ERIC ED411453: Give Us the Credit: Achieving a Comprehensive FE Framework. FE Matters. FEDA Paper.

39 Pages·1997·0.7 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
CE 074 785
ED 411 453
Coady, Sally; Tait, Tony; Bennett, Jim
AUTHOR
Give Us the Credit: Achieving a Comprehensive FE Framework.
TITLE
FE Matters. FEDA Paper.
Further Education Development Agency, London (England).
INSTITUTION
ISSN-1361-9977
ISSN
1997-00-00
PUB DATE
NOTE
38p.
Further Education Development Agency, Publications Dept.,
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JOURNAL CIT
FE Matters; vl n20 1997
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MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS Access to Education; Case Studies; Change Strategies;
*Credits; Curriculum Development; Education Work
Relationship; Educational Benefits; *Educational Change;
Educational Policy; Educational Practices; Educational
Quality; *Employment Qualifications; Flexible Progression;
Foreign Countries; Instructional Materials; Material
Development; Postsecondary Education; School Business
Relationship; *Student Certification; *Systems Approach;
Technical Institutes; *Vocational Education
General National Vocational Qualif (England); National
IDENTIFIERS
Vocational Qualifications (England); *United Kingdom
ABSTRACT
It is widely agreed that the United Kingdom's post-16
qualification system must be made coherent and intelligible to users.
Developing a credit-based certification system is the key to increasing
participation in further education (FE) and achieving a broader, more
flexible curriculum. The benefits of a credit-based certification framework
for learners, providers, and employers are evident in case studies of eight
FE colleges in Wales that participated in a 3-year pilot project to embed
credit-based certification systems in FE. The case studies provide important
lessons on the following aspects of development and implementation of
credit-based certification: designing programs, assessing on a continuous
basis; planning across colleges; offering sampler courses; reaching the
disaffected; unitizing access programs; mapping common elements; and
improving life chances. The benefits of credit-based certification in FE are
also evident in six case studies that were conducted in England to examine
the application of a credit-based certification framework to accomplish the
following: develop learning materials and improve quality; use a discrete
generic model to unitize the curriculum; facilitate progression from school
to work; facilitate progression from FE to higher education; base resourcing
on credit; and promote institutional change. (Contains 20 references)
(MN)
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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
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Points of view or opinions stated in this
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INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
official OERI position or policy.
Further Education
Development Agency
the credit: achieving
Give
us
comprehensive FE framework
a
Sally Coady, Tony Tait and Jim Bennett
FE MATTERS
FEDA paper
About the authors
Acknowledgements
FEDA wishes to thank all the colleges which
Sally Coady has worked in FE for 14 years.
supplied information, and photographs, for the
Since 1993 she has contributed to credit
developments in England and Wales. This has case studies included in this paper:
included a secondment to FEDA where she
Carmarthenshire College
supported colleges in Wales implementing
credit-based curriculum projects and worked
Co leg Glan Hafren, Cardiff
as part of the FEDA credit team. She has also
Dearne Valley College, Rotherham
been involved in establishing credit equival-
ences for a range of NVQs in Wales. She is now
Deeside College
back at Gwent Tertiary College where she is
managing several credit development projects.
Gwent Tertiary College
Tony Tait co-ordinates FEDA's work on credit
Llandrillo College
frameworks. He also works on FEDA's
Manchester College of Arts and Technology
participation and achievement programme,
focusing particularly on progression issues.
Neath College
Jim Bennett is assistant principal at Llandrillo
Pembrokeshire College
College. From 1990-96 he worked as FEDA
Officer for Wales and led FEDA's credit work
Solihull College
in the principality.
South Thames Unitisation Project, Lewisham
Caroline Mager, head of Curriculum and
College and Woolwich College
Qualifications at FEDA, also contributed to and
Swansea College
co-ordinated the development of this report.
Wirral Metropolitan College
Published by the Further Education
Development Agency
The photograph on page 20 is reproduced with
Coombe Lodge, Blagdon, Bristol BS18 6RG
kind permission of Wirral Metropolitan College,
Telephone [phone]
taken by David Kelly.
Fax [phone] (Publications Department)
Registered charity no: 1044145
Editor: Angela Dewsbury
Designer: Mike Pope
Printed by Blackmore Limited,
Shaftesbury, Dorset
Cover illustration: John Richardson,
Photomedia section, Gwent Tertiary College,
Crosskeys Centre
ISSN: 1361-9977
© 1997 FEDA
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, electrical, chemical, optical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
prior permission of the copyright owner.
4
FE MATTERS
2
FEDA paper
Contents
Foreword
4
1. Establishing a framework
5
Need for change
Why is a new framework necessary?
Moving towards a credit-based system
Designing the system
Benefits of a credit-based system
Next steps
Using the framework now
Wales pilot project
2. Applying the credit framework in Wales 12
Case study 1: programme design
Case study 2: continuous assessment
Case study 3: cross-college planning
Case study 4: taster courses
Case study 5: reaching the disaffected
Case study 6: unitisation of access
programmes
Case study 7: mapping common elements
Case study 8: improving life chances
Further achievements in Wales
3. Colleges and credits: applying the
credit framework
21
Applying the framework in England
Case study 9: developing learning materials
and improving quality
Case study 10: South Thames unitisation
project
Case study 11: progression through credit
Case study 12: facilitating progression
Case study 13: basing resourcing
on credit
Case study 14: institutional change
Key applications of a credit-based system
Key terms
32
Acronyms
33
References and bibliography
34
FE MATTERS FEDA paper
3
The benefits which have emerged underline
Foreword
why FEDA is proposing that a national credit-
There is a widespread consensus that our
based system be developed to meet the needs of
post-16 qualification system needs to be made
the nation in the 21st century. Developments to
date not only show that much is already pos-
coherent and intelligible to users. The Dearing
sible; they also reveal how much more could be
Review of Qualifications for 16-19 Year Olds has
gone some way to establishing a framework
achieved if the funding and qualifications envi-
accessible to more learners, with delineated
ronment was more conducive.
levels of attainment and progression pathways.
Tony Tait
However, to meet the needs of all learners and
Education Staff, FEDA
create a framework for lifelong learning further
developments are required.
FEDA believes that further progress should
draw on the work carried out in England and
Wales during the last four years to develop the
credit framework first proposed in
1992.
Developing qualifications and funding systems
in this way would:
give individuals engaged in all
learning a more effective way to
measure progress
provide the basis for an overarching
16-19 certificate or qualification
offer a more accurate measure for
achievement of national targets
provide a vehicle for more equitable
distribution of funding.
FEDA's work on credit is widely endorsed by
FE colleges and other providers. The Welsh
Office has funded credit developments in Wales
for the past three years and the FEFC Wales now
uses credit as a basis for funding.
The case studies in Section 2 of this paper illus-
trate how learners in Wales are already bene-
fiting from this credit system. Section 3 reports
on the different ways colleges which have
developed credit-based systems have applied
FEDA's credit framework and the case studies
in this section spotlight examples of how col-
leges in England have applied the framework.
The report on widening participation by Helena
Kennedy, entitled Learning works (July 1997),
recommends that a national credit framework
be established, a proposal which has been
backed by the FEFC.
6
FE MATTERS
FEDA paper
4
and part-time learning opportunities which
1. Establishing a framework
may involve
awards and
qualifications,
certificates and could have an academic,
vocational or applied learning focus.
Need for change
This picture reveals the urgent need for a
Despite considerable improvement in further
comprehensive accreditation system which will
education participation in recent years, no more
ensure that learners, tutors and employers
than 20% of adults take part in any form of
know where all qualifications and courses stand
publicly-funded education or training (Centre
in relation to one another, a system which will
for Economic Performance, 1996). This is
ensure that all learning is recognised.
compounded by the low level at which people
in the workforce are qualified. UK statistics
show that the number of 16-18 year olds in
Why is a new framework necessary?
education is low compared to other countries
internationally and failure is high.
Education providers should be aiming to offer
learning opportunities which are:
In 1995, the National Commission revealed in
its report Learning to succeed: after 16 that 40% of
accessible to as many people as possible
17 year olds do not succeed in achieving their
intended qualification. In 1994-95, nearly 20% of
adaptable to changing requirements of
those who took A-levels failed to reach the
the population and workplace
minimum pass grade (Education Statistics for the
flexible so that more people can learn
UK, 1996). The effects of this wastage of
the right skills at the right time
potential and resources are well documented
(see, for example, Unfinished business, Audit
rigorous and relevant with appropriate
Commission). The implications for the UK
forms of assessment
economy are serious. As more and more people
valued and understood so that learners
take on the belief that large numbers of unqual-
know where they stand and employers
ified unemployed adults are victims of and con-
know what to look for.
tributors to our social problems, the pressure
mounts on the FE sector to provide solutions.
An extensive range of provision is required to
meet all these needs. The vast suite of learning
Colleges are striving to widen participation and
opportunities which will result will need to be
to offer a broader and more flexible curriculum.
linked in some readily understandable way via
However, in 1996 the Further Education Fund-
a common language for describing achievement
ing Council (FEFC) calculated that nearly 80%
which is understood by all relevant parties.
of students older than 19 were following pro-
grammes which did not fall within Sir Ron
The current framework for providing these
Dearing's national qualification framework (fig-
links is not clear, flexible or responsive enough
ure supplied by FEFC from its internal data-
to satisfy the requirements of large numbers of
base). An absence of programmes which meet
learners for whom the following act as barriers:
the needs of adult learners is a problem, and this
is largely due to the learning required not
lack of clarity of specifications to ensure
falling within the existing framework: either it
that learning can be matched to
is a small part of a larger qualification or the
individuals' starting points, academic
skills and knowledge required are new or dif-
ability, learning aptitude, levels of
ferent and there is not yet a national award to
confidence and personal resources
accredit them.
an absence of a mechanism for estab-
Learners in the UK still have the choice of more
lishing equivalences across learning path-
than 14,000 qualifications overseen by more
ways and no facility to transfer credit
than 100 awarding bodies. This covers full-time
7
FE MATTERS
FEDA paper
5
Employers are affected too: they do not under-
the difficulty within most qualifications
of gaining credit for the component
stand the content and relative value of qualifica-
parts
tions brought by candidates applying for jobs;
they also find it difficult to identify the best qual-
the difficulty in transferring and
ifications and courses for existing employees.
accumulating credit from different
sources into recognised awards, leading
to duplication of learning and effort,
Moving towards a
which both demoralises learners and
credit-based system
wastes resources
The framework being developed in FE allows
the lack of a mechanism which ensures
learners to earn credit for their achievements
that all qualifications and awards are
from all types of provision, and will establish a
customised, relevant and up to date.
common way to express the value of different
A basic framework was proposed by Dearing in
types of learning achievements. It will:
his Review of Qualifications for 16-19 Year Olds.
support achievement of national targets
While it will help by introducing clear levels, it
by recognising part achievement of
does not provide a common means to specify
qualifications
qualifications and then compare their size. The
extent or volume of achievement at a particular
help to move the national qualifications
level is an important way to compare the
framework further forward
various awards available.
help to generate new qualifications
Without a universal framework for measuring
such as an overarching qualification
and describing achievement, learners cannot be
and baccalaureate
certain of their current position on the edu-
cation ladder. For example, what value does a
make possible a system of credit
accumulation and transfer
GNVQ have compared to GCSEs, AS-/A-levels,
NVQs and others outside the main family
allow learners, providers, planners and
of qualifications?
funders to understand achievement
As a result it is difficult for learners to assess
more effectively and make comparisons
accurately what new learning programmes are
between different attainments
available to them, or what route they should
increase students' motivation to learn
take to achieve a specific learning goal.
allow learners to place the value of their
For example, a student wanting to go on a
achievements in context with the world
particular course may be unsure of whether her
of learning and employment
existing achievements will provide access on to
this course, or what learning attainment is
equip learners to recognise what new
necessary to fulfil entry requirements.
learning they require, what opportu-
nities exist, and which route to take
Students faced with such a confused picture as
to where their learning careers can take them
enable students' performance to be
next may become demotivated and, as a result,
measured and recognised in the course
not continue with learning.
of existing learning programmes.
The lack of a universally-recognised framework
The framework will be used to give a value to
also creates problems for admission tutors: their
existing qualifications and awards, without nec-
task of shortlisting candidates is made more
essarily altering their characteristics. It pre-
difficult because comparing achievement across
serves the diversity of existing provision
qualifications is impossible.
because it
describes important differences
FE MATTERS
6
FEDA paper
between qualifications rather than removing
Title
a well-defined and specific
them. For example, awards of different sizes can
(subject) name
be developed for specific purposes while mak-
ing clear their size relative to other qualifications.
Learning outcome
what a learner is expected to
know, understand and do
If adopted as a national system, it will allow
standards for achieving
Assessment
learners to plan efficient progression routes not
criteria
outcomes
just within FE, but also from pre-16 to FE and
from FE to higher education (HE).
level of difficulty (eight would be
Level
needed, covering from the
To progress the development of credit-based
National Curriculum to
systems within post-14 education FEDA aims to:
HE/professional qualifications)
ensure that policymakers, planners,
Credit value
a numerical value derived
civil servants and politicians are aware
from unit size
of the benefits of the credit framework
Learning outcomes are a key feature of the unit
ensure that the architecture and
specification. Together with assessment criteria
specifications of the credit framework
they make clear what a learner needs to achieve.
are robust and fully developed
They also allow common achievement to be
compared and identified between different
identify any difficulties which would
awards. Such a system has the potential for
need to be addressed to implement
greater flexibility and choice for learners
credit-based qualifications
because they can tailor their learning on a unit
support regional and local develop-
basis, rather than a qualification basis. The units
ments for implementing credit-based
of learning are in more manageable amounts,
systems and providing information on
and since students are awarded credit(s) for
key issues and good practice
completion of a unit their motivation to learn is
increased and sustained. Also, because learning
ensure that credit can be carried across
is broken up into a greater number of chunks,
the FE-HE divide and across the UK,
assessment can cover a greater part of what is
Europe and beyond.
learned within the programme.
Learning will be more adaptable because
Designing the system
changes can be made more easily through units.
The learning outcomes provide a universal lan-
FEDA believes that to provide a workable
guage for describing all achievement. This is
credit-based system, achievement should be
accompanied by a numerical measure of
broken down into units of assessment. The size
achievement: the credit values and levels.
of the units should be determined by decisions
about sensible, coherent groupings of know-
A learner can achieve individual units and have
ledge, skills and understanding. Attention
each recorded in a standard way through credits
should be given to ensuring that coherence and
at various levels.
the integrity of subjects are preserved.
FEDA proposes eight levels, encompassing
The system allows for units to be many different
achievement from the National Curriculum to
sizes. The larger the unit, the greater the credit
postgraduate and professional qualifications.
value and the more credits the learner can earn.
Detailed level descriptors have been developed
The framework also involves specifying all
for the first four levels, known as Entry and
achievement in terms of units of assessment,
levels 1, 2 and 3. FEDA wants to extend the
comprised of learning outcomes. Each unit will
descriptors to encompass HE, postgraduate and
have the following elements:
professional levels and qualifications.
9
FE MATTERS FEDA paper
7
Because many qualifications
for example,
the area is not covered adequately by
any other national qualification
modular AS- and A-levels, GNVQs and NVQs
are already expressed in units they can be quite
unit certification is not available within
easily incorporated into this framework.
any national qualification.
The 'credit value' of a unit is formed by
FEDA believes that these criteria should be
agreeing the notional learning time set for a
common and should be used by awarding
unit's
learner learning
achieve
each
to
bodies to accredit units.
outcomes. This does not mean that learners
have to spend a particular amount of time
The use of units as the basis of this framework
before their achievement is recognised; it is just
means that colleges are not confined to a single
used as a means of comparison to determine the
method of delivery. The learning outcomes of a
size at which the unit should be set. Achieving
unit can be achieved via college-based pro-
the learning outcomes is what counts, not how
grammes, work-based learning, accreditation of
the learner gets to that stage. So, for example, a
previous experience, distance learning and
30-hour unit at level 3 earns one credit, while a
other routes (see Figure 1). Those using a
60-hour unit at the same level has a credit value
module-based method of delivery will also
of two, and a 90-hour unit a credit value of
have considerable freedom as to how to incor-
three. Thirty hours is used as the base value for
porate these units. The relationship between
one credit since it is a small enough amount of
units and modules has been made deliberately
time to allow flexible use of units, and large
flexible. For example, the outcomes of a single
enough to be reliably assessed.
unit could be achieved via one module, or
through two or more modules. Alternatively, a
These units will form a database of national
single module could deliver outcomes which
units. Education providers will be able to choose
contribute to a number of different units.
units from this database to build a portfolio of
courses to offer their students.
_141IPOP.MIZEM
MODULE A
There also needs to be scope
for units to be devised by edu-
r
cation and training providers,
_14111)11iMI:1=111
MODULE B
so that they can respond to
innovation, local need and any
demand
UNIT X
customised
for
awards.
combin-
Specified
ations are required for achiev-
ing specific qualifications.
MODULE C
MODULE D
Offering flexibility and
innovation
providers
Education
who
J1111001001
decide to design their own
MODULE E
units, because existing ones do
not cover the desired aspects,
should ensure that:
t
IMODULE F
MODULE H
learning outcomes are
clear and coherent
IMODULE G
MODULE
the unit has been ascribed
a level and a size
FIGURE 1: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UNITS AND MODULES
I.©
FE MATTERS
8
FEDA paper