Qualification Information

If you are confused by acronyms such as NQF, QCF, QCA, OFQUAL, QCF, QCDA, RRQ, NDAQ, AO and APL, and are unsure what the difference is between an Award, Certificate and Diploma, then rest assured that you are not alone - there are  many confused professionals out there too! What we hope to give you here is a concise overview of the current situation.

First of all, here are the meanings of those acronyms:

NQF - National Qualifications Framework
QCF - Qualifications and Credit Framework
QCA - Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
OFQUAL - Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation
QCDA - Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency
RRQ - Register of Regulated Qualifications
NDAQ - National Database of Accredited Qualifications
AO - Awarding Organisation
APL - Accredited Prior Learning

A Brief History

In the past the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) accredited qualifications, and approved and regulated awarding organisations (such as the VTCT). Qualifications run by these approved awarding bodies were on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

The Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) is the new Government framework for recognising achievement. It is taking over from the NQF. The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) is the Government agency that is responsible for developing the curriculum, improving and delivering assessments, and reviewing and reforming qualifications. The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (OFQUAL) is now responsible for the regulation of qualifications, examinations and assessments. Basically the QCDA develops and OFQUAL regulates. Details of qualifications that are accredited by the regulators of external qualifications are listed on the Register of Regulated Qualifications (RRQ), formerly known as the National Database of Accredited Qualifications (NDAQ).
 

The Move to a Credit-Based System

Qualifications on the QCF are made up of one or a number of units. Each unit is awarded a number of credits. The number of credits given to a unit is determined by the number of notional hours of study - 1 credit equals 10 hours of notional learning. The total number of credits from all the units included in a qualification determine whether the qualification is categorised as an Award, Certificate or Diploma.

1-12 credits = Award
13-36 credits = Certificate
37+ credits = Diploma

Within each of these 3 categories the difficulty of the qualification is indicated by the level. There are 8 levels, Level 1 - Level 8, where Level 1 is the easiest and Level 8 is the most difficult. You could therefore feasibly have a Level 3 Award, Certificate and Diploma in the same subject. It means that the content was of the same difficulty to learn but less hours were required to learn it - indicating less content.

Many units held on the QCF are used by different awarding organisations (AOs). The "sharing" of these units means that the credit awarded is accepted as accredited prior learning (APL) by other awarding organisations. Some units appear in more than one qualification and the credit can be transferred. This makes for more flexible career pathways with reduced repetition. The "sharing" also allows learners to gain credit towards qualifications from more than one AO.

It is hoped that by January 2011, all accredited qualifications will be on the QCF and the NQF is closed for new registrations. Currently there is still a mixture of qualifications on offer - some on the old NQF and some on the new QCF.


How Does this Affect You?

When you are selecting your course it is important that it is the right one for you. You want to make sure that you take advantage of being able to transfer the credit awarded.

Anatomy & Physiology has always been a major component (and often pre-requisite) for complementary healthcare qualifications. If you want to study to the standard of a Level 3 Diploma (the industry standard), the QCF units that are often included are the T/501/9101 - Knowledge of Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology for Complementary Therapies and the D/501/9111 - Knowledge of Less Common Pathology for Complementary Therapies.  These are shared units and so will be recognised as accredited prior learning by other awarding organisations. This units are worth a total of 42 credits and make up the VTCT Level 3 Diploma in Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology.