Changes to Access to HE Diploma announced for 2024
| Date: | July 3 - 2023 |
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The QAA Board has agreed changes to the Access to HE Diploma, which will be implemented in August 2024.
The changes are designed to ensure a greater parity of learning experience and equity of opportunity and achievement for students through standardisation of the Diploma Specification and Grading Scheme.
They are detailed below:
Diploma Specification
- A minimum of one unit of either 6 credits or 9 credits to be included in each Diploma.
- A maximum of 30 credits that can be made up of 6 or 9-credit units (offered as ungraded and/or graded credits provided the maximum of 30 credits is not exceeded).
- The introduction of a Subject Descriptor for Nursing and Health Professions (available as a pilot for 2024 for implementation in 2025).
Grading Scheme
- There will be three Grading Standards which will be applied equally to all units and all assessments.
- A grade can only be determined upon completion of all unit learning outcomes.
QAA’s Board approved the changes in June 2023 after extensive consultations, follow-up meetings and testing since March 2022.
To support Access Validating Agencies (AVAs) and providers in managing any impact, QAA is undertaking a number of measures including:
- updating the Diploma Specification and the Grading Scheme Handbooks, with the aim of providing these to AVAs from mid-July through to end of August 2023
- offering regular online drop-in sessions for AVAs and providers on the changes
- producing toolkits and further guidance to support implementation, again with the support of practitioners - ready for release from September 2023
- working closely with two advisory groups (the Diploma Specification Review Working Group and the Grading Scheme Review Working Group) to support implementation activity. AVAs and Access to HE providers are represented on both of these groups.
QAA would like to thank the 43 assessment practitioners who helped shape the revised Grading Scheme and the 149 practitioners who tested the revised Grading Scheme.