How to get your learning programme on the SCQF

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Learners Educators Employers Credit Rating

Have you got a learning programme?

Do you have a learning programme or training scheme you would like credit rated for the SCQF?

Any programme has the potential to be included on the Framework, provided it meets the following four criteria:

  • must be based on learning outcomes
  • must be a minimum of 10 notional learning hours
  • must be formally assessed, and
  • must be quality assured

Why get your programme credit rated?

Employers and organisations have their learning programmes credit rated to the SCQF for several key reasons, including:

Recognition:

Learning programmes receive formal recognition not just in Scotland but across the UK, Europe and beyond, enhancing their value and credibility

Quality assurance:

Credit rating assigns an SCQF level and credit points to a learning programme, and confirms that the programme has been quality assured

Learner benefits:

Learners gain nationally recognised qualifications, which can improve their career prospects and professional development

Competitive advantage:

Recognised qualifications can make a company or learning provider more attractive to potential hires or learners

Enhanced reputation:

Being associated with a respected framework like the SCQF can enhance the company’s reputation as a quality employer and training provider

Flexibility and mobility:

Learners can use the credits earned from the qualification towards further and higher education and qualifications, promoting lifelong learning and career progression

Case studies

Credit rating youth awards

Partners from Awards Network, Outward Bound Trust, Inverness Royal Academy, Gairloch High School …

Edinburgh College

Staff and students from the Computing and Technology Department of Edinburgh College talk about the …

The benefits of credit rating in-house training programmes

Diane Drummond, a Director at B-DACS Air Conditioning Services, explains why they had their in-…

Anna Devitt: DirectDevitt Comedy & Confidence

Anna Devitt founded DirectDevitt Comedy & Confidence to create a learning environment where all …

Who can credit rate?

Organisations that are Credit Rating Bodies (CRBs) can carry out credit rating for the SCQF. These are Scotland’s colleges and higher education institutions, the SQA and a number of other organisations that have been approved by the SCQF Partnership.

If you’re looking for more information on who can credit rate your learning programme, please contact us.

Contact Us

Ready to take the next steps?

We offer free one-day Would You Credit It? workshops to help you understand how to prepare your learning and training programmes for credit rating. Visit our workshops page to secure your space.

If there are no workshops scheduled, you can find out more about the next steps by contacting us at info@scqf.org.uk.

If you would like more information on having your learning programme credit rated, you can also get in touch with one of our CRBs.

How to get your programme SCQF credit rated guide
Criteria Explained guide

Glossary Term

Authority

Appears at Level 12 only where it is used in the phrase ‘demonstrate substantial authority’, reflecting a recognised high level and depth of expertise/expert knowledge and understanding, along with confidence. It does not mean ‘exercise authority over staff and resources’ etc, as that could clearly apply at earlier levels.

Glossary Term

Exercise

Used in connection with management and/or supervisory responsibility, denotes a requirement of a formal, substantive role.

Glossary Term

Directive

Applied to ‘supervision’, signifies a task or activity that is guided.

Glossary Term

Graphical Data

Encompasses maps, plans, diagrams, tables and graphs.

Glossary Term

Synthesis

Combine discrete elements into a coherent whole.

Glossary Term

Analysis

Examine in detail with a view to explanation and interpretation.

Glossary Term

Present

Set out, put forward, deliver information using a variety of mediums as appropriate.

Glossary Term

Hypothetical

Supposed, assumed for the sake of argument.

Glossary Term

Straightforward

Clear and uncomplicated activity, but not as demanding or systematic and therefore not as advanced as ‘routine’.

Glossary Term

Creativity

Often used in combination with ‘originality’. There is overlap in definition, but the defining characteristic of creativity appears to be imagination.

Glossary Term

Originality

Often used in combination with ‘creativity’. There is overlap in definition, but the defining characteristic of originality appears to be independence.

Glossary Term

Professional

Used throughout as an adjective and applied to terms including level, skills, techniques, practices, contexts, and issues where it bears broad interpretation as ‘behaving appropriately/doing things properly and well and to notions of accepted, (including externally) prescribed standards’, as well as narrow, relating to a specific occupation designated as a profession. In this latter sense, the term applies in all contexts including academic study, eg footnoting properly.

Glossary Term

Unfamiliar

New territory for an activity.

Glossary Term

Routine

Used as an adjective throughout and applied to terms including skills, tasks, elements, practices, contexts, methods and problems where it describes activity that is standard, usual, unvarying, customary, common.

Glossary Term

Everyday

Slightly more advanced and beyond personal but a known experience/activity encountered/applied regularly - less advanced than ‘familiar’.

Glossary Term

Familiar

Often encountered or experienced; common; something one has a good knowledge of - more advanced than ‘personal’ and ‘everyday’, not as advanced as ‘routine’.

Glossary Term

Personal

An experience relating only or primarily to the person – one would expect to start here then widen out into the rest of the world, so not as advanced as ‘familiar’.

Glossary Term

Critical

Fully informed, capable of supporting in-depth analysis and assessment.

Glossary Term

Discerning

Using judgement to recognise differences but not fully equipped/informed to analyse and discuss them in depth, so less advanced than critical.

Glossary Term

Awareness

Consciousness, including a background consciousness. Can be a starting point for further exploration.

Glossary Term

Appreciation

A sense, perception, a hold, fix or grasp of one or more of the various aspects of a subject/discipline/sector.

Glossary Term

Understanding

A thorough and firm grasp of a subject/discipline/sector or an element or elements of it, derived from education/study, experience and reasoning in appropriate combination. Can be defined as ‘know why’, as opposed to ‘know that’. More holistic knowledge of processes and contexts, so more advanced than appreciation and knowledge.

Glossary Term

Simple

Undemanding activity not necessarily part of a formal structure - not as advanced as ‘basic’.

Glossary Term

Knowledge

Facts, ideas, theories and concepts in a subject/discipline/sector acquired through experience and/or education – a surer grasp than appreciation so more advanced.

Glossary Term

Basic

Activity is early stepping stone on a structure or framework that can be built upon – more advanced than ‘simple’.