Credit points
If you look at college and university prospectuses, you will notice that the courses and qualifications are given credit points and levels. These points are given for the amount of learning you have to do to get the qualification. In Scotland, the points and levels are expressed in terms of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).
Higher education and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
| SCQF level | SQA National Units, Courses and Group Awards | Higher education in the university sector | Higher education in the Scottish Colleges | Scottish vocational qualifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Doctorates | |||
| 11 | Masters | SVQ 5 | ||
| 10 | Honours degree Graduate diploma |
|||
| 9 | Ordinary degree Graduate certificate |
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| 8 | Diploma in Higher Education | Higher National Diploma (HND) | SVQ 4 | |
| 7 | Advanced Higher | Certificate in Higher Education | Higher National Certificate (HNC) | |
| 6 | Higher | SVQ 3 | ||
| 5 | Intermediate 2 Credit Standard Grade |
SVQ 2 |
This table omits levels 1 to 4, which include courses studied at school, non-advanced courses at Scotland's Colleges and work-based qualifications at SVQ levels 1 to 3.
Scottish Vocational Qualifications are based on what people actually do at work. They are assessed by reference to nationally agreed standards and are designed to allow people to show that they have achieved competence in their occupation through assessment in the workplace.
Each unit, module or course within a programme of study is assigned a certain number of credit points; typically this might be 10, 15, 20, 30 or 60. Some examples may make this clearer:
- Most Higher National Certificate (HNC) units are each 8 credit points at level 7 of the SCQF
- Most Higher National Diploma (HND) units are each 8 credits points at level 8 of the SCQF
- A Scottish Honours Degree is 480 credit points at levels 7-10 of the SCQF, with certain requirements for the number of credits required at each of the four levels
- Open University Honours degrees use the SCQF, but are also offered in England and require 360 credit points. However the credit points at levels 9 and 10 for Honours are similar to the Scottish Honours degree.
The SCQF allows different courses to be compared with each other and, in principle, allows students to move between institutions taking with them the credit for work they have done.
What is credit transfer?
If you have already successfully studied at higher education level, either within the UK or in another country, your previous study may give you credit points towards your chosen qualification. This is determined by allocating points to courses, which can then be converted into credit towards the qualification you hope to achieve. This process is known as credit transfer.