Responsible bodies
Quality assurance of adult secondary education provided in secondary schools falls within the responsibility of the Quality Agency of the the ministry of Education (see chapter 11.1 Quality Assurance in Early Childhood and School Education).
Quality assurance of subsidised courses in the field of non-formal general education for adults is ensured by the ministry of Education’s Service for adult education (SFA; Service de la formation des adultes).
There are two possibilities for the ministry of Education’s Service for vocational education and training to intervene in quality assurance in continuous vocational education and training (CVET):
- Authorisation of commerce: the SFA gives an opinion on the authorisation of commerce for CVET providers wishing to establish in Luxembourg
- Co-funding of vocational in-company training: for organisations co-funded for their vocational in-company training on the basis of an annual investment higher than € 75 000. The companies may benefit from support provided by the National institute for the development of continuing vocational training (INFPC)
Information on quality assurance in higher education is provided in article 11.2 Quality Assurance in Higher Education.
Approaches and methods for quality assurance
The approaches for quality assurance in adult education depend on the types of institution and the type of funding. The main forms are:
- Quality standards, defined for public institutions, in the framework of their founding laws as well as evaluation studies conducted on demand of public authorities
- Quality assurance of secondary schools ensured by the Agency for Quality (see article 11.1 Quality Assurance in Early Childhood and School Education).
- Evaluation of training plans and final reports submitted by companies in the framework of the State co-funding of employee training in companies
- Quality label for municipalities and associations providing non-formal adult education benefitting from a grant agreement with the ministry of Education, Children and Youth.
Main requirements for a quality label:
- A minimum of 15 learners (exceptions are possible for certain courses)
- Guaranteeing general access to the courses
- According a special inscription rate (€ 5 to € 10) to disadvantaged target groups
- Publishing the courses including information on learning outcomes
- Advising the learners to find the right offer
- Providing information about accessibility for persons with special needs
- Applying a pedagogical approach based on the needs and the situation of adults
- Teachers must be accredited by the Minister (pedagogical and content-related competences achieved either through initial education, continuous education or professional experience)
- Delivering a participation certificate to learners present at 70 % of the course
- Delivering on demand an individual certificate including the description of skills and knowledge obtained (the contents and assessment methods have to be accredited by the Service of adult education).