QAA charts credit transfer practice across the UK

QAA has produced the first comprehensive review of credit transfer policies across UK higher education institutions, including analysis of the barriers present in the current system and recommendations for both providers and policymakers to address them.

The report - Achieving credit transfer at scale: An analysis of UK university policies - is based on the publicly available policies for all providers listed on their relevant nations’ regulator or funding body register - 461 in total.

As a key component of ambitions for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) and a manifesto commitment of the new Labour government, credit transfer is expected to remain prominent in the policy debate. Establishing current practice and the barriers to scale is therefore crucial in developing a system that is evidence-based and deliverable.

The review identified significant disparities between the approach and nature of institutional policies in this area, making it difficult for learners to navigate and compare different policies.

Policies, it found, are often difficult to access, use technical terminology, do not allow learners to transfer marks or grades and impose stricter limits on learning gained from experience than on learning gained in an education setting. The review found that, in the current system, many policies discourage engagement in the process, learners’ experience is likely to vary significantly depending on which institution they engage with, and there is no viable route to growth.

‘Credit transfer is often described as the “third rail” of LLE policy, but Labour’s manifesto commitment shows that the ambition for learners to move more easily between institutions is not going anywhere anytime soon,’ says Helena Vine, QAA's Lead Policy Officer for England. ‘By taking stock of current practice, we can better understand why transfers only happen in very small numbers and how the sector can deliver a more seamless system and produce the opportunities for lifelong learning, student mobility and student choice which employers and government have long been calling for.’