Administer

Information on the role of a UAS coordinator, our online processing system (Gateway), and the training and documentation available.

The role of a UAS coordinator

The UAS coordinator is the person responsible for running the UAS in a centre, and the person who staff in AQA will deal with about the UAS. The coordinator also:

registers units and students
checks all evidence produced when students have completed units
ensures that correct procedures are followed by anyone in the centre using the UAS
gives guidance on how to write a unit and submit it for validation
liaises with AQA over arrangements for assessments.

You do not need any formal qualifications to be a UAS coordinator but you do need to be a responsible adult.

Use the Coordinator Amendment Form below to inform UAS of any changes or additions to coordinators.

Gateway

Gateway is our online processing system, used by coordinators to upload electronic claims for certification of completed units. You can also use it to submit a new unit, or units with minor amendments for validation. Have a look at our full user guide (Gateway – User guide for coordinators) at the bottom of the page. Please contact us if you need any help/support when using Gateway.

Making your first claims for certificates

If you’re a new centre, we will review your first two claims as part of our quality assurance procedures, to verify all evidence against the unit outcomes.

What to include with your first two claims

We recommend including around 10 students and 6 units in your first two claims.

The number of students/units should be large enough to be representative of your cohort, but not so large that the checking process takes longer. We appreciate that some centres will only ever have small numbers of students.

We will contact you if we find any issues, eg missing evidence. Once we’ve finished checking, and any problems have been resolved, we’ll issue your certificates.

Submitting future claims

Once we have approved your first two claims, you’ll be able to submit claims as often as you like – with no restrictions on size.

However, we will review the first claim you submit each new academic year, and carry out occasional spot-checks of evidence at our discretion.

Training

We run free, webinar training sessions on-demand for new or inexperienced coordinators at centres already registered with UAS. These sessions are compulsory for new coordinators.

Coordinators from existing UAS centres can also attend live online training sessions with our trainers. These meetings incur a charge. Please contact unitawardscheme@aqa.org.uk or 01423 534235 to discuss your training options.

Joint coordinators

You can have up to two named coordinators. This helps with sharing the workload and means there is no delay for students receiving their certificates if one coordinator leaves or is ill. Once you are an experienced centre with UAS, you can have up to four coordinators. Use the coordinator amendment form below to add additional coordinators