Learning and assessment strategies are valuable tools within your RTO. They tell a variety of people the reasons behind the course. Whilst working with a variety of RTOs I find these documents very important to provide the information on how and why.
There are many variations for the title of this document, any can be used:
- Learning and assessment strategy
- Training and assessment strategy
- Implementation Strategies
They all mean the same thing. They are the high level document that looks at a macro level and describes the delivery program (units, prerequisites, scheduling etc) that meets all requirements of the Training Package or accredited course.
Whether you are delivering assessment only pathways, or training/learning and assessment, then it is described in the strategy. Remember if you say you will only conduct assessments, and then change your mind at a later date, you must notify ASQA of the changes.
Additionally, if you choose to have a ‘delivery program’ for a qualification then the strategy should reflect the qualification. If your ‘delivery program’ is for a standalone unit, or cluster of units then it should describe training and assessment arrangements for the unit/s.
Structuring the strategy
The development of the strategy comes once you understand the business need for the training and helps you to develop your training/assessment solution.
A training and assessment strategy helps you to plan and document key aspects of your program such as what it includes, how the training and assessment is organised and who will be involved.
There is no right or wrong way to design your strategies, like all RTO documents you can use existing templates and change them to suit your specific needs. The overall aim, is to ensure that:
- There is a need for the training/ assessment
- How you have consulted with industry, the community, and other relevant stakeholders to identify outcomes
- There is a structured approach to planning and delivering training and assessment
- Training and assessment is relevant to the industry and workplace and addresses relevant business needs
- There is documentation so that everybody who needs to know is clear about how the program is to run, who is involved
- The right materials and resources will be available
- Consistent high quality delivery and assessment can be provided to the client.
When developing a training or learning solution you must ensure that it addresses your clients needs.
The Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations state: “Training and assessment strategy means a framework that guides the learning requirements and the teaching, training and assessment arrangements of a VET qualification. It is the document that outlines the macro-level requirements of the learning and assessment process.”
Not all strategies are going to be the same; they depend on your specific requirements.
The look of training and assessment strategy will vary depending on whether your program aligns to a full qualification or a group of units of competency.
Some RTOs have a “core” strategy that provides a basis for “client specific” strategies, other RTOs have just one strategy that is used for all courses. This decisions lies with your own circumstances, which of course you will need to explain when it comes to audit.