Quality
AGCAS promotes excellence in careers education, information and guidance delivery by encouraging a continuous quality improvement (CQI) approach and supporting members through an agreed accreditation process, the matrix Standard.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is the AGCAS policy on quality and the matrix Standard?
It is a fundamental condition of AGCAS membership that organisations seeking to join AGCAS must achieve initial accreditation to the matrix Standard before being accepted into membership. It is also a condition of membership that member services secure accreditation not less frequently than every six years, although the AGCAS view is that a review every three years is the best way to maintain continuous quality improvement (CQI) within a careers service.
2. What are the links between the matrix Standard and other quality standards?
The matrix Standard is based on exactly the same principles of quality as most other standards, such as Investors in People. This means that the work carried out for a successful assessment should enable any careers service to apply for accreditation to any other quality standard without too much extra work, should it wish to do so, although a separate application procedure and further assessment for the other standard would need to be followed.
3. What is CQI?
See Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
4. Is there any requirement from AGCAS for services to maintain accreditation to the matrix Standard once it has been achieved?
The AGCAS Board expects services to secure accreditation not less frequently than every six years as a condition of AGCAS membership, although it believes that a review every three years is the best way to maintain CQI within a careers service. The AGCAS Board will fully support any service that chooses to go for accreditation review after three years through ongoing training, information sessions and literature appropriate to the sector.
5. How does a service maintain accreditation?
To maintain accreditation a service must be reassessed every three years. This is done by downloading a form from the emqc Ltd website. This visit will be scoped in much the same way as the original assessment and follows the same methodology. The revised (2011) matrix Standard can be downloaded from the matrix website, or from the bottom of this page.
6. Has AGCAS developed any alternatives to a three-year matrix Standard review?
See Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI).
7. Who is emqc Ltd, and what is their role?
emqc Ltd is the matrix accreditation body. It currently has the contract to manage the whole matrix Standard assessment and accreditation process. The contract started on the 11 January 2011 and will last for three years with a possible extension of a further year. Further information is available on the emqc Ltd website.
8. Who do we contact in order to apply for accreditation, re-accreditation or review?
Services wishing to apply for assessment should download the form from the emqc Ltd website. This should be completed and returned at least six weeks before your requested date of assessment. There is no involvement of AGCAS in your application, although AGCAS is notified of received forms and proposed assessments.
9. May we choose our assessor?
No, services may not indicate a preference for assessors.
10. What support is available to help us with our application for review or re-accreditation?
Queries may be addressed in the first instance to the AGCAS Director of Quality and Membership, currently Lucy Madahar.
11. How do I go about planning the programme for the assessor's visit?
It is very important that you negotiate with the assessor about the programme for the assessment visit, to ensure that all relevant and appropriate aspects of the service are covered. Your service will be asked to prepare a draft programme and send it to the assessor by an agreed date. This programme should include a variety of your service users and stakeholders, especially students. The assessor will contact the service shortly before the visit to check final arrangements.
Some practical tips for the assessor's visit:
• Ensure that the assessor has a base room - preferably lockable.
• It's unlikely that the assessor will want to or have time for a 'formal'
lunch, opting for a brief breath of fresh air and a sandwich in the
base room instead. Provide a jug of water!
• Ensure that all staff are available on the day, but when negotiating on
the programme be aware that the assessor may not wish to see all of
those staff.
• Arrange formal meetings where students can give their views of the
careers service, but be prepared for the assessor to go walkabout to
meet students informally as well. The importance of students to the
assessment visit cannot be over emphasised.
12. What parts of the careers service should be included for assessment?
The assessment is an opportunity for organisations to measure their overall advice and support services including leadership and management, resources, service delivery and the way the service provided is reviewed and improved on an ongoing basis. See the four elements within the matrix Standard for further details.
13. Must affiliated colleges be included in an assessment?
It would be unusual to include affiliated colleges in any application for assessment except where the home careers service has responsibility for service delivery to students at those affiliated colleges. Where necessary, telephone interviews can be conducted by the assessor to avoid excessive travel costs.
14. What level of senior manager should be involved in the assessment visit?
The assessor will want to talk to the line manager of the person responsible for the day-to-day management of the careers service. In addition, it may be useful to involve someone at the level of Pro Vice Chancellor if they are particularly supportive of the careers service and both willing and available to speak to the assessor. This can confirm to the assessor how and to what extent the service impacts on the institution and its strategic position. It can also be useful in raising the profile of the service within the institution. Normally, a 20-minute telephone conversation will suffice. Make sure the PVC is well briefed!
15. What are measures of success?
Measures of success should be part of a service's CQI strategy. They can be qualitative or quantitative and should be what is right for your service. Some examples:
• number of clients seen for advice or guidance within a specific period of
time compared with a previous comparable period;
• the quality of advice or guidance delivered - measured through client
feedback;
• destination tracking;
• successful completion of the service's annual business plan;
• take-up of services by target groups.
16. How do services in Wales arrange for assessments through the medium of Welsh?
emqc Ltd do not currently employ a Welsh-speaking assessor. Services wishing to undertake all or part of an assessment in Welsh will need to provide an interpreter at their own cost. The AGCAS Quality and Membership Committee is trying to resolve this issue.
17. How do we notify other services when we have achieved accreditation?
If you would like to share your success with other AGCAS services, please remember to contact the AGCAS Director of Quality and Membership, currently Lucy Madahar, who will then circulate the news to the AGCAS membership.
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matrix Standard downloads
- matrix standard 2011 (172.9 KB)
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