Section 8 of the Regulations under the South African Qualifications Authority Act of 1995, published in Regulation Gazette 6140 of 28 March 1998, provides a number of requirements for the registration of qualifications, inter alia that a qualification shall:
(g) “… incorporate integrated assessment appropriately to ensure that the purpose of the qualification is achieved, and such assessment shall use a range of formative and summative assessment methods such as portfolios, simulations, work-place assessments, written and oral examinations …”.
It is recognized that skills development within banking is more and more individually based. Individuals will develop unique career paths to equip themselves for an environment that changes constantly and rapidly.
The intention in postulating this qualification is to provide recognition for the skills which bank employees already possess. It is recognized that the combination of skills will differ from employee to employee and from bank to bank. A philosophy of flexibility is required to ensure that appropriate qualifications are easily accessible to any bank employee. It follows that qualifications in banking will be determined by the needs of the individual and not by a prescribed formula.
This qualification consists of unit standards drawn from a wide range of fields. Each unit standard is a self-contained exit level outcome. Each constituent unit standard contains its own assessment criteria, and it is not intended that admission to this qualification will be accorded on any basis than the granting of individual constituent unit standards on the basis of compliance with those assessment criteria. The unit standards prescribe competent performance and lay down the assessment criteria by which competence should be judged, as well as the range of circumstances in which competence should be demonstrated.
The assessment tools used include:
Written instruments (e.g. tests/case studies/projects);
in-situ (on-the-job) observations;
simulation;
role-play;
structured classroom discussions;
portfolio of evidence and
technology-based testing
These methods must be carefully selected based on the purpose of the assessment (For example, the written method of assessing knowledge or on-job demonstration of practical competence). The assessment should as many different methods as are necessary to give the assessor reliable and valid proof of competence and evidence of required attitudes.
The portfolio of evidence referred to in the previous paragraph, if used for assessment purposes, must provide valid, reliable and authentic evidence of past achievements and experience which served to supplement the assessment of applied competence. The portfolio should include:
written statements from reliable persons (for example current and/or previous employers, colleagues, peers, managers, and/or external customers) confirming the competence of the learner;
relevant certificates and/or awards;
previous assessment records; and/or
journals and/or logbooks.
Because the qualification is not offered as a “whole” qualification, the question of formative and summative evaluation towards the qualification does not arise. Moreover, the question of formative evaluation does not arise in respect of credits awarded as recognition of prior learning. It is to be hoped that in respect of unit standards representing new learning by the learner the formative and summative evaluation will take place, in order to ensure integrated assessment results.