Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) is the national credit transfer system

Credit (education)

A course credit is a unit that gives weighting to the value, level or time requirements of an academic course taken at a school or other educational institution.- United States :...

for all levels of qualifications in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It incorporates the Scottish Qualifications Certificate

Scottish Qualifications Certificate

The Scottish Qualifications Certificate is the successor to the Scottish Certificate of Education and the Record of Education and Training in Scotland, and is the main educational qualification awarded to students in secondary, further, and vocational education. The SQC is awarded by the Scottish...

, Higher National Certificate

Higher National Certificate

A Higher National Certificate is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom.In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the HNC is a BTEC qualification awarded by Edexcel, and in Scotland, an HNC is a Higher National awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority...

, Higher National Diploma

Higher National Diploma

A Higher National Diploma is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. This qualification can be used to gain entry into universities, and is considered equivalent to the first or second year of a university degree course....

, Scottish Vocational Qualification

Scottish Vocational Qualification

A Scottish Vocational Qualification, or SVQ, is a certificate of vocational education in Scotland. SVQs are available to people of all ages. SVQs are developed by Sector Skills Councils, in partnership with industry and awarding bodies...

(SVQ) (equivalent to National Vocational Qualification

National Vocational Qualification

National Vocational Qualifications are work based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. In Scotland they are known as Scottish Vocational Qualification ....

(NVQ)) and all Degrees

Academic degree

An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...

of Scottish Higher Education Institutions. It is managed by a partnership of the Scottish Qualifications Authority

Scottish Qualifications Authority

The Scottish Qualifications Authority is a non-departmental public body responsible for accreditation and awarding. It is partly funded by the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Scottish Government, employing 750 staff, based in Glasgow and Dalkeith...

, the Association of Scotland's Colleges (ASC), QAA Scotland, Universities Scotland

Universities Scotland

Universities Scotland was formed in 1992 as the Committee of Scottish Higher Education Principals adopting its current name in 2000, when Universities UK was also formed. It represents 14 Universities and six other higher education institutions in Scotland. The Convener serves a two-year term of...

and the Scottish Government http://www.scqf.org.uk/downloads/SCQFFramework050406.pdf. England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

have been developing the National Qualifications Framework

National Qualifications Framework

The National Qualifications Framework is a credit transfer system developed for qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....

in a similar fashion and the SCQF integrates with the European credit transfer system.

SCOTCAT

Scottish Higher Education Institutions had long used the SCOTCAT (Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer) system for equating courses from differences institutions. SCOTCAT had 3 levels - Levels 1, 2 and 3. Level 1 was equivalent to University 1st Year, an HNC

Higher National Certificate

or a Certificate of Higher Education

Certificate of Higher Education

A Certificate of Higher Education is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. It is awarded after one year full-time study at a university or other higher education institution. A Cert.HE is an independent tertiary award, an award in its own right, and students can study for a...

(Cert HE). Level 2 was equivalent to University 2nd Year, an HND

Higher National Diploma

or a Diploma of Higher Education

Diploma of Higher Education

A Diploma of Higher Education is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. It is awarded after two years to three years' full-time study at a university or other higher education institution...

. Level 3 was equivalent to Years 3 and 4 at a Scottish University, and generally these credit lead to an Special

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

or Honours Degree

Bachelor's degree

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Following the creation of the Scottish Qualifications Authority

Scottish Qualifications Authority

by the merger of the Scottish Examinations Board

Scottish Qualifications Authority

and SCOTVEC

Scottish Qualifications Authority

efforts were made to unite the different levels of vocational and academic qualifications. The aim being to make it easier for employers and education institutions

Education in Scotland

Scotland has a long history of universal provision of public education, and the Scottish education system is distinctly different from the other countries of the United Kingdom...

to understand the level to which a person had been educated. A secondary aim being to remove prejudice against vocational and non-traditional qualifications.

Further Discussions

Following from these two efforts all the education and training providers in Scotland agreed to create a common framework for all qualifications, both current and historical. This led to the development of a 12 level framework with different courses, units, modules and clusters being placed at a specific level with a credit weighting.

Changes have been made to Higher Education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

level courses to prepare the Scottish system for the Bologna process

Bologna process

The purpose of the Bologna Process is the creation of the European Higher Education Area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...

. There are now 4 levels of progression from 1st Year to Senior Honours.

The Framework

The Framework has 12 levels:

SCQF Level	SQA National Units, Courses and Group Awards Scottish Qualifications Certificate The Scottish Qualifications Certificate is the successor to the Scottish Certificate of Education and the Record of Education and Training in Scotland, and is the main educational qualification awarded to students in secondary, further, and vocational education. The SQC is awarded by the Scottish...	Higher Education	Scottish Vocational Qualification Scottish Vocational Qualification A Scottish Vocational Qualification, or SVQ, is a certificate of vocational education in Scotland. SVQs are available to people of all ages. SVQs are developed by Sector Skills Councils, in partnership with industry and awarding bodies... s (SVQ)
12		Doctorate Doctorate A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder... s
11		Masters	SVQ 5
10		Honours degree, Graduate diploma Graduate Diploma A Graduate Diploma is generally a postgraduate qualification, although some graduate diplomas involve the study of undergraduate level courses...
9		Ordinary degree, Graduate certificate
8		HND Higher National Diploma A Higher National Diploma is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. This qualification can be used to gain entry into universities, and is considered equivalent to the first or second year of a university degree course.... , DipHE	SVQ 4
7	Advanced Higher Advanced Higher (Scottish) The Advanced Higher is an optional qualification which forms part of the Scottish secondary education system. It is normally taken by students aged around 16-18 after they have completed Highers, which in turn are the main university entrance qualification...	HNC Higher National Certificate A Higher National Certificate is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom.In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the HNC is a BTEC qualification awarded by Edexcel, and in Scotland, an HNC is a Higher National awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority... , CertHE Certificate of Higher Education A Certificate of Higher Education is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. It is awarded after one year full-time study at a university or other higher education institution. A Cert.HE is an independent tertiary award, an award in its own right, and students can study for a...
6	Higher Higher (Scottish) In Scotland the Higher is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. It superseded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education...		SVQ 3
5	Intermediate 2 Intermediate 2 Intermediate 2 level is Level 5 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. Though equivalent to the Credit Level Standard Grade, there is an element of debate to this as it is perceived to be more difficult in some subjects, but less in others.... Credit Standard Grade Standard Grade Standard Grades are Scotland's educational qualifications for students aged around 14 to 16 years, which are due to be fully replaced in 2014 when Scottish Qualifications Authority's Higher Still system becomes the main qualifications as part of the major shake up of Scotland's education system as...		SVQ 2
4	Intermediate 1 Intermediate 1 Intermediate 1 is an educational qualification in Scotland on the Scottish Qualifications Authority Scottish Qualifications Certificate achievement ladder similar to General Level at Standard Grades; it is the next step after Access 3... General Standard Grade		SVQ 1
3	Access 3 Foundation Standard Grade		SVQ 1
2	Access 2
1	Access 1

External links

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SCOTCAT

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Further Discussions

The Framework

See also

External links