National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008 (Act No. 67 of 2008)NoticesPolicy and Criteria for Credit Accumulation and Transfer (As amended, 2022)12. Responsibilities for the Implementation of Credit Accumulation and Transfer |
| 12.1 | As stated in the SAQA Policy and Criteria for Credit Accumulation and Transfer within the National Qualifications Framework (As amended), the development and implementation of CAT is the joint responsibility of the DHET, the DBE, SAQA, the QCs, education institutions and skills development providers, assessment bodies, recognised professional bodies and workplaces. The specific responsibilities of each contributor are outlined below. |
| (a) | Responsibilities of the DBE and the DHET |
| (i) | Provide enabling legislative and planning environments for CAT; |
| (ii) | Ensure that CAT principles and criteria are considered when designing and developing qualifications; and |
| (iii) | Ensure the development and implementation at institutional level of policy and criteria for CAT. |
| (b) | Responsibilities of Umalusi |
| (i) | Ensure effective alignment of CAT policies and principles within and between SAQA and other quality councils and institutional providers across the NQF; |
| (ii) | Ensure that CAT principles and opportunities are considered when qualifications are designed and developed in the GFETQSF context; |
| (iii) | Develop, promote and publish general and specific CAT regulations and guidelines for all large-scale national qualifications offered within and between sub-frameworks; |
| (iv) | Collaborate with the CHE and the QCTO to ensure that effective CAT takes place; |
| (v) | Determine the maximum number of years allowed to complete a qualification (it is hoped that most qualifications would allow as many years as necessary for adults, bearing in mind that many mature students have difficult life circumstances); |
| (vi) | Work with recognised entities in the GFETQSF context to ensure that CAT is implemented consistently, and to ensure that the capacity to do so is developed; |
| (vii) | Monitor the CAT practices of recognised providers in the GFETQSF contexts. |
| (viii) | Undertake systematic work on the development of credit matrixes for the GFETQSF; |
| (ix) | Initiate and oversee projects within the GFETQSF to strengthen the conceptual understanding of CAT, to build capacity in the use of credit, and to promote good practices where necessary; |
| (x) | As and where applicable, to develop links for articulation and progression to promote CAT within the GFETQSF and between the GFETQSF and the other two NQF sub-frameworks by facilitating and encouraging formal articulation agreements between institutions and coordinated quality assurance systems; |
| (xi) | Promote the collaborative development of curricula and qualification pathways between various types of providers to promote and enable successful CAT; |
| (xii) | Provide a mechanism in the policies for quality partners for assessment and accredited skills development providers in the GFETQSF context to deal with unfair CAT practices; |
| (xiii) | Collaborate in the national monitoring and mediation processes to advise and alert skills development providers in the GFETQSF context regarding potential and actual transgressions of Umalusi’s CAT policy; and |
| (xiv) | Report annually to SAQA, in the format prescribed by SAQA, on CAT implementation in GFETQSF contexts. |
| (c) | Responsibilities of assessment bodies |
| (i) | Adhere to the principles and responsibilities as outlined in this policy; |
| (ii) | Develop and implement a policy on CAT in accordance with the principles and responsibilities outlined in this policy; and |
| (iii) | Report annually to Umalusi on the implementation of CAT across the GFETQSF. |
| (d) | Responsibilities of education institutions and skills development providers |
| (i) | Adhere to the principles and responsibilities as outlined in this policy; |
| (ii) | Develop, promote and implement an institutional CAT policy that is aligned to this policy, SAQA Policy and Criteria for Credit Accumulation and Transfer within the National Qualifications Framework (As amended, 2021, and The Articulation Policy for the Post-School Education and Training System of South Africa; |
| (iii) | Demonstrate through internal and external quality reviews that institutional CAT practices are in keeping with the policies noted in (ii) above; |
| (iv) | Provide career advice services on career pathways and articulation routes; |
| (v) | Establish appropriate appeal mechanisms that include areas that need to be appealed against such as exclusion and noncompliance to CAT; |
| (vi) | Avoid unfair exclusionary practices related to CAT and establish mechanisms to monitor and deter these; |
| (vii) | Address the bridging of theory and/or practice components that are identified as weaknesses during admission processes, including through RPL; |
| (viii) | Assist learners who seek to transition to the certifying institution as well as those who need to transition from the institution by making the necessary information available in a manner that enables the learner and does not harm the entity; a balance must be found in providing this information; |
| (ix) | Develop and maintain information management systems that are compatible with the National Learners’ Records Database (NLRD) and other relevant government information management systems and submit the relevant data to SAQA using effective existing systems; and |
| (x) | Report annually to Umalusi on the implementation of CAT across the GFETQSF. |