Policy statement on a progress file for Higher Education

Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP)
Committee of Scottish Higher Education Principals (CoSHEP)
Standing Conference of Principals (SCoP)
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA)

Introduction

This statement has been prepared following wide consultation and development work in the higher education sector and with other stakeholders. It stems from the recommendation of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education (the Dearing Report) for HEIs to develop:

a transcript recording student achievement which should follow a common format devised by institutions collectively through their representative bodies;
a means by which students can monitor, build and reflect upon their personal development.

In issuing this statement, the CVCP, CoSHEP, SCoP and QAA are inviting all HEIs to endorse and implement the policy detailed below as part of their missions. Some HEIs have already implemented, and/or may wish to go beyond, these policies.

Policy on transcripts

1. The policy objectives for the HE Transcript are:

to improve the quality and consistency of information on the learning and achievement of individual students in higher education for the benefit of everyone who has an interest in such information;
to promote awareness of the national qualifications frameworks and national and international transparency and recognition of higher education awards;
to contribute to an individual's lifelong record of learning and achievement;
to support the process of personal development planning;
to promote good practice in the provision of information on the outcomes of UK higher education.

2. Institutions should provide each student with a transcript showing what they have studied and achieved:

after they have completed their programme;
after they have completed each stage¹ of their programme of study;
at an appropriate² time when a student interrupts their programme;
when such information is necessary in order to apply for a job.³

Notes to aid interpretation

¹ Stage is defined by the institution

² The institution should determine the most appropriate time to issue a transcript relative to the point of interruption

³ Subject to a period of notice determined by the institution

3. Institutions should provide transcripts for all HE provision for which credit is awarded and all provision that leads to an HE award. In principle, transcripts should apply to postgraduate research awards, but this aspect of policy needs further consideration. In the first instance, institutions are encouraged to provide transcripts for research training programmes that lead to a higher degree but HEIs should determine the nature of such transcripts.

4. Institutions should recognise that transcripts are produced for two different purposes. The first purpose is to provide learners with a record of their learning while they are studying. This information is intended to help them monitor and reflect on their progress and plan their further academic development. It is an aid to learning and an essential element of their personal development records.

5. The second purpose is to provide a student who has completed their programme (or at a point of interruption or termination) with a formal, verifiable and comprehensive record of learning for whoever needs such information. As such, it will have to satisfy a variety of interests and needs including employers, HE admissions tutors, professional bodies and statutory regulatory authorities in the UK and overseas.

6. The programme transcript should reflect the complete record of learning and achievement. It should include information on what was studied, what was successfully completed and what was not successfully completed¹.

Explanation

¹ Non-completion could be indicated by the number of attempts taken to complete a study unit (see appendix 1).

7. The transcript should be based on a minimum information content that enables institutions to present the information in the format they consider to be most appropriate and include additional information if they wish to do so (Table 1).

8. The international mobility of people means that the transcript must also recognise the information needs of the international community of employers, admissions tutors, professional associations and statutory regulators. The UK transcript should, where feasible, satisfy the information requirements of the EC/Council of Europe initiative aimed at providing consistent transcript information to facilitate the mutual recognition of qualifications across member states.

Table 1 Recommended Data Set for a Programme Transcript

Student

Name
Date of birth
Institutional reference number
HESA reference number

Qualification

Name of qualification
Level of qualification in National Qualifications Framework (NQF)
Name of awarding institution
Name of institution responsible for delivering the programme
Language(s) of instruction (to meet EC requirement)
Language(s) of assessment (to meet EC requirement)
Professional Body accreditation
Statutory Regulatory Body recognition/approval

Record of Learning and Achievement

Name of programme
Module or unit study code (this should also indicate the level in the NQF that the module/unit is studied)
Module or unit study title
Number of credits awarded for each module/unit completed
Date (year) in which credit awarded
Mark or grade for each module or unit studied
Number of attempts to complete a module/unit (if more than one attempt made)

Other Types of Learning within the context of a programme

Study Abroad (include ECTS credits if applicable)
Work placement
Work experience
Accredited prior certificated and experiential learning
Accredited Key Skills

Award

Overall credits achieved
Overall mark/grade
Overall classification or performance indicator (eg merit/distinction)
Professional/Statutory Body recognition (if applicable, an indication that in gaining the award a candidate has satisfied the academic requirements for registration or membership etc)
Date of award

Authentication

Date of issue
Signature/seal (to be determined by HEI)
Telephone number for validating information

Explanatory information

Guidance on how to interpret the transcript
Information on the grading scheme
Overview of the National Qualification Awards Framework
Overview of the UK HE system (specifically for overseas students)

9. Institutions that do not operate modular or unitised, credit-based curricular are expected to provide a comparable level of information on the record of learning and achievement of an individual.

10. Higher education institutions are encouraged to introduce a transcript with a consistent information content by academic year 2001/2002 but the use of such a transcript would not be expected until 2002/2003.

Policy on Personal Development Plans (PDP)

11. PDP is 'a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and / or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development'.

12. It is intended to help students:

become more effective, independent and confident self-directed learners;
understand how they are learning and relate their learning to a wider context;
improve their general skills for study and career management;
articulate their personal goals and evaluate progress towards their achievement;
and encourage a positive attitude to learning throughout life.

13. The ideas that underpin these conceptions mean that PDP is:

a structured process that is integral to higher level learning;
concerned with learning in an holistic sense (both academic and non-academic);
something that an individual does with guidance and support: the latter perhaps decreasing as personal capability is developed so that it becomes self-sustaining;
a process that involves self-reflection, the creation of personal records, planning and monitoring progress towards the achievement of personal objectives;
intended to improve the capacity of individuals to communicate their learning to others who are interested in it (eg academic staff and employers).

14. The reflective and planning skills on which the idea of PDP is based are integral to knowing how to learn in different contexts and to the ability to transfer learning. There is intrinsic educational value in helping students develop the skills, values and behaviours that underlie PDP. PDP should be a feature of all provision leading to an HE award (ie the same principle that is applied to the transcript). Institutional policies should apply to all types of delivery and learning context (eg on-campus, at-a-distance, work-based etc). For pragmatic reasons policy is restricted to learners within the UK.

15. It would be logical to apply the principle of PDP to Continuing Education courses (albeit in a simplified form) but institutions must determine whether PDP should be extended to provision that is not within an HE award framework.

16. The application of Personal Development Planning should be based on institutionally determined policies within a national guidance framework. Policy should be underpinned by the following designation of responsibilities:

HEIs should be responsible for providing opportunities for PDP and for guidance to support the process.
The nature, scope and extent of opportunities and support for PDP should be determined by each institution (influenced by professional and statutory regulatory bodies where appropriate).
The ultimate responsibility for deriving benefit from PDP should rest with each student: although institutions will influence this.
QAA should, through its development and review activities, support the introduction of policy and, when practice is established, be responsible for providing public assurance that institutional policies are being implemented effectively¹.

1. During the development phase (until 2005) institutions that are involved in the Academic Review process could signal in their self-evaluation document the progress they are making in creating opportunities for PDP. Academic Reviewers should encourage and promote this development by reporting on but not judging the practice seen. This should be an area where 'exemplary' features might be identified by reviewers. Encouragement for the development of institutional practice should also be provided through subject benchmarking. A number of benchmark statements already make reference to the skills, attitudes and behaviours that underlie PDP.

17.The minimum expectations for institutional PDP policies are that:

institutional promotional materials should indicate how the skills and attitudes that underlie PDP are promoted;
at the start of an HE programme, students will be introduced to the opportunities for PDP within their programme;
students will be provided with opportunities for PDP at each stage of their programme;
the rationale for PDP at different stages of a programme will be explained for the benefit of students (eg in student or course handbooks or module/unit guides);
the nature and scope of opportunities for PDP, the recording and support strategies will be determined by each institution.

These minimum criteria are not intended to constrain existing practice or local initiatives and institutional or local policies are likely to exceed these minimum expectations.

18. The educational worthiness of PDP is widely acknowledged but this is a significant national development that will require careful nurturing and support if it is to succeed. Institutions are at different stages of development with respect to PDP. A significant proportion of HEIs have indicated that they could implement policies within 3 to 4 years and this target should be set as a desirable aim.

19. But, given the number of HEIs that have opted for a longer time scale and the number that did not participate in the consultation exercise, a 5 year lead-in-time (2005/06 start date) is more realistic for the implementation of policy across the whole system and for all HE awards. This will enable PDP to be designed into programmes as they are reviewed and enable those institutions that have experience and expertise to share and disseminate their 'wisdom'. HE representative bodies and national guidance should encourage HEIs to incorporate PDP into their strategic planning for the development and improvement of teaching and learning.