How much does E-qual cost?
E-qual Paperless Portfolio has a simple pricing model, you only pay for the number of candidates you put through each qualification. There are no hidden costs, price bands or variable levels of access and support. All you pay is a flat fee of £30.00 for each candidate. This cost includes the initial setup of your centre account and administrator, setup of qualifications, ability to setup IVs, Assessors, Trainee Assessors and all other roles, full access to our hosted version of E-qual Paperless Portfolio for all users, email support, storage of files and data and backup of data in our secure UK data centre. We can also supply E-qual to larger organisations as an installable application for you to use exclusively in your company. Please contact us to discuss pricing for this.
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What do I need to access E-qual?
To use E-qual you will need a computer with a web browser and an internet connection.In fact, if you can access this web page, you are ready to use E-qual. We recommend a broadband connection as you will be uploading and viewing documents that may be significant in file size. E-qual works on PC and Apple Mac in most of the common browsers including Internet Explorer 7 and above, Firefox version 3 and above, Google Chrome and Safari. E-qual will function in Internet Explorer version 6, however we recommend users upgrade to a newer version for increased security and a faster experience.
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Where can I access E-qual?
You can access the software anywhere where you have suitable internet access.
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Can I have a demonstration of E-qual?
We would be delighted to show you E-qual. We can demonstrate it using online screen-sharing software to an individual or group or we would be happy to visit you and show you the application face-to-face. Please contact us to organise a demonstration at your convenience.
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Which qualifications can be used in E-qual?
Almost any qualification can be used in E-qual. We can add any official awarding body qualification free of charge or any bespoke qualification or induction course. We can even enable E-qual to allow you to add your own qualifications and units. E-qual is fully compatible with VQ, BTEC, 14-19 Diploma, Modern Apprenticeship and Key Skill qualification structures.
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Is E-qual endorsed or accredited?
E-qual is endorsed by Edexcel, ECITB and VTCT. It has been approved for use by all the major awarding organisations and has been viewed by their external verifiers and considered an appropriate system for carrying out the assessment process. Many awarding bodies charge large sums of money for endorsing a product with their logo - we would rather invest that money in developing E-qual Paperless Portfolio then pay for adding their logo to our product. If we don't mention an awarding body you use, please contact us, we can usually add their qualifications for you at no cost.
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Can my work get lost?
E-qual is backed up every night, your work is safe on our own servers which are hosted in a secure UK data centre. Also, E-qual copies files to your portfolio - it does not remove files from your computer, so you will always have your own copy of any uploaded file. Our hardware is supported 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year by trained support staff and is covered by premium service level agreements. We use up to date, high-specification, enterprise-class servers and storage devices.
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Is my work secure?
Your work is protected by an encrypted username and password. As long as you keep these safe no-one can access your account.
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Who can view my portfolio?
Your work can only be accessed by the members of the portfolio team - assessors, internal verifiers, ewa's, external verifiers and managers.
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Can my employer see my portfolio?
Your employer does not have direct access to the E-qual system and therefore cannot see your portfolio unless you want them to. E-qual does have a facility for guests to be added to the system to view selected portfolios.
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What support do you offer to users?
Email support is available to all users using the form on the support pages. The support area is accessible from the Login page of this website. Telephone support is also available during UK office hours.
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What file and portfolio size restrictions do you have? Unlike many other e-portfolio providers, E-qual does not have any restrictions on the size of each individual file that can be uploaded or a maximum File Store size. We do not have price bands for the amount of storage used in a portfolio. We operate a fair usage policy.
We would however, recommend that you make files as economical in size as you can. Users need to open and view files that are uploaded, so smaller files will make this process faster. We would recommend using compression for video and audio files. Please contact us for advice on the best way to create your evidence and how to keep file sizes small.
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Is E-qual really cheaper than a paper-based system? Yes! We have been informed by one client that the cost to supply items such as folders, plastic wallets and other stationery items for each candidate was at least £32.00. That is before you consider travel expenses, photocopying, paperwork, postage and all the other expenses involved in managing a paper system. Compare that to a cost of £30.00 per candidate to set up a portfolio that is accessible to all members of the portfolio team at any time, without the need for folders, paper or the need for travelling to view a portfolio.
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Do you provide training for E-qual users? Although E-qual is very easy to use, we would recommend initial training for internal verifiers, assessors and administrators. We can provide training courses at a venue of your choice. Please contact us for details and costs.
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Can I request a feature to be added to E-qual? We are always delighted to receive feedback from our users about ways to improve E-qual and are happy to listen to ideas and implement new features. In fact, one of the features in the current version - Multi-attach - was created as a result of feedback from one of our clients.
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Can E-qual be customised? Any organisation using the hosted version of E-qual can customise portfolio settings using their Administration account. If you would like to purchase your own customised version of E-qual with features purpose built for your organisation, we would be happy to discuss the options with you. Please contact us for details. ^ top
Can I buy E-qual for hosting in my organisation? Our most popular solution for offering E-qual is as a hosted solution on our servers. However, E-qual is available to buy as a product for hosting in your own organisation. Please contact us for details about technical requirements, implementation plans and prices.
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