This letter is for information and does not require a reply
Dear colleague
Verification of the compatibility of the The framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FHEQ) with the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (FQ-EHEA)
As you will know, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) published the second edition of The framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FHEQ) in August last year (accessible at www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure). Following this, and at the request of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland, QAA undertook a verification process of the compatibility of the second edition of the FHEQ with theFramework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (FQ-EHEA), employing the criteria and procedures agreed as part of the Bologna Process.
The FQ-EHEA was established as part of the Bologna Process and provides a mechanism for relating the higher education qualifications frameworks of different European countries to each other, so helping with the recognition of qualifications from different countries and promoting mobility of learners and graduates across Europe. The criteria and procedures for verification of compatibility require each country to demonstrate the links between its national qualifications framework and the FQ-EHEA as well as the robustness of its quality assurance systems. The process is one of self-certification and it is the aim that all participating countries in the European Higher Education Area will have completed the process by 2012. QAA established an advisory group to conduct the process, comprising representatives from across the higher education sector and international experts, including representatives of the Council of Europe and of the Bologna Follow-up Group for Qualifications Frameworks. The final report (written by an independent rapporteur) entitled Verification of the compatibility ofThe framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FHEQ) with theframework for qualifications of the European higher education area (FQ-EHEA) has been published on the QAA website and is accessible at:
www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/FHEQ/selfcertification09/FHEQSelfCert.pdf
This document is intended to fulfil a number of functions in addition to the confirmation, and notification to other countries, that a Bologna-compatible national qualifications framework is in place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also aims to explain and fully document the compatibility of the FHEQ with the FQ-EHEA. It is designed for both domestic and overseas readers. It seeks both to clarify areas where potential confusions and misunderstanding may exist and to act as a comprehensive reference document. The advisory group concluded that:
- Foundation Degrees (for example, FdA, FdSc) and by extension the Diplomas of Higher Education (DipHE) and Higher National Diplomas (HND) are intermediate qualifications within the first cycle of the overarching FQ-EHEA
- bachelor's degrees (non-honours degrees) are compatible with the first-cycle descriptor within the overarching FQ-EHEA. Holders of this degree can gain access (but not necessarily immediate access) to programmes within the second cycle
- bachelor's degrees with honours (for example, BA/BSc Hons) are compatible with completion of the first cycle within the overarching FQ-EHEA
- master's degrees (for example, MPhil, MLitt, MRes, MA, MSc) and by extension integrated master's degrees (for example, MEng, MChem, MPhys, MPharm) are compatible with completion of the second cycle within the overarching FQ-EHEA
- doctoral degrees (for example, PhD/DPhil [including new-route PhD], EdD, DBA, DClinPsy) are compatible with completion of the third cycle within the overarching FQ-EHEA.
The publication of the report and successful verification of compatibility was reported to the Bologna Stock-taking Working Group in March and recorded in the Bologna Stock-taking report made to ministers in April this year. All countries in the UK have now completed the process. Further information about the Bologna Process is available on the UK HE Europe Unit website (www.europeunit.ac.uk).
Exploration of whether the FHEQ should be referenced to The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF-LLL)
The European Commission’s European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF-LLL) was formally agreed in the European Parliament on 23 April 2008 and officially launched in June of that year. This Framework is designed to embrace qualifications gained in general and vocational education and training (as well as academic education) and spans all levels of qualifications from level 1 to level 8. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) are committed to referencing the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) against the EQF-LLL. In addition, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are intending to reference their respective frameworks against the EQF-LLL because these three frameworks embrace vocational education and pre-higher education levels. The position is different for the FHEQ as this framework applies to higher education qualifications only.
The UK HE Europe Unit High Level Policy Forum (HLPF) recently established a scoping group to clarify the issues related to a potential referencing of the FHEQ to The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF-LLL). Unlike the process of self-certification of the FHEQ to the FQ-EHEA, there has been no formal instruction to undertake such referencing and so at, this stage, the exercise was purely exploratory. The scoping group submitted a report to the HPLF in April. In the light of this, the Forum concluded that the FHEQ should not, at the present time, be referenced to the EQF-LLL. It was agreed that the position should be reviewed again by the HLPF, at a later date, in the light of an analysis of the benefits realised by UK higher education as a result of self-certification of FHEQ against the FQ-EHEA and updates on the following matters:
- the development of the EQF-LLL and a sound knowledge of the implications of its emerging policies, procedures and bureaucratic requirements
- resolution of issues raised by the individual UK countries referencing against the EQF-LLL
- evidence and experience of other countries' participation in the FQ-EHEA self-certification process
- information from the UK HE Europe Unit on participation by other countries in the Bologna Process and the impact of other countries referencing to the EQF-LLL
- the wider global higher education initiatives to which UK higher education needs to respond
- monitoring of levels of interest expressed by PSRBs in the EQF-LLL
Qualifications can cross boundaries - a rough guide to comparing qualifications in the UK and Ireland
QAA and the authorities responsible for the maintenance of credit and qualifications frameworks in the five countries of UK and Ireland (the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership, the Welsh Assembly Government, Ofqual and QCA, the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment in Northern Ireland) have produced a guide to comparing the various qualifications frameworks in the UK and Ireland. The publication is entitled Qualifications can cross boundaries - a rough guide to comparing qualifications in the UK and Ireland and is accessible on the QAA website:
www.qaa.ac.uk/standardsandquality/otherrefpoints/qualsboundaries.asp
It is also available as a leaflet. It compares the main qualification levels and clarifies the numbering of levels adopted in the various frameworks across the UK and Ireland. It enables comparisons to be drawn between qualifications and their levels rather than direct equivalences. Examples of major qualifications at each level are provided.
Ordering printed copies
Printed copies of both the verification report (ref: QAA 287) and the Qualifications can cross boundaries leaflet are available to order from:
Linney Direct
Adamsway
Mansfield
NG18 4FN
Tel: 01623 450788
Email: qaa@linney.com
We hope that you will find these documents useful.
Yours sincerely
Peter Williams
Chief Executive
Top
QAA updates
QAAtweets
QAAtube