and how this course fulfils these needs. ix The overall knowledge, skills and competences acquired by the learner at the end of the course. All three should clearly be stated, explained and inter-related. x If the course is specifically about communication skills e.g. writing or speaking skills, this section should be left out and Section B for each module filled in. xi Please provide a numbered list of modules/units, and include any other relevant information, such as which are the core and elective modules, and the ECTS value for each. xii Please consider an appropriate mix of teaching/learning methods that are fit for purpose and that allow learners with different learning styles and abilities to achieve mastery. xiii Please refer to QA Communication no. 23/2014 Qualification Level of Tutors of 15 th October 2014, available at www.ncfhe.org.mt. xiv Please consider an appropriate mix of assessment procedures that are fit for purpose and that allow learners with different learning styles and abilities to show mastery. xv The minimum number of total learning hours for accreditation is presently 100 hours of which at least 25% must be contact hours, or as otherwise established from time to time by the NCFHE. xvi During these hours the learner is supervised, coached or mentored, without new content being presented. xvii In this document meaning dissertation, research project or research component/s of equivalent standard. xviii If an Ethics Committee is NOT required since the research component in this course does not necessitate this, (e.g. it is based on document research) this section should be marked as NA and a short explanation given. xix Consecutive number is inserted according to module, in the sequence present in Point 16 of Section A (A16). So, the first module would be C1. xx In this optional section please explain your reasoning behind wishing to provide this module/unit and/or how it fits within the whole course. xxi This can be a list of knowledge/content items. xxii This section has been made sufficiently open to accommodate both vocational and academic orientations. Applicants can refer to Judgement Skills, or Critical Abilities (critical skills, dispositions, values and actions), or both. xxiii Over and above those mentioned in Section A14. xxiv Over and above those mentioned in Section A15. xxv During these hours the learner is supervised, coached or mentored, without new content being presented. xxvi Please provide module/unit-specific details as applicable. xxvii Please provide module/unit-specific details as applicable. xxviii Please distinguish between core and supplementary texts as applicable. Courses at MQF L4 should not just present the main legislation or one textbook/source, but present also other viewpoints and perspectives as applicable. For texts/sources with different editions, it is recommended that the latest version is included. For courses at MQF L4 it is recommended that texts should not be older than 10 years. The exception is classic/canonical texts, such as the original texts by Piaget in psychology or Plato s Republic in Philosophy, to give two examples. xxix Apart from information in Section A18.