A modular core for evaluating educational quality across organizations, learning services, digital learning and educational technology.
Scope
Scope
This document defines common education-quality requirements that can be combined with an ICEQC sector standard, certification scheme, applicability module and jurisdictional boundary. It evaluates the declared education-quality object and does not by itself establish legal authority to provide education.
#Requirement · Mandatory
Terms and controlled interpretation
Terms shall be interpreted using the current ICEQC controlled terminology. In the event of ambiguity, the published authoritative-language version and scheme rules prevail.
All applicants and certification personnel.
Declared terminology and controlled-document references.
Requirement · Mandatory
Defined education-quality object and context
The applicant shall define the exact organization, service, programme, platform, product, claim or person role to be assessed, including sites or virtual environments, learner groups, delivery modes, jurisdictions, exclusions and dependencies.
All certification objects.
Legal identity, scope statement, sites, versions, learner groups and exclusions.
Requirement · Mandatory
Governance, accountability and integrity
The applicant shall assign accountable authority for education quality, manage conflicts of interest, maintain accurate public representations and control material changes affecting the certified scope.
All certification objects with organizational control.
Governance chart, delegated authorities, conflict controls, public claims and change log.
Requirement · Mandatory
Learner and stakeholder needs
The applicant shall identify relevant learner characteristics, needs, prior knowledge, accessibility requirements and reasonable expectations, and shall use them when designing and reviewing the education service or product.
All learner-facing services, programmes and products.
Learner profiles, needs analysis, accessibility review and design decisions.
Requirement · Mandatory
Educational purpose and outcomes
The applicant shall define clear educational purposes and intended learning outcomes appropriate to the declared learner group and shall communicate them accurately before participation or purchase.
All learning services, programmes, digital learning and education products.
Published outcomes, programme specifications and pre-contract information.
Requirement · Mandatory
Design and change control
The applicant shall use a documented process to design, approve, test, release, review and materially change the education service or product, including responsibility, evidence and version control.
All designed education services and products.
Design records, approvals, pilot evidence, release records and change history.
Requirement · Mandatory
Personnel competence and support
Persons whose work affects education quality shall have defined competence requirements, verified competence, role-appropriate induction and continuing support. External credentials shall be verified where a role legally or technically depends on them.
All personnel and contracted roles affecting the certified scope.
Role profiles, verification records, observed practice and development records.
Requirement · Mandatory
Transparent learner information
The applicant shall provide accurate and accessible information on scope, prerequisites, delivery, expected workload, fees, cancellation, support, assessment, data use, limitations and complaints before commitment.
All learner or purchaser-facing offers.
Website, contract, enrolment flow, product listing and versioned disclosures.
Requirement · Mandatory
Controlled education delivery
The applicant shall deliver the declared service consistently, monitor material deviations and maintain records sufficient to demonstrate that planned learning and support processes occurred.
All delivered education services and programmes.
Schedules, attendance or use records, delivery samples, observation and exception logs.
Requirement · Mandatory
Assessment and feedback integrity
Where learner assessment is part of the scope, the applicant shall define its purpose, validity, fairness, accessibility, identity and integrity controls, feedback process, records and appeal route.
Certification objects that assess learner performance.
Assessment blueprint, samples, moderation, access arrangements, integrity controls and appeals.
Requirement · Mandatory
Safeguarding, wellbeing and foreseeable risk
The applicant shall identify and control foreseeable risks to learners, including child and vulnerable-person safeguarding where applicable, escalation, incident response and required external reporting.
All learner-facing scopes; controls shall be proportionate to age, vulnerability, activity and delivery mode.
Risk register, safeguarding policy, training, reporting route, incident samples and external evidence where needed.
Requirement · Mandatory
Accessibility, inclusion and equitable treatment
The applicant shall identify barriers, provide reasonable and transparent support, avoid unjustified exclusion and test the accessibility of relevant information, learning activities, assessments and digital interfaces.
All learner-facing scopes.
Accessibility evaluation, accommodation process, interface testing and case samples.
Requirement · Mandatory
Data protection, privacy and security
The applicant shall define lawful and proportionate collection, access, retention, sharing, protection and deletion controls for learner and stakeholder data and shall manage relevant security incidents.
All scopes processing personal, confidential or learning data.
Data inventory, privacy notice, access controls, retention schedule, processors and incident records.
Requirement · Mandatory
Digital technology and artificial intelligence
Digital and AI-enabled functions affecting learners shall have defined purposes, human accountability, performance and limitation evidence, age and accessibility controls, privacy and security controls, monitoring, incident response and a route for meaningful human review.
All scopes using digital or AI functions that affect learning, assessment, access, recommendation or support.
System inventory, impact assessment, validation, monitoring, human-review samples and incident log.
Requirement · Mandatory
Complaints, appeals and remedies
The applicant shall provide accessible, timely and impartial processes for complaints and relevant appeals, communicate outcomes, protect against retaliation and use case evidence for improvement.
All learner and customer-facing scopes.
Published route, case register, response times, decisions and corrective actions.
Requirement · Mandatory
Evaluation of educational performance
The applicant shall use valid and proportionate evidence to evaluate whether the education service or product is operating as intended and shall distinguish measured outcomes from unverified marketing claims.
All education services, programmes, products and claims.
Evaluation plan, datasets, analysis, limitations, outcome reporting and claim substantiation.
Requirement · Mandatory
Nonconformity, corrective action and improvement
The applicant shall identify failures, determine causes, implement and verify corrective action, assess recurrence risk and use evidence to improve the certified scope without concealing material adverse information.
All certification objects.
Issue register, root-cause records, corrective actions, effectiveness checks and improvement decisions.
Annex
Remote evidence modes
R-A uses authenticated documents, records, data, interviews and system demonstrations. R-B adds live witnessing, remote tour or random sampling. R-C adds recognized independent laboratory, inspection, licence, insurance or specialist evidence where ICEQC cannot establish technical or physical safety solely by remote review. Evidence mode indicates method, not certification rank or level.
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