The National Qualifications Framework NQF in Austria Belgrade

The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in Austria Belgrade, 16. 12. 2019 www. qualifikationsregister. at Wolfgang Denk

Overview § NQF in Austria – Status Quo § NQF-Act § Mapping process § Inclusion of qualifications from outside the formal sector § NQF-Register 2 www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF in Austria – Status Quo (1) § § 3 Federal Act on National Qualifications Framework 2016 ongoing mapping process formal qualifications implementing mapping process for non-formal qualifications starting with mapping process for non-formal qualifications in 2019 www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF in Austria – Status Quo (2) Key objectives § Increase the transparency of education systems in Europe and at national level § Comparability of qualifications at a national level and in Europe § Visability of non-formal and informal learning § Learning Outcome Orientation 4 www. qualifikationsregister. at

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NQF in Austria – Status Quo (3) First qualifications in the NQF § Ph. D NQF-Level VIII § Master NQF-Level VII § Bachelor, “Engineer” and “master craftsman” NQFLevel VI § School for Higher Vocational Education (BHS) NQFLevel V § School for Intermediate Vocational Education (BMS) NQF-Level IV § Apprenticeship – the Dual System NQF-Level IV 6 www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF in Austria – Status Quo (4) Adherent to following principles § 8 levels § Not legally binding § All areas of education § Splitting the NQF table of descriptors at levels six to eight § Dimensions: Knowledge, Skills, Competence § Integration of formal, non-formal and informal learning 7 www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF-Act (1) § The NQF-Act was adopted by the first chamber of the Austrian Parliament on 24 February 2016 and in consequence by the Federal Council on 10 March. § It went into effect on 15 March 2016. The NQF-Act was published in the Federal Law Gazette. 8 www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF-Act (2) Overview § Definitions § Composition and tasks of the relevant bodies (NCP, Advisory Board, Steering Group) § Reference to further supporting documents (rules of procedure, NQF-Manual, guidelines) § Aims of the NQF-Act § NQF-Register § Explanatory notes on the NQF-Act 9 www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF-Act (3) § 1 – Scope of the Act and objectives § 2 – Definitions § 3 – NQF qualification levels § 4 – NCP (National Coordination Point) for the NQF Austria § 5 – Tasks of the NCP § 6 – NQF-Advisory Board § 7 – NQF-Steering Group § 8 – Mapping of formal qualifications § 9 – Mapping of non-formal qualifications § 10 – NQF-Manual 10 www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF-Act (4) Scope of the Act and objectives § Regulation of the mapping of national qualifications to a NQF qualification level and publication of this mapping in a publicly accessible register (NQF-register) for information purposes § Mapping process – including persons with expertise and learning outcomes as basis in accordance to the EQF-Recommendation § Objectives: Transparency, Comparability, Lifelong Learning § The mapping serves for information purposes only and has no legal effect for professional licences or any admission to qualifications. www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF-Act (5) Tasks of the NCP § Mapping of qualifications to the NQF according to the act § Further development of the NQF-Register § Support of all relevant bodies in the process § Public Relations and consultation § Networking at national and European level 12 www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF-Act (6) NQF-Advisory Board 13 § NQF-Advisory Board established within the NCP for its consultation § Consists of seven experts § Authorization by NQF-Steering Group, appointment by ministry § Appointment for a maximum period of five years § Written statement on the mapping of a qualification § Rules of procedure for the NQF-Advisory Board provided by the NCP; Approval by the members of the NQF Advisory Board with a simple majority www. qualifikationsregister. at

NQF-Act (7) NQF-Steering Group § For the consultation of the national authorities § Supervisory body concerning the rules of procedure, the NQF-Manual, the Guidelines of the NCP and the members of the NQF-Advisory Board § Can appeal against a mapping of a qualification with a 2/3 majority 14 www. qualifikationsregister. at

Mapping process (1) 15 1 Request for the mapping of a qualification from the provider to the NCP 6 Discussion in the NQFSteering Group/can object to a mapping with a twothirds majority 7 Publication of the mapping in the NQF-Register 2 formal and content-related verification by the NCP 5 Status Quo report from the NCP to the qualification provider 8 Confirmation to the organisation requesting the mapping of a qualifiaction 3 the NCP can get expertise from external experts 4 the NCP has to get a statement from NQFAdvisory Board www. qualifikationsregister. at

The mapping process (2) 16 www. qualifikationsregister. at

Inclusion of qualifications from outside the formal sector (1) § NQF-Act provides information about the term „NQRServicestelle“ § Appointment of the “NQF-Service Points” („NQRServicestellen“) by BMBWF following proposals of the NQFSteering Group § Support of qualification-providers for non-formal qualifications in the mapping process § Defined in more detail in the guidelines of the NCP 17 www. qualifikationsregister. at

Inclusion of qualifications from outside the formal sector (2) NQF Service Point: An NQF Service Point is an intermediary body between a provider of a non-formal qualification and the entities responsible for the NQF. It submits requests for mapping a qualification on behalf of the qualification provider and is able to monitor the relevant sector of the qualification to evaluate the NQF compatibility of the qualification. Currently there are six different NQF Service Points appointed by the Minister of Education, Science and Research. 18 www. qualifikationsregister. at

Inclusion of qualifications from outside the formal sector (3) § List of criteria and tasks for NQF-Service Points § Public Tender § Selection process § Appointment by the Minister of Education, Science and Research § Started November 15 2019 19 www. qualifikationsregister. at

Inclusion of qualifications from outside the formal sector (4) 20 www. qualifikationsregister. at

The NQF-Register (1) § § § 21 Official publication of a mapped qualification Increase of awareness for EQF/NQF/LOs Transparency Comparison of qualifications (formal/non-formal) Better understanding of the Austrian educational system for all types of target groups www. qualifikationsregister. at

The NQF-Register (2) Implementation § § 22 developed database in the background included in a Content Management System relaunch 2018 higher usability and accessibility for people with a disability www. qualifikationsregister. at

The NQF-Register (3) Functions of the database for the enduser § § § 23 gerneral information about qualifications published learning outcomes extended search bookmark function pdf function compare two qualifications www. qualifikationsregister. at

The NQF-Register (4) Website § § § general information on EQF/NQF/LO‘s target group oriented information documents for download news FAQs www. qualifikationsregister. at 24 www. qualifikationsregister. at

Thank you! Wolfgang Denk Ebendorferstraße 7 | 1010 Vienna T +43 1 534 08 -0 | F +43 1 534 08 -20 E nqr@oead. at wolfgang. denk@oead. at www. qualifikationsregister. at