Education body the National Assessment Agency (NAA) is implementing an IT infrastructure to support the introduction of a new Specialised Diploma for schoolchildren.
The Diploma is a new composite qualification, to be first awarded in September 2008, comprising a number of elements from different examinations bodies.
An initiative called The Minerva Programme will help administer the exams through liaisons with schools, colleges and other examination centres. The project is expected to generate 300,000 IT transactions per year.
The Diplomas are a departure from traditional A-level and GCSE qualifications, and must be administered in a much more complex way, says Clive Holdsworth, head of solution delivery at the NAA.
‘If we did not have a central infrastructure to support these changes it would be quite a complex administration task to co-ordinate so many different elements, and would burden individual awarding bodies and exam centres,’ he said.
The NAA, an agency of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, will provide a single point of contact for key administrative transactions through the Minerva Programme.
‘The creation of a new infrastructure will facilitate a centralised results and data aggregation service for Specialised Diplomas and will improve efficiency in up to 7,000 exam centres,’ said Holdsworth
‘The main challenge is to manage the procurement process and the deadlines that we have set ourselves.’
The NAA expects full implementation by 2014.
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