SAQA

All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.

SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION:

Occupational Certificate: Permissions Editor

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
118773	Occupational Certificate: Permissions Editor
ORIGINATOR
Development Quality Partner - FPMSETA
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
-			OQSF - Occupational Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Part-Qualification	Field 04 - Communication Studies and Language		Communication Studies
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	32	Not Applicable	NQF Level 06	Regular-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered		EXCO 0522/24	2022-02-03	2025-12-31
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2026-12-31		2029-12-31

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

Purpose:
The purpose of this part-qualification is to prepare a learner to function as a Permissions Editor. Permissions Editors identify plagiarism, copyright and defamation issues and alert the publisher. When necessary, they request and authorise the use of copyright material therefore avoiding liability issues.

Permissions Editors work under supervision of publishing personnel who deal with rights issues for the publishing enterprise.

A qualified learner will be able to:

Request and authorise use of copyright material.

Alert publisher to plagiarism, copyright, and defamation issues when necessary.

Rationale:
Permissions editing is an essential part of the publishing process. In South Africa, awareness of career options in publishing and editing is limited, and publishing is perceived to be language-oriented, even though the industry can be accessed from various other fields (e.g., science and mathematics). Access into the industry is limited. Few institution-based training opportunities are available at this level as most learning takes place on the job and through informal mentoring. In-house training is scarce and the responsibility for training lies with proof-readers and editors themselves.

The publishing industry is experiencing transformation created by changes in technology; because of moving from printed matter to digital matter; and thus, requires new skills and training. The proofreading and editing functions are generally outsourced to freelancers and this creates more jobs in this sector. Therefore, there is a need for the Occupational Certificate: Permissions Editor.

The industry is racially skewed. This part-qualification will offer a variety of benefits to society, the industry, and learners, including opening the industry; creating employment for new-generation job seekers; creating business opportunities and supporting entrepreneurs and enabling them to develop their own businesses.

This part-qualification will open entry into the industry, creating a suitable career path and mobility in the sector. The society and economy of South Africa will benefit from this part-qualification since it is aimed at all official languages, thereby furthering the production of materials and communication in indigenous languages, and broadening readership. It supports legislation promoting indigenous languages in South Africa.

Mostly, editors and proof-readers work as freelance entrepreneurs, or find formal employment within publishing houses, government departments, in the business and corporate communication field or at legal institutions. They will be employed as management editors, project editors, language, and media practitioners.

This part-qualification is suitable for recent qualifying learners, those changing careers and those already in editing without formal part-qualifications. Persons with a higher certificate in any field trying to develop marketable skills can enrol for this part-qualification.

Industry bodies consulted during the development of this part-qualification included amongst others in the South African Book Development Council, Publishers Association of South Africa, Professional Editors Guild and Language and Media Practitioners of South Africa. There is no professional registration needed to function as a Permissions Editor.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
RPL for Access to the External Integrated Summative Assessment
Accredited providers and approved workplaces must apply the internal assessment criteria specified in the related curriculum document to establish and confirm prior learning. Accredited providers and workplaces must confirm prior learning by issuing a statement of result.

RPL for Access to the Part-qualification

Learners will gain access to the part-qualification through RPL for Access as provided for in the QCTO RPL Policy. RPL for access is conducted by accredited education institution, skills development provider or workplace accredited to offer that specific qualification/part qualification.

Learners who have acquired competencies of the modules of a qualification or part qualification will be credited for modules through RPL.

RPL for access to the external integrated summative assessment
Accredited providers and approved workplaces must apply the internal assessment criteria specified in the related curriculum document to establish and confirm prior learning. Accredited providers and workplaces must confirm prior learning by issuing a statement of result.

Entry Requirements:
The minimum entry requirement for this part-qualification is:

NQF Level 5 qualification.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

QUALIFICATION RULES

This part-qualification is made up of compulsory Knowledge, Practical Skill and Work Experience Modules:

Knowledge Modules

264102-001-00-02-KM-04 Interpersonal Relationships, Level 6, 3 Credits.

264102-001-00-02-KM-05 The Publishing Production Process, Level 6, 3 Credits.

264102-001-00-02-KM-06 Copyright and Permissions for Publishing, Level 6, 8 Credits.

Total number of credits for Knowledge Modules: 14

Practical Skill Modules

264102-001-00-02-PM-03 Apply Copyright Requirements and Obtain Permissions, Level 6, 9 Credits.

Total number of credits for Practical Skill Modules: 9

Work Experience Modules

264102-001-00-02-WM-03 Plagiarism, Copyright and Defamation Issues, Level 6, 9 Credits.

Total number of credits for Work Experience Modules: 9

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

1. Identify and alert publisher to copyright, plagiarism, defamation, and permissions issues in text.
2. Request and authorise use of copyright material.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:

Read and analyse texts to identify possible copyright infringements.

Conduct research to identify the correct source(s) and/or copyright holder(s) of all quoted text.

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of South African copyright legislation, and of relevant national and international conventions and standards.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:

Complete appropriate templates and apply procedures to obtain permission from various role players.

Consider budgetary constraints when making decisions on acquiring permission to reproduce third party content.

Integrated Assessment
Integrated Formative Assessment
The skills development provider will use the curriculum to guide them on the stipulated internal assessment criteria and weighting. They will also apply the scope of practical skills and applied knowledge as stipulated by the internal assessment criteria. This formative assessment together with work experience leads to entrance in the integrated external summative assessment.

Integrated summative assessment
An external integrated summative assessment, conducted through the relevant QCTO Assessment Quality Partner is required for the issuing of this part-qualification. The external integrated summative assessment will focus on the exit level outcomes and associated assessment criteria.

The external summative assessment will entail a theoretical assessment conducted at accredited assessment centres or registered assessment sites and evaluated by an assessor registered by the AQP.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY

This part-qualification was compared with qualifications and programs from the United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK) respectively.

USA
The Editing Certificate is offered by the University of Chicago. It includes core and elective modules. The mode of delivery is online or in-person, or a combination of both. The duration of this certificate is 9 months, however, it could take longer (self-paced). A bachelor's degree is a prerequisite for the qualification. Modules in the Editing Certificate qualification are designed to prepare learners to enter the publishing industry and to help current editing professionals build skills and knowledge for career advancement.

The Editing Certificate is a sequential qualification. Course competencies must be met in a specific order to best support professional development in editing.

EDIT11100: Basic Manuscript Editing (Online or in-person). This course gives participants a working knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style, the most comprehensive and widely used style guide.

EDIT11200: Intermediate Manuscript Editing (Online or in-person). Students will deploy the skills they learned in Basic Manuscript Editing in longer and more complex editing assignments. In addition, students will be introduced to working with style sheets and formulating author queries. The class will also address the challenges inherent in ensuring consistency in a changing manuscript.

EDIT11300: Advanced Manuscript Editing (Online or in-person). Mastery of book manuscript editing requires a thorough knowledge of style and editorial judgment.

EDIT11400: Editing Electronically (Online or in-person). This course teaches students how to use Microsoft Word to make the editing process more efficient.

Electives, of which one must be completed, are:

EDIT21100: Introduction to Acquisition Editing (In-person).

EDIT21300: Introduction to Developmental Editing (Online or in-person).

EDIT21400: Essentials of Grammar for Professionals (Online or in-person).

EDIT21500: Copyright for Publishing Professionals (Online).

EDIT21600: Developmental Editing for Fiction (Online).

MEWE30100: Medical Copyediting (Online).

MEWE30400: Preparing Tables, Graphs, & Figures (Online).

MEWE40400: Freelancing for Medical Writers and Editors (Online).

Similarities
The OC: Text Editor includes all the above listed aspects in a single curriculum.

Differences
The duration of the qualifications differs. The Editing Certificate includes electives, which is not the case with the OC: Text Editor. The OC: Text Editor includes a work experience component, which is not the case with the Editing Certificate. The entry requirements differ and are a Bachelors' degree in the case of the Editing Certificate but are NQF Level 6 for the OC: Text Editor. The OC: Text Editor covers a wider range of competencies, such as permissions and the managing of editorial projects which accounts for the longer in duration.

United Kingdom
The College of Media and Publishing presents an online proofreading and editing course at QLS Level 4 (which is the equivalent of Certificate of Higher Education Higher National Certificate). It is a flexible, self-paced program with no specified start or end dates. This course aims to equip learners with the editorial skills needed to become a certified proof reader and copy editor. This online proofreading course shows learners how to correct printed documents and webpages and make them readable and legally compliant. It is aimed at beginners, people who want to start a freelance business, proof readers and copy editors who want an endorsed award to attract more clients, and so forth. Upon successful completion, learners can join the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP).

Course outcomes are:

The basics: including proofreading terminology and the publishing process.

Applying style.

Spelling and grammar.

Proofreading on paper.

Proofreading onscreen.

Copy editing basics: including levels of editing and the client's brief.

Copy editing: use of language.

Checking accuracy and facts.

Key publishing laws: copyright, defamation, data protection, privacy and contempt of court.

Entrepreneurship or employment.

Similarities
The OC: Text Editor includes all the above listed aspects in a single curriculum. The target groups of these two qualifications are similar.

Differences
The OC: Text Editor covers a wider range of competencies, such as permissions and the managing of editorial projects which accounts for the longer duration. The duration of the qualifications differs. The OC: Text Editor includes a work experience component, which is not the case with the online Proofreading and Editing Course.

Conclusion
The comparison revealed that the Occupational Certificate: Text Editor compares favourably with the two international qualifications in terms of content, target group and intended outcomes.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

This part-qualification provides opportunities for horizontal and vertical articulation options.

Horizontal Articulation:

National Certificate: Public Service Communication, NQF Level 6.

Vertical Articulation:

Occupational Certificate: Commissioning Editor, NQF Level 7.

NOTES

Qualifying for External Assessment:
To qualify for an external assessment, learners must provide proof of completion of all required knowledge and practical modules by means of statements of results and a record of completed work experience.

Additional Legal or Physical Entry Requirements:

None

Criteria for the accreditation of providers
Accreditation of providers will be done against the criteria as reflected in the relevant curriculum on the QCTO website.

The curriculum title and code are: Permissions Editor: 264102-001-00-02.

Encompassed Trade:
This part-qualification encompasses the following trades as recorded on the NLRD:
This is not a trade qualification

Assessment Quality Partner (AQP)
Fibre Processing and Manufacturing SETA

Parent Qualification:

Occupational Certificate: Text Editor, NQF Level 6.

Related Part- Qualifications:

Occupational Certificate: Proof-reader, NQF Level 6.

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION

None

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

NONE

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

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