QQI Blended and Online Learning Guidelines: What Training Providers Need to Know

For training providers, the prospect of seeking QQI approval and having programmes validated leading to QQI awards can be a daunting one. Where do we start? What should we consider? How do we approach it? How do we know we are on the right track?

This article attempts to answer these questions and provide some practical guidance for training providers considering blended or fully online provision.

One of the first things to understand is that the process is not simply about producing documentation. Nor is it about choosing a learning platform and transferring an existing classroom programme online.

It involves looking at what you want to deliver, what you already have in place and what may need to change across the organisation.

For providers already delivering blended or online learning, much of what is required may already be happening. The challenge is often to identify what you are doing well, document it clearly, compare it with the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) requirements and understand where the gaps are.

For providers developing a new programme, the same principles apply, but there is an opportunity to build the appropriate arrangements into the programme and the organisation from the outset.

Either way, it helps to approach the process systematically.

Start with where you are now

Before writing new policies or procedures, take a good look at what you are already doing.

Perhaps you are already delivering the programme and are now looking at QQI approval or programme validation. You may already have effective approaches to programme delivery, learner support, assessment, trainer development and the use of technology.

If these are working well, they provide an important starting point. You will want to record what you are already doing, formally document the relevant processes and consider how they align with the requirements as you prepare for the relevant QQI approval or programme validation process.

Start by looking closely at what actually happens in practice.

How is the programme currently delivered? How are learners supported? How do you monitor attendance and engagement? What happens when a learner experiences difficulties? How are trainers supported? How is assessment managed? What information do you already collect and review?

The objective is not necessarily to replace existing practices. It is to understand what is already working, document it appropriately and identify where further development may be required.

Then compare your current practice with the QQI requirements.

This helps identify what you already do well, what needs to be documented more clearly and where there are genuine gaps that need to be addressed.

If you are already delivering the programme, this can be particularly useful. Rather than starting with a blank page and asking, "What policies do we need?", you can start with, "What do we currently do, and how does this compare with what is required?"

The result should be a much clearer picture of your starting point.

Be clear about which QQI process applies to you

Not every provider approaching blended or online learning is starting from the same position.

A new provider seeking to offer programmes leading to QQI awards will need to go through the relevant provider approval process. QQI refers to an approved provider offering programmes leading to QQI awards as a "QQI award provider".

For new providers, this involves approval of the provider's Quality Assurance (QA) arrangements and subsequent programme validation within its approved scope of provision.

An existing QQI provider may be in a different position.

For example, if a provider is currently approved for face-to-face provision and wants to introduce blended learning, it may need to apply to extend its approved scope of provision to include blended learning before seeking validation of programmes for that mode of delivery.

Programme validation is another distinct part of the process. QQI evaluates whether the proposed programme is capable of enabling learners to achieve the knowledge, skill and competence required for the relevant award and whether the necessary resources and QA arrangements are in place.

Understanding which process applies to your organisation is therefore an important first step.

Understand the bigger picture

It can be tempting to read the QQI guidelines and immediately start writing policies.

I would avoid that.

First, understand how the different requirements fit together.

A useful way of approaching them is to consider three broad areas: the organisation, the programme and the learner experience.

At organisational level, consider areas such as strategy, governance, resources, staffing, technology and QA.

At programme level, consider how programmes are designed, delivered and assessed.

Then consider the learner experience: what it is actually like to participate in the programme, including access, induction, engagement, communication, assessment and support.

Thinking about the requirements in these areas makes what can initially seem like a large body of guidance much more manageable.

It also reinforces an important point: blended learning is not simply a technology project. It affects different parts of the organisation, and those parts need to connect.

Carry out an honest gap analysis

A gap analysis is one of the most useful exercises a provider can undertake at an early stage, and QQI provides a useful gap analysis document that providers can use to work systematically through the requirements.

Use it as a practical working document rather than simply as a checklist.

For each relevant requirement, consider what you currently do, whether it is appropriate for blended or fully online learning, where it is documented and what evidence demonstrates that it happens in practice.

Then identify what is missing or needs to change.

Finding gaps is not a sign that you are on the wrong track. Identifying them is the purpose of the exercise.

The important next step is to develop a defined action plan to address those gaps. This should identify what needs to be developed or changed, who is responsible, what evidence will demonstrate completion and the timeframe for completing the action.

This turns the gap analysis into a practical roadmap for the work that needs to be done.

Look beyond a blended learning policy

Developing a blended learning policy may be an important part of the process, but it will not address everything on its own.

Blended and online provision can affect existing arrangements for governance, programme development, teaching and learning, assessment, staff development, learner support, information and data management, technology, monitoring and review.

Your existing QA system therefore needs to be looked at through a blended and online learning lens.

For example, if your learner-support procedure was originally designed around learners attending a training centre, will it still work for somebody participating remotely?

If attendance was previously recorded in a classroom, how will you monitor participation and engagement online?

If trainers are delivering virtual sessions, what additional skills or support might they need?

If learners complete activities online, who monitors their engagement and what happens when somebody stops participating?

These are practical operational questions, but they are also QA questions.

Think about the learner journey

One of the most useful ways of testing your provision is to look at the programme from the learner's perspective.

Start before enrolment.

Does the learner understand how the programme will be delivered? Do they know what technology they will need? Do they understand what will happen face-to-face, live online or through self-directed learning?

Then consider induction.

How will learners learn to use the online learning environment? Where will they find programme information and learning resources? How do they contact their trainer? Who do they contact if they experience a technical problem?

Then follow them through the programme.

How is attendance or engagement monitored? How do learners receive feedback? What academic and other supports are available? What happens if somebody begins to disengage or fall behind?

Finally, how do you obtain feedback about the learner experience, and what happens to that feedback?

Looking at the complete learner journey can expose gaps that are much harder to identify when individual policies are reviewed separately.

Understand the role of the VLE

A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is the online environment through which learners access programme information, learning materials, activities, assessments and other supports.

You may also come across the term Learning Management System (LMS). VLE and LMS are sometimes used interchangeably, although individual systems vary considerably in what they can do.

A VLE might be used to provide learning resources, communicate with learners, manage learning activities, receive assessments and provide information about learner participation or progress.

Simply having a VLE, however, does not demonstrate effective blended learning.

The more useful question is whether the technology is fit for purpose for the programme and its learners.

Consider accessibility, usability, reliability, technical support, data protection and how the technology supports teaching, learning, assessment and learner engagement.

Technology decisions also require appropriate oversight. There should be a clear rationale for the systems being used and confidence that they can support the type and scale of provision being proposed.

So the question is not simply, "Do we have a VLE?"

A better question is, "Can our digital environment effectively support the programme and the learners we intend to serve?"

Consider your people

Blended learning depends on people as much as technology.

Consider whether your organisation has the capability to deliver what it is proposing.

This includes trainers, assessors, administrators, learner-support staff and those responsible for QA and governance.

A trainer who is highly effective in a classroom may need additional development to deliver effectively online.

Staff development might include online facilitation, learner engagement, digital learning tools, assessment, accessibility and academic integrity.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) may also be relevant. UDL is an approach to designing learning that considers different learner needs from the outset rather than relying solely on adaptations when difficulties arise.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is important too.

Rather than treating preparation for blended learning as a one-off training exercise, consider how staff capability will be maintained and developed over time.

The question is not simply whether staff can use the technology. It is whether they have the knowledge, skills and support required to provide an effective learning experience.

Programme design needs to show how the blend works

A blended programme should be designed as a blended programme.

It should not simply be a classroom programme with some sessions moved onto a videoconferencing platform.

You should be able to explain how the different elements work together.

What happens face-to-face? What happens live online? What do learners complete independently? How do these activities contribute to the programme learning outcomes?

Consider how learners interact with their trainer and with one another, how learning resources are provided and how participation and progress are monitored.

The blend should be intentional.

There should be a reason why a particular activity takes place face-to-face, live online or independently. The choice should support the learning rather than simply reflect convenience or the technology available.

Assessment and academic integrity need attention

Assessment also needs to work within the proposed delivery model.

Consider how learners receive assessment information, how work is submitted, how feedback is provided and how assessment is managed fairly and consistently.

Academic integrity requires particular attention as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital tools continue to develop.

The objective should not simply be to create additional rules for online learners.

Providers need assessment arrangements that are appropriate to the programme, understood by learners and staff, and capable of being implemented consistently.

These arrangements should connect with the provider's wider assessment and academic integrity procedures rather than operating separately simply because some learning takes place online.

Make sure your documentation reflects what actually happens

As you work through the gaps, policies and procedures will probably need to be developed or revised.

The important thing is that they describe processes your organisation can actually implement.

For any process, you should be able to explain who is responsible, what they do, when it happens, what records are kept, who reviews those records and what happens when an issue is identified.

This is where the distinction between documentation and evidence becomes particularly important.

It is one thing to have a policy stating that learner engagement will be monitored. It is another to be able to demonstrate how it is monitored, who is responsible, what happens when a learner begins to disengage and what records are maintained.

If you already deliver the programme, you may have more evidence than you initially realise.

Learner communications, induction records, attendance and engagement records, assessment documentation, feedback, staff-development records, programme reviews and governance records may all help demonstrate what happens in practice.

The task is to bring this evidence together and determine whether it supports what your QA documentation says you do.

Build monitoring and improvement into the process

QA does not finish when a programme is approved or validated.

You need to know whether your blended or online provision is working as intended.

This might involve reviewing learner engagement, completion, assessment outcomes, learner feedback, trainer feedback, technical issues and requests for support.

A VLE may provide useful information about login activity, participation or completion of online activities. But collecting data is not the same as monitoring quality.

The important questions are what information is reviewed, who reviews it, what happens when an issue is identified and whether the information leads to improvement.

This is where governance becomes important again.

Information gathered through programme delivery should feed into review and decision-making rather than simply being collected and stored. Where monitoring or review identifies gaps or areas for improvement, these should feed into a defined action plan, with clear responsibilities and timescales for addressing them.

This creates a cycle of monitoring, review, action and improvement, rather than treating Quality Assurance (QA) as something that is completed once the programme has been approved or validated.

How do you know you are on the right track?

This is probably one of the most common concerns for providers preparing for QQI approval, an extension of scope or programme validation.

One useful test is whether you can move beyond saying that something is "covered" in a policy.

Take learner engagement as an example.

It is one thing to say that learner engagement is covered in your blended learning policy.

It is much stronger to be able to explain how you monitor engagement, who is responsible, when it is reviewed, what happens if a learner begins to disengage, what records are maintained and how recurring issues are reviewed.

The same test can be applied to learner support, staff development, technology, assessment, academic integrity, programme review and other parts of your QA system.

Can you explain what you do?

Can you explain why you do it?

Is responsibility clear?

Does it happen in practice?

Can you demonstrate that it happens?

If you can answer those questions consistently, you are moving beyond having a collection of documents towards having an operational QA system.

Bringing it together

Preparing for QQI approval, an extension of scope or programme validation for blended or fully online provision can initially feel like a large documentation exercise.

It is more useful to view it as a process of understanding and developing your organisation and its provision.

If you already deliver the programme, start with what you do now. Identify what works well and document it. Compare your practices with the relevant QQI requirements and identify the gaps.

If you are developing a new programme, consider the learners, programme learning outcomes and proposed delivery model from the beginning, and develop the necessary supports and QA arrangements around them.

In either case, the process follows a broadly similar path: understand where you are now, be clear about what you want to achieve, establish which QQI process applies to you, understand the requirements, carry out a gap analysis, prioritise the work, consider the learner journey, review your technology and staff capability, develop or revise the necessary documentation, put the processes into practice, gather evidence, monitor what happens and make improvements where required.

Most importantly, make sure the different elements connect.

Strategy should connect with governance. Governance should connect with programme design. Programme design should connect with the learner experience. Technology should support learning rather than dictate it. Monitoring should lead to review and improvement.

When these connections are visible, the requirements become easier to understand and the process becomes much more manageable.

For providers beginning this journey, perhaps the most useful place to start is a simple one: understand where you are now, be clear about where you want to get to, identify the gaps between the two and build from there.

About this article

This article draws on practical experience supporting training providers with QQI Quality Assurance and programme validation for blended and online learning, alongside current QQI guidance.

QQI requirements and processes can change, so providers should always consult the current QQI guidance relevant to their circumstances.