QAA publishes second edition of the Higher Education Credit Framework for England

QAA has today published a second edition of the Higher Education Credit Framework for England. There are two complementary publications - Advice on Academic Credit Arrangements contains the 2021 Credit Framework table, while Making Use of Credit offers advice for providers on how they can use credit in practical ways.

QAA will launch both documents at a virtual event today, attended by staff and students from higher education providers and sector organisations.

Over the past year, an advisory group drawn from across the higher education sector and chaired by Professor Sue Rigby, Vice-Chancellor, Bath Spa University has reviewed and revised the Credit Framework table and associated advice. The two publications introduce guiding principles for the use of credit and give an overview of how credit can work within a range of emerging aspects of higher education, like micro-credentials.

The Credit Framework for England can be used as the basis for the design of qualifications for Level 4 and above, alongside sector credit level descriptors. The revised documents provide a wider context than the previous version, updating the content without altering substance and value. It considers stakeholder benefit, how credit is used and how it might be used in the future. Operating alongside the regulatory framework in England, the Framework allows higher education providers the freedom to adopt and adapt elements as appropriate to their needs and circumstances.

The recently published Skills and Post-16 Education Bill in England proposes the introduction of a lifetime skills guarantee to enable flexible approaches in higher education access, provision and funding. The revised Credit Framework publications offer advice to higher education providers on how credit can be used to support flexible pathways.

Douglas Blackstock, QAA Chief Executive, said: ‘We have worked in close collaboration with higher education sector experts in producing a framework that reflects the needs of students and providers. It builds on long-standing and well-established practice and complements the Westminster Government’s policy objectives in allowing greater flexibility in higher education provision.”

Professor Sue Rigby, Vice-Chancellor, Bath Spa University, said: ‘A hugely talented group of people have worked to reimagine the credit framework for the 2020s. I hope it is of use. I think our key insight has been to offer a way to use the framework as a design tool for new qualifications, and as an enabler of novel pathways of learning.’

The revised Higher Education Credit Framework for England is published on our website.