Glossary

Advanced Standing

The status granted to a student in an accredited course or training program on the basis of previous study, work or life experience, and skills required.

Assessment

The process of collecting evidence and making judgements on whether competency has been achieved, or whether specific skills and knowledge have been achieved that will lead to the attainment of competency.

Assessor

The TAFE NSW officer responsible for conducting assessment activities. An assessor must be qualified in the nominated competencies as specified in the AQTF standards to conduct assessment activities.

Authenticity

Acceptance that the evidence used to make an assessment judgement is the applicant's own product or performance. Ensuring authenticity may involve checking records, obtaining confirmation from the workplace, questioning the applicant, third party verification and sighting of original documents and qualifications.

Competency (also Competence)

The ability to perform tasks and duties to the standard expected in employment.

Course

A structured sequence of vocational education and training that leads to a student learning a range of skills and knowledge (competencies).

Credit Transfer

Credit Transfer is advanced standing obtained on the basis of previously completed study. A document such as a certificate to confirm successful completion is required in order to receive credit transfer.

Currency (of skills and knowledge)

Skills and knowledge that is applicable in present workplace practices. The applicant must be able to present evidence that skills and knowledge previously acquired have been used and/or updated in current workplace environments. Currency may also relate to technology or processes.

Current competency

A competency currently possessed by a person. People can lose competence over time, and having been competent in the past may need further training and practice to demonstrate current competency.

Direct Evidence - also referred to as Primary Evidence

Direct evidence is anything you have either produced yourself or for which you have been primarily responsible. First hand information about your competencies. eg Certificates/documents from other courses, including workplace courses. Work that you have produced such as reports/plans/designs/presentations that you have made.

Element of Competency

A critical part of what you are expected to be able to achieve after studying a unit of competency.

 

Evidence

A collection of information you present or demonstrate to show that you have a particular level of skills and knowledge or have achieved specific competencies. Evidence may take many forms and be gathered from different sources.

Indirect Evidence - also referred to as Secondary Evidence

Information from somewhere else about what you can do. eg Description of work you have undertaken in relation to presentations/plans/designs and speaking either in a work or community situation. Letters from employers/co-workers or testimonials stating work you have undertaken or skills/knowledge you have displayed.

Outcome

A unit of what you are expected to be able to achieve after studying a module.

Module

The minimum unit of learning for which recognition can be granted. A self-contained component of a course by which progress through the course is measured. Accredited courses are often structured to include 'core' and 'elective' modules.

National Recognition

The acceptance by Registered Training Organisations (RTO's) throughout Australia of the decisions and qualifications or partial qualifications issued by other RTO's. Any RTO - for instance, TAFE NSW - must recognise the qualifications and units of competency awarded to a student by another RTO.

Performance Criteria

The part of a competency standard specifying the required level of performance in terms of a set of outcomes which need to be achieved in order to be deemed competent.

Portfolio

A collection of evidence that is provided to an assessor as proof of skills. The portfolio may include references, certificates, reports and examples of work you have done. Once the portfolio is completed it then becomes the evidence that the assessor uses to determine recognition.

Pre-arranged recognition

A term used by TAFE NSW to describe previously negotiated arrangements between TAFE NSW and other training providers such as Universities, schools and Adult & Community Colleges.

Recognition

A broad term that covers a range of services that recognise an individual's current skills and knowledge acquired through previous education and/or training and/or work and/or life experience.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

RPL is the recognition of competencies currently held regardless of how, when or where the learning occurred.

Registered Training Organisation (RTO)

A training organisation formally recognised and registered by a state or territory registering body. Each TAFE NSW Institute has RTO status.

Result Transfer

Recognition through TAFE NSW credit transfer in an exemption from a particular module or unit of competency. Where the student is exempted from the same TAFE NSW module for which they have a previous result (or a module deemed by a TAFE NSW Curriculum Centre to be equivalent to another TAFE NSW module), PASS or GRADED RESULT appears on the student's transcript. Result transfer is not granted for national recognition, pre-arranged RPL or RPL.

Self assessment

Self assessment is a process that allows students being assessed to collect and provide evidence on their own performance against the competency standards. Self assessment is often used as a tool to help the student and assessor to determine what evidence is available and where the gaps might be.

Sufficiency

The provision of evidence of the required quantity and quality to satisfy an assessor that the applicant is able to consistently achieve to the required standard.

TAFE NSW Credit Transfer

The recognition of specified learning previously completed in TAFE NSW, within a single Institute or across Institutes. It is granted where the identical TAFE NSW module has previously been successfully completed or a TAFE NSW module deemed to be equivalent has previously been successfully completed.

Transferability

The ability of the skills and knowledge acquired to be applied outside the specific context in which they were learned.

Unit of Competency

The specification of knowledge and skill and the application of that knowledge and the skill to the standard of performance expected in the workplace.

Validity TAFE NSW - North Coast Institute

This occurs when the assessment process assesses what it claims to assess, where the evidence collected is relevant to the learning outcomes or units of competency concerned and demonstrates that these have been met.