The Purpose of This Procedure Is to Set out a Clear and Unambiguous Approach on How Learners

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to set out a clear and unambiguous approach on how Learners studying at Further Education (FE) CMI approved centres can gain a CMI qualification alongside their normal study programme. In order to successfully implement this system, the CMI procedure must be adhered to and approval sought from the Quality Manager, prior to the programme commencing.

Introduction

CMI aims to award CMI qualifications to FE Learners through Dual Accreditation (leading to the award of credit) that considers whether Learners can demonstrate that they meet the assessment requirements for a unit through knowledge, understanding or skills they already possess and so do not need to follow an additional course of learning. This process considers the work being completed by achieving a College qualification, such as a Diploma, Degree, MBA or BA in Business Management etc, and recognises this work for also achieving the CMI qualification.

The recognition of achievement from a range of activities using any appropriate assessment methodology can lead to attainment of a CMI qualification, whilst also achieving a College qualification. Provided that the assessment requirements meet the assessment criteria of a given unit or qualification, the use of Dual Accreditation is acceptable for achieving a CMI unit, units or a whole qualification. Evidence of learning must be:

• Valid
• Reliable
• Current
• Authentic
• Sufficient

An FE Partner can offer a ‘stand alone’ CMI qualification, for example CMI Level 3 First Line Management or Level5 Diploma in Management and Leadership (QCF). The FE Partner will then assess the units as they appear in the syllabus to ensure that all Assessment Criteria have been met. On completion, the Learner will then achieve a CMI qualification.

The FE Partner can also offer a CMI qualification as ‘dual accredited’,embedded within another qualification, for example a BA Business Management plus CMI Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership (QCF). The Learner will then achieve a CMI qualification plus the HE qualification that is being delivered within an FE college.

If the FE Partner chooses the dual accreditation option, there is a clear procedure that needs to be followed, set out below:

If not already an approved centre, the FE centre will need to apply to become a CMI centre in order to run these qualifications and register Learners. The application process is detailed on the CMI website at the address below –

Any centre wishing to start the approval process will also be expected to attend a Familiarisation Day at CMI Corby to learn more about becoming a CMI centre and the benefits available.

Please note, it is possible to begin the process for Dual Accreditation at the same time as applying to become an CMI Partner.

Dual Accreditation Process

1.Conduct a mapping exercise

2.Initial mapping is sent to the Lead Moderator (LM) for sign off

3.FE Partner signposts the assessments to show CMI assessment criteria

4.Mapping and assessment are Internally Verified (IV) by the centre

5.Final sign- off by QM

6.Upload the mapping onto the HUB*

* Please Note: the CMI HUB is a web-based repository for all Partner information.

1. Conduct a mapping exercise

Dual Accreditation can be offered to Learners wishing to gather evidence for CMI qualifications whilst studying their main qualification at their College/FE/HE provider. The main programme of study needs to be a recognised qualification, such as a degree.

There are three possible options for mapping:

• A CMI mapping specialist can complete all of the mapping at a cost of £360 + VAT per day. The mapping will be completed by CMI but the ownership and implementation of this lies with the CMI Partner. On average this mapping will take 1-2 days to complete for ONE programme e.g. MBA. All programme specifications need to be sent electronically to CMI and the CMI mapping specialist will provide an estimate of the total time needed to map the programme (for example 2 days). Once agreed, an invoice will be raised and sent to the CMI Partner. At the same time, the mapping will start and will be completed within 15 working days.
• A CMI mapping specialist can be used to support the mapping process at a cost of £360 +VAT per day to work with the CMI Partner and map one programme to the CMI qualifications. This can be done to help the CMI Partner understand the process and then if other programmes need to be mapped, the skills will be within the CMI Partner staff team to do so in the future.
• CMI Partner staff complete the mapping process using the CMI templates. Examples of good practice are available under Centre Resources on the HUB. Once completed, the document is submitted to the mapping specialist for checking and it is then sent to the LM for sign- off. The checking of centre- devised mapping is £200 + VAT

Mapping will have a RAG system (Red, Amber, Green) to show how well the CMI content is covered in the main programme of study. If there are areas that are Red it indicates there are some elements not being covered and the CMI Partner must review this and show how any gaps will be covered. This could be done by additional workshops, vivas, etc, or can be identified within the programme if they are already in place, but not fully signposted. It is the responsibility of the FE Partner to ensure there are no gaps for CMI Assessment Criteria.

The mapping document will be stored centrally on the HUB system and must be reviewed EVERY YEAR by the FE Partner as part of the annual course review to ensure it is still current/appropriate.

The FE centre MUST gain written confirmation that they are approved to offer Dual Accreditation from the University that validates their programme.

Selection of units for mapping

When deciding where evidence for the CMI Qualification can be located, it is important to consider key areas –

• ONLY SELECT CORE MODULES - if you select optional modules to map CMI evidence, it is then too complex to track which Learners have completed which optional units and in turn which CMI evidence may be present.

• ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY – Do not select modules where assessments may be exams where learners may only answer 1 or 2 questions and therefore will not all produce the same evidence for that module.

Also avoid group presentations unless each individual learner can provide evidence of how CMI assessment criteria can be met. This can be possible by using reflective logs, notes from action learning sets, Vivas, professional discussions etc. Tracking of CMI evidence is the responsibility of the CMI centre.

• MINOR AMMENDMENTS – If the programme alters in any way, then the mapping needs to be altered and resubmitted to CMI for re- approval if it has an impact on where the CMI evidence is located.

• PASS MARKS – Consideration has to be made for Learners that may submit work with a low pass mark. Potentially the work may not meet all of the CMI Assessment Criteria and so use of the grids to track the evidence and state where it is located is essential prior to moderation.

Suggested delivery approaches

In order to capture the most achievement for Learners, wherever possible, we suggest you ‘front load’ one or two CMI units. For example, if you deliver CMI units 5001V1 or 7001V1 on ’ Personal Development’ early on in the programme,should the Learner leave the course early they can still achieve a CMI qualification. If they achieve two or more CMI units (with a credit value of 13 or more), they can achieve a CMI certificate. This option is also available if the Learner has been registered on a CMI Diploma qualification and is unlikely to achieve all of the CMI elements. The Learner can be transferred to an Award or Certificate and attain these if they provide sufficient evidence. To do this, contact CMI, and a customer service administrator will be able to transfer the Learner. By offering multiple exit points for the CMI elements, Learnerscan still achieve a CMI qualification for work they have completed. By having ‘multiple exit points’ it means Learners can still achieve a CMI qualification.( As a centre it is sensible to have an overview of which modules will be delivered in Year 1 and what can be achieved for CMI units).

Another delivery approach is for a ‘single unit’ to be used as ‘value added’ on another programme. For example, an FE Partner can use the CMI ‘Personal Development’ unit and add this to another qualification,( BA in Hair and Beauty, for example). That way, the Learner can achieve a degree in their chosen subject area and develop the skills they need to progress into business, and also become a member of CMI. There is a wide range of options available to offer units across the FE Partner.Materials are already produced and Learner work can be marked by CMI to reduce the workload of academic staff if necessary. The process for assessments is via External Assessments produced by CMI.

2. Initial mapping is sent to the Lead Moderator for sign off

The initial mapping is sent to the CMILead Moderator,who will check it has been carried out correctly and that there are no gaps. S/he will sign it off within 10 working days of receiving the completed mapping.

A confirmation letter will be sent out by CMI to show what size CMI qualification the Learners may achieve through their primary qualification. A ‘RAG’ (Red/Amber/Green) rating will be given for each FE unit of study, to illustrate how well it maps to the CMI specification. If additional evidence of how the learning assessment criteria in Amber/Red on this document is submitted to CMI, it can increase the number of CMI units and alter the size of the CMI qualification. For example, if the initial RAG rating shows Learners will achieve an Award at this stage, Learners can be registered on an Award. However, if additional evidence is provided by the CMI centre to show how learners can generate more evidence after this point, Learners could potentially then be registered on a Certificate/Diploma depending on what assessment criteria are covered (changing the red/amber areas to green).

Once the RAG rating has been received by the centre, if there are any questions or queries then your centre will have their own mapping specialist to help support you. In the first instance, raise any queries or questions with CMI staff and further assistance will be provided ASAP.

If CMI does not hear from the CMI Partner within 14 days, it will be assumed that the Centre is satisfied with the outcome.

3. CMI centre signposts the assessments to show CMI Assessment criteria

It is the CMI Partner’s responsibility to signpost where evidence for the CMI units is located within assignments/ assessment briefs and ensure Learners generate sufficient evidence within their main programme of study. The assessments must be signposted using the mapping document, to identify where the evidence is located. Each college will have a different format so this is only a guide. The most important thing is that Learners are aware of what evidence needs to be generated for CMI within each assessment. It is good practice to enable Learners to apply and contextualise learning throughout the main programme of study as CMI qualifications are ‘work based’. Examples of how this can be achieved are through professional discussions, seminar activities, simulations, work placements, reflective logs, presentations etc.

It is also recommended that learners annotate where the evidence is located within the assessments and assessors then need to confirm it has met the CMI standards when assessing the Learner work. This can be achieved by adding an assessment grid onto the assignment brief, for example

By using this grid format on the assessment briefs it enables Learners to be aware of what CMI evidence is needed when completing the work. It also offers the opportunity for Learners to identify where this information is located. It may be possible that evidence for CMI units may be found in more than one module of their programme and also that different units (such as the example above for Unit 5001 and 5002) may be present in one module. This is where the overall mapping document is vital to show where the evidence is located across the qualification.

Samples of Learners’ work will be externally moderated to ensure a rigorous process is being applied.

Once the mapping of CMI Assessment Criteria has been signposted into assessments, at least two of these need to be submitted to the Quality Manager before being issued to Learners. Once the format has been approved, these agreed assessments need to be uploaded onto the HUB.

4. Mapping and assessment are Internally Verified (IV)

The final mapping document, including the assessment signposting, needs to be internally verified by the CMI Partner prior to final submission to check that all criteria for CMI will be covered within the main programme. The FE Partner needs to ensure that the team delivering the modules where CMI is embedded are fully aware of the evidence requirements and these are taught, assessed and tracked to adhere to the mapping document created. Tutors delivering the modules where CMI evidence is mapped are responsible for delivering these elements and tracking them. They need to ensure that there is sufficient evidence for the CMI Assessment Criteria as well as the main programme Learning Outcomes.

5. Final sign- off by the Quality Manager (QM) and Centre Upload the mapping onto HUB

Final sign- off of the mapping and assessment is by the Regional QM. Once this information has been submitted it will be signed- off within 14 working days.

Once the FE Partner has signposted the Assessment on the FE Partner Mapping document, this must then be uploaded onto the HUB under Section 7.1. At least two assessment briefs must also be uploaded once they have been agreed by the QM, so it is clear what format will be used by the FE Partner to signpost CMI assessment criteria within assessments. It is good practice for all of the modules to have the same format within the FE Partner so that there is a standard approach to track CMI elements.

If only some of the cohort is undertaking the CMI Dual Accreditation, then the mapping document needs to be available for the Learners. This may be either via their handbook, on the FE Partner Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), or any other appropriate medium so they are aware of what they have to do to attain the CMI qualification.

CMI additional support

There is a dedicated team of people at CMI who are able to offer support and advice to our FE Partners.

This ranges from Dual Branded Marketing material, discounted fees for Management Direct and Chartered Manager (for larger Learner numbers) which can also be embedded within the programmes.

The Customer Data team are also able to assist with queries and may be reached by email at or by ‘phone on01536 207496. This team can also assist with registration and certification queries.

Additional support for mapping, marketing, membership and other queries can also be answered by contacting the Customer Data team in the first instance.

Once Dual Accreditation has been approved

Once the mapping documentation has been approved and signed- off and the FE Partner is in a position to promote the Dual Accreditation as a ‘value added’ element to their main programme the following stages are needed:

•Contact the relevant RelationshipManager ? This person will offer valuable support to the FE Partner, ranging from supporting the marketing of the new qualification to attending open events to promote and demonstrate the benefits of gaining a CMI qualification whilst studying another qualification. They will also be able to demonstrate the Management Direct resources that are available to all CMI members.

•Recruitment must be undertaken in a fair and consistent manner, and so in order to achieve a CMI qualification, Learners must be registered as a CMI Learner once the delivery of the CMI element of their programme begins. Learners will be able to access all of the CMI benefits as a registered Learner including learning resources. Regulatory requirements state that Learners need to be registered within 6 weeks of commencing the course. Discuss with your Quality Manager if this is not possible for any reason.