Sounds pretty scary right?! Fear not! Here, we discuss the What, Why and How of this process as well as some common questions RTOs have.
What is the ‘Quality Indicators Annual Summary’?
Under the Data Provision Requirements 2012, all RTOs registered with ASQA must provide an annual report based on their learner engagement and employer satisfaction. These surveys, the Learner questionnaire and the Employer questionnaire, are based on the Learner Engagement Indicator and the Employer Satisfaction Indicator.
Note: the Learner Questionnaire used to gather information about RTO Quality Indicators is not the same as the ASQA Student Survey which is used to gather information about the 5 phases of the student experience.
The Learner Engagement Indicator centres on the learner experience and how likely they are to achieve high-quality skill outcomes. The focus is on:
- The learners’ perceived quality of training and assessment
- The support they received during training
This information is gathered using the the Learner Questionnaire.
The Employer Satisfaction Indicator centres on employer evaluation of:
- Learner competency development
- The relevance of learner competencies for work and further training
- The overall quality of training and assessment
This information is gathered using the Employer Questionnaire.
Note: Since national VET reporting came into effect, it is no longer necessary for RTOs to report competency completions (this included data on the number of enrolments and completions per unit, module and qualification).
Why is the quality indicators annual summary important?
RTOs must collect this data for analysis every year in order to continuously improve their services, as well as provide the state and national registering bodies information they need to conduct risk assessments.
The learner questionnaire can be an incredibly useful way for RTOs to conduct quality improvements, if enough learners complete it. If there is an inadequate response, your results will be unreliable. You are likely to receive a higher uptake if learners believe their feedback will be taken seriously.
While ASQA retains the copyright for results to the student survey and RTOs are not permitted to publish the results anywhere, even online, it is common practice for RTOs to publish their Quality Indicator annual summary report.
How do RTOs collect this information?
ASQA provides the format of the Learner questionnaire and Employer questionnaire to collect the relevant data. RTOs can choose to distribute the surveys using Survey Monkey or even a form in your Cloud Assess account, however, the content in the survey must remain the same.
While it is not imperative that all learners are surveyed, some effort should be made to avoid purposely excluding certain learners.
Once the information has been collected and analysed, a report must be submitted to qidata@asqa.gov.au using one of ASQA’s report templates, by 30 June.
How can you ensure the best experience for learners during this process?
Learners are more likely to complete your questionnaire if they believe you respect their feedback. Tell them about any results that are of concern to you, and what you plan to do about it. And follow up! This has the two pronged effect of having them tell others that you take their feedback seriously, as well as making it more likely they will participate next time.
What the Quality Indicators means for your RTO
It is clear that ASQA has good processes in place to gather learner and employer feedback in order to measure the quality of vocational education in Australia. While these processes may seem onerous at first, it is important to remember that this information is imperative to understanding and identifying areas of need within your own RTO, as well as to see where you are thriving.
Sources:
https://www.asqa.gov.au/resources/faqs/quality-indicator-reporting
