CREDIT RATING

The Framework has 12 levels – ranging from National Qualifications from Access Level 1 up to Doctorate at Level 12. Between levels 1 and 12 the associated learning becomes more complex making increasingly greater demands on the learner. Units, courses and programmes which are subject to quality assured assessment:

• can be placed on the Framework at the level which reflects the complexity of demand they make on the learner;
• will be allocated credit points to show the amount of assessed learning undertaken. One credit point equates to 10 notional hours of learning time, some of which is class based and some undertaken independently by the student.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON CREDIT RATING FOR SCOTLAND’S COLLEGES

Initially only SQA and universities were approved to credit rate qualifications but from 2006, following a recent consultation exercise, the facility to credit rate has been extended to Scotland's colleges, and colleges are now engaged in a process of becoming credit rating bodies.

A College Credit Rating Implementation Group (CCRIG) was established in 2005 to take forward this exciting development of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). The Group comprises membership from the Scottish Further Education Unit (SFEU), higher education institutions, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the SCQF, and is Chaired by Jackie Galbraith from the Scottish Executive.

In November 2005, all colleges were invited by the CCRIG to Glasgow Metropolitan College to find out more about the extension of credit rating. Several of the colleges expressed interest in becoming part of a pilot project been set up with funding from the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Executive. Eight colleges are taking part and are credit rating some of their own provision. The participating colleges are: Aberdeen, Adam Smith, Clydebank, Forth Valley, James Watt, Lauder and Edinburgh's Telford College and Sabhal Mor Ostaig. A range of provision from these colleges has been identified for the pilot phase which includes evening courses, programmes aimed at young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) and qualifications designed to meet the needs for employers.

Partnership working to build the colleges' capacity to credit rate is a very important element of this project and the support received from the Scottish Qualifications Authority and higher education institutions, such as Napier University, has been invaluable. They have shared their expertise and experience of credit rating with the participating colleges at two seminars held in February and April. At the April seminar, participants had the opportunity to take part in some practical credit rating exercises and also heard from Professor Bill Thomson, former Head of the Professional Development Unit at the University of Strathclyde. Professor Thomson was responsible for writing the SCQF Credit Rating Guidelines. Participating colleges have the additional practical support of experts in credit rating from the SQA, Napier and Paisley Universities who have agreed to mentor each of the participating colleges.

HMIE carried out the on-going monitoring of the pilot and has drafted a report on the findings. This report can be accessed on the downloads page. The credit rating process has been incorporated within the HMIE review process for B6 and B7 Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement."

At the end of the pilot, an SCQF conference entitled "Colleges as SCQF Credit Rating Bodies - Experiences of the Early Adopters”, was held on 2 October 2006 in Perth to disseminate the outcomes of the college credit rating pilot. This allowed the participating colleges to share their experience of the process to a wider audience. The conference was opened by Dr Andrew Cubie, who set the scene for the day, and Sheila Page of HMIE presented the findings of the Evaluation Report which was produced as an outcome of the pilot.

The colleges that participated in the pilot disseminated their experience and explained how the credit rating process was implemented within their college. This was followed by workshops which focussed on opportunities for building greater credit rating capacity in colleges. Dr Bill Harvey, from the Scottish Funding Council, closed the day by outlining the opportunities for colleges as credit rating bodies and the vision for the future. This was a successful event, attracting a number of delegates from colleges outwith the pilot, which indicates the wider interest that colleges have in this exciting development within the SCQF.

The outcomes of the college credit rating pilot are tabled as follows:

A Scottish Funding Council (SFC) circular entitled "Colleges as SCQF Credit Rating Bodies" can be accessed from the SFC website at www.sfc.ac.uk.